Colonel Rivera hands over command to Colonel Di Francesco after two years of intense activity.
On Thursday 8 September 2022, the change of command ceremony at the aircraft maintenance hangar in Sigonella took place. 41st Anti-Submarine Wing and of the’Sigonella Airport between the outgoing Colonel Howard Lee Rivera and Colonel Emanuele Di Francesco.
In accordance with the precautionary measures related to Covid-19, the event was chaired by Commander of Mobility and Support Forces of the Italian Air Force (AM), Air Division General Enrico Maria Degni, and from the’Air Force Inspector for the Navy, Air Brigadier General Francesco Saverio Agresti.
To cap off the solemn ceremony, the War Flag of the 41st Wing was present, adorned with two Silver Medals for Military Valour and one for Civil Valour. A representation of personnel was also in attendance, along with civil and military authorities from Eastern Sicily, including the main Armed Forces societies of the territory and the commanders of other national and foreign entities present for various reasons at the Sicilian Airport. Among these were the major Italian Air Force entities – the 11th Aircraft Maintenance Department and the 61st Predator Flight Group – and the permanently stationed international entities – the U.S. Naval Air Station and the NATO AGS Force – as well as foreign assets periodically engaged in operational activities of Eunavformed Irini (Luxembourg and Poland).
It Colonel Rivera, Grateful and moved to have had the opportunity to return to Sicily after having spent part of his military career there, he wished to thank those present and all the units stationed or that have operated within Sigonella's area of responsibility. A summary of the main events and occurrences that involved him during his almost two years of command followed, highlighting the inter-force cooperation in Defence and Security, as well as the multilateral cooperation of Italian policy and defence, which can ’only“ be perceived at Sigonella. “...Only at Sigonella, in fact, an airfield which I recall belongs to the Italian Air Force, will you be able to find permanently established international Commands with NATO personnel and equipment; personnel and equipment belonging to the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps of the United States of America; personnel and equipment of European Naval Aviation Forces. Only at Sigonella will you be able to observe a continuous rotation of personnel and equipment from all over the world: starting from countries closest to us such as France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Luxembourg, up to Canada and even further afield Australia, not to mention the other national military bodies and Commands present on the site... among these, I wish to dedicate a special mention to Airspace Control, responsible for managing civil and military air traffic for all of eastern Sicily, where, I recall, there is also an active volcano. This is the strength of Sigonella, this is the strength of all of you, Sigonella personnel, what makes you undeniably unique...”.
It Colonel Di Francesco, during his address, after thanking those present and the AM leadership for the trust placed in him, he turned to the Sigonella personnel he is about to lead. “…It is a privilege for me to have become your Commander. I will work in continuity with my predecessors to ensure we can fulfil our mission in a healthy and safe working environment. Ours will be a team effort, carried out with competence and transparency; each of you will be able, and indeed expected, to express your potential with loyalty and respect towards your colleagues.“.
General Agresti, in greeting the attendees at the event, paid his respectful respects to the Flag of the 41st Wing and remembered those who fell at Sigonella in the performance of their duty. Addressing the personnel, he said: “The personnel of Sigonella and the 41st Wing have operated over the last two years with simply admirable passion and professionalism, always responding with punctuality, competence, and absolute effectiveness to every need, courageously accepting and with a dedication worthy of the best traditions of the unit, any challenge! What they have demonstrated makes me absolutely proud and, I am convinced, makes both the Air Force and the Navy proud. ... My hope is that the Wing can soon be returned to its unique, peculiar, and excellent speciality, that is “Anti-Submarine Warfare”. An operational need that, in the current dramatic international security situation and, more specifically, in light of emerging or growing threats already present today in the Mediterranean basin, is becoming an urgent and no longer deferrable necessity for the Nation.
It General Worthy when highlighting the numerous and important milestones achieved by Sigonella Airport and the 41st Wing in the last two years, he addressed the Unit: “Dear Howard, you can rightly feel satisfied and proud of your period of command. In these two years, during a historical period characterised first by the pandemic and then by the crisis in Ukraine, you have managed to lead the Command in an exemplary manner, with undisputed professionalism and infectious passion, succeeding in creating a strong team spirit and a calm working environment. This is a particular Command, a Command which, while on the one hand affording the privilege of being the host, on the other hand involves the burdensome responsibility of upholding the obligations required in this complex reality towards all the Armed Forces, joint and international bodies that operate from this base at any time of day or night for public utility services and international stability. Well done, congratulations! With valuable and tireless effort, you have managed to employ the available human and financial resources, skilfully balancing the mission and the needs of the personnel. The incoming Commander has been wished a peaceful and productive tenure: “To Col Di Francesco, whom I had the opportunity to know and appreciate directly as my Head of Training, I extend my warmest wishes for the achievement of ever more prestigious milestones, starting from the solid reality you are inheriting. You have been entrusted with an important and very responsible task. I assure you of my full support to enable you to work peacefully, during what promises to be a demanding period. Good luck with your work!’
It Sigonella Airport Command is employed by Command of Mobility and Support Forces (CFMS) of Rome. It provides operational, technical, logistical, and administrative support to Units and Departments deployed and in transit at the Air Base of the same name, ensuring continuous services necessary for the safe and effective conduct of flight activities, which include, among others, ground technical assistance, refuelling, meteorological services, fire-fighting services, healthcare assistance, and the availability of recreational and accommodation facilities. Furthermore, it is responsible for providing air traffic services within the control zone (CTR) designated “Catania”, which encompasses the skies of eastern Sicily and adjacent seas, including Sigonella Military Airport and the civilian airports of Catania-Fontanarossa and Comiso (RG). The CFMS is under the command of the Air Squadron Command and exercises responsibilities regarding the training, preparation, and operational readiness of its Departments, so that they acquire and maintain the expected levels of operational readiness.
It 41st Anti-Submarine Wing of Sigonella, hierarchically dependent on’Office of the Aviation Inspector for the Navy, is equipped with aircraft“P-72A”with which it guarantees its primary mission of maritime surveillance, combating illicit trafficking and international terrorism, and safeguarding human life at sea in the long term, as well as protecting the main maritime traffic routes in the southern Mediterranean quadrants. The crews of the P-72A are made up of pilot officers and NCO onboard operators who belong to the Air Force and Navy. The typical characteristic, established in 1965, represents a well-tested and efficient example of inter-force synergy and cooperation, which was well ahead of the significant inter-force development of the military instrument typical of recent years. For this reason, following the establishment of Anti-Submarine Aviation in 1957, the 41st Wing maintains a typically joint commitment and is perfectly integrated through the union of two Components (Air Force and Navy). The anti-submarine aircraft, in the past the Grumman and Atlantic, and today the P72A, depend for operational use on the Navy, which assesses and determines all assignable operational missions, while technical-logistical activities and technical-professional training are the responsibility of the Air Force, which has the 41st Wing under its command.
