The Chief of Staff of the Air Force met the women and men of the White Eagle Air Task Force engaged in Poland.
Thursday 18 August, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Luca Goretti, He was welcomed at Krolewo Airport in Malbork by Maj. Gen. Jacek Pszczoła, Inspector of the Polish Air Forces – General Command of the Polish Armed Forces, with whom he held a productive and cordial discussion and with whom he reviewed the current activities.
Subsequently, General Goretti met the men and women of the Air Task Force. White Eagle engaged in Poland on the NATO mission Enhanced Air Policing.
General Goretti thanked on behalf of the Armed Forces all TFA staff.
“I am here today to thank you for what you are doing for the country and to bear witness to the closeness of the entire Armed Force.”, stated the Chief of Staff. “Special praise to the logistical machinery that makes these missions possible, a truly essential aspect that allows crews to take to the skies to ensure the safety of the Alliance's skies.”He then added, “You are operating in a very delicate and complex context, with an operational activity that knows no pauses: yesterday we had another demonstration of this, when a planned training mission transformed, while you were already in flight, into a real airspace surveillance mission.”.
“It is right that I am here to see this reality for myself, to bear witness to my satisfaction with what you are doing. I address the younger people in particular: it is important that the echo of the work you are carrying out here reaches Italy, so that you can be an example of commitment, capability, and seriousness for other young people. You are here today to defend our freedom, there are no other reasons.”.
The Italian contingent, placed under the direct national command of COVI (Interforce Command), is composed of 136 women and men of the’Italian Air Force drawn from Flight Groups and technical and logistical personnel, who until 30 November 2022 will operate alongside the Polish Air Force in protecting the North-East flank of the Atlantic Alliance.
The operational capabilities that can be expressed by Air Task Forces deployed in operational theatres, through continuous joint training with other national and international surface components, contribute to achieving real joint integration.
Air Policing (AP) is a mission that NATO has implemented since the mid-1950s and consists of the integration of the respective national systems of member countries into a single NATO air and missile defence system for the benefit of the member countries on the eastern flank.
The Enhanced Air Policing mission is conducted under the Command and Control of Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) in Ramstein, through its Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) aims to optimise and share NATO countries' capabilities for safeguarding allied airspace, maximising their effectiveness and efficiency.
