At the Air Operations Command, four officers from the Air Force Commissariat Corps have completed the “operational legad” qualification process. On Monday 9 July, four officers from the Air Force Commissariat Corps were awarded the qualification of “Legal Adviser for Air Operations”, marking the end of a training programme lasting approximately five years and culminating in final examinations held at the Air Operations Command in Poggio Renatico. The Commander of the Air Operations Command (COA), Air Division General Antonio Conserva, presented the certificates to the four new “operational legal advisers” at the end of the examination session. These officers will assist operational commanders in conducting operations in accordance with international law, the law of armed conflict, human rights, national legislation and the Rules of Engagement (RoE), with particular attention to assessing the legality of the means and methods of combat, which must comply with the national and international legal framework. The role of the operational legal adviser represents a further step in the ongoing innovation aimed at making the Air Force increasingly useful to the country. Indeed, in the role of “Legal Adviser for Air Operations”, the Air Force combines operational experience with legal expertise, that is to say, it blends the legal expertise typical of an officer from the Commissariat Corps with the multifaceted expertise drawn from the operational world, such as intelligence sources, target identification, knowledge of the weapons used and the resulting collateral effects. This formidable synthesis has also been achieved through attendance at university courses as part of the collaboration between the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR), including those held at the Department of Law at the University of Ferrara on international military criminal law and humanitarian law in armed conflicts. The complexity of current scenarios and the unpredictable and asymmetric nature of security threats indeed require an increasingly integrated and “dual” approach to such knowledge. “Within the JFAC, the role of the legal officer working alongside the Commander” said General Conserva, “is a vital role for achieving an operational capability capable of addressing new types of threat, which aims to provide the Armed Forces and operational commanders with the legal tools necessary to conduct operations effectively, whilst prioritising the protection of life and human rights”.
