Air Force Brigadier General Carlo Magrassi succeeded Air Force Brigadier General Enzo Vecciarelli. At the event, chaired by Air Force Brigadier General Tiziano Tosi, Commander of the Air Force, representatives of the Inter-Service High Command and the Air Staff as well as personnel of the C.S.A. participated. During his speech, Brigadier General Vecciarelli thanked the personnel of the Air Staff for the work carried out under their command with professionalism, a spirit of sacrifice and synergy between the various sectors. Significant results were achieved, as witnessed by the operational experience gained in the context of the “Unified Protector” mission for the 2011 Libyan crisis. Finally, he thanked General Tosi for the trust and autonomy granted for the management of the numerous operational activities. General Vecciarelli will assume the position of Chief of the 4th “Armament Programs” Department at the General Secretariat of the Defense – National Armaments Directorate (SGD-DNA). General Magrassi, who has been Deputy Commander of the Air Force since September 1st 2011, stated during his speech that he intends to continue along the path already outlined by his predecessor, reiterating the need to increasingly orient operational methods towards the inter-service perspective, optimizing the resources available at various levels. Finally, General Tosi, after greeting the attendees, highlighted his full satisfaction with the operational and training activities carried out by the staff of the General Staff of the C.S.A. under the guidance of General Vecciarelli. He also emphasized the importance of continuing to operate in a perspective of continuous improvement and innovation, always keeping in mind the wealth of positively consolidated experiences. General Tosi, at the end of his speech, emphasized that the future awaiting the Air Force Command requires a significant adjustment of the structure and resources of the High Command itself, which is in fact already underway for some time, and therefore great efforts to be sustained in this regard. The event concluded with the delivery by the Air Force Command to General Vecciarelli of the Air Force Medal, in memory of the period spent at the High Command. The Air Force Command is hierarchically subordinate to the Departments and the operational units peripheral to the Air Force, such as Intermediate Commands, Brigades, Storms, Airports, Flight Groups, Radar Groups, Missile Units, etc. The institutional task assigned to the High Command is to prepare such Entities so that they acquire and maintain the level of operational readiness and logistical autonomy necessary to achieve the objectives defined by the Armed Forces. Within the framework of the process of rationalization of the Armed Forces, since January 1st, 2011, the C.S.A. has also assumed the functions of operational deployment of the subordinate Departments, through the structure of the Air Operations Command (C.O.A.) in Poggio Renatico (Ferrara). Overall, the C.S.A. consists of 87 units, including Commands, Departments and Training/Operational Entities, distributed throughout the national territory, with an organizational strength of approximately 20,000 personnel, including military and civilian personnel. General of Squadron Carlo Magrassi
