On December 21st and 22nd, General Goretti will visit Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Constanța.
Wednesday 21 December, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Squad General Luca Goretti, met the men and women of the Task Force Air “Gladiator” engaged in Romania in the NATO mission of Enhanced Air Policing of the southern area (eAPAS). The General was received by the Commander of the TFA, Colonel Michele Morelli, accompanied by the Commander of the Romanian air base, Colonel Nicolae Crețu, as a testament to the close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
General Goretti thanked the personnel deployed to Mihail Kogălniceanu airport, in Constanta, since mid-November, “because, also thanks to your work, Italy is able to field an air force that is a leader in Europe for operational flexibility and readiness. Adherence logistics is a challenge for our Armed Forces, a challenge that allows us to demonstrate what we are capable of sustaining across multiple operational theatres simultaneously.”, added the Chief of Staff. “Ensuring seamless operation between one Task Force and another, as recently happened, means testing our logistics, allowing us to improve further.”.
During the meeting with the TFA staff, a thought was spared for Captain Fabio Antonio Altruda, the pilot officer of the 37th Wing in Trapani who tragically died in the air accident on 13 December.“Also in Fabio's memory”, emphasised the Head of SMA, “we must continue with the same commitment and passion to serve the country”.
The following day, General Goretti was received by his Romanian counterpart, General Viorel Pana, with whom he had a fruitful discussion to review the current activities and the interoperability between the armed forces of the two countries.
The day then continued with a visit to the logistic facilities, built by the staff of Rapid Airfield Operational System (RAOS) of the 3rd Wing of Villafranca and the 3rd Department of the AM Engineer Corps, focusing particularly on the mobile hangars used for sheltering aircraft ready for immediate take-off on alert – in technical jargon "scramble" – and within which maintenance personnel can also operate in optimal environmental and safety conditions.
During the visit, General Goretti had the opportunity to witness a training event – a “Tango Scramble”– during which the Eurofighters took off on very short notice for a NATO air policing and defence mission. The visit continued with a briefing by the TFA Commander, who informed the Chief of Staff about the Task Force's activities, including the achievement of Full Operational Capability (FOC) in the very tightest timeframe. The Italian contingent, placed under the direct national command of the Joint Operational Command (COVI), is made up of 150 men and women from the Air Force, drawn from flight squadrons of various Air Force Wings, and technical and logistical personnel who, until the end of July 2023, will operate with the Romanian Air Force to the protection of the Atlantic Alliance's eastern flank.
Following this, General Goretti and Colonel Morelli participated remotely via video link in the greeting that the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in the presence of the Minister of Defence, the Honourable Guido Crosetto, the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, and the Commander of COVI, Army Corps General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, addressed to the military contingents engaged in international missions from the COVI operations room in Rome.
