The Air Fleet Commander visited the aviation component of the Special Forces of Furbara. Upon his arrival, General Tosi was received by Air Brigade General Germano Quattrociocchi, Commander of the Special Operations Air Brigade, and by Colonel Riccardo Rinaldi, Commander of the 17th Raider Wing.
The visit began with a briefing given by Colonel Rinaldi, who outlined the history, expertise and mission of the Unit, accurately describing the operational activities in which the Wing has taken part and those currently underway. The meeting continued at the shooting range and with a tour of the operational area, home to the Raider personnel who are currently present in Afghanistan with an operational detachment within Task Force 45, where they operate jointly with other Italian and foreign special forces units.
During the visit, General Tosi emphasised “how important it is to maintain the niche capabilities of the Air Force and develop know-how within units which, although increasingly reduced in number, have the fundamental need to preserve high quality standards in order not to lose the peculiar operational capabilities acquired”.
The operations carried out by the 17th Raider Wing fall under “Special Operations” and consist of direct actions against strategic targets (direct actions), special reconnaissances (special reconnaissance) and military assistance to the armed forces of other countries (military assistance), an activity currently carried out in Afghanistan. Among the components of the 17th Raider Wing (Stormo Incursori), in addition to the Operational Group, within which the raider personnel operate, there is also a Training Group, responsible for the organisation and management of the Air Force Basic Raider Course (BIAM), consisting of rescue personnel, employed for activities linked to survival training in various environments (marine, mountain, desert and hostile) and personnel specialised in the recognition (E.O.R.) and disarming (E.O.D.) of explosive devices, including improvised ones (I.E.D.D.).
