Air riflemen of the 16th Air Wing and operators “Capacities Avio-Logistic Materialization and Aircrew” of the 3rd Wing acquired the US military parachute certification at the military airport of Aviano on Wednesday, February 28th. On Wednesday 28th, 15 Air riflemen of the 16th Air Wing “Force Protection” from Martina Franca (TA) and 3 operators of CALMA (Capacities Avio-Logistic Materialization and Aircrew) of the 3rd Wing from Villafranca di Verona carried out a parachute launch activity on the area called “Juliet Drop Zone” in the locality of Maniago (PN). The exercise is part of a bilateral exchange between the Italian Air Force and the United States Army. In particular, the personnel launched from C-130J aircraft of the United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE), taking off from Aviano (PN), together with colleagues from the 173rd Airbone Brigade stationed in Vicenza.
Support and operational coordination was provided by the Aviano Air Base Command, the SETAF Command and the 31st Fighter Wing.
The launch activity with the “tethered parachute” model T-11 USA, preceded by an intense pre-launch activity aimed at familiarizing with the different procedures for boarding the aircraft, exiting it and landing, and how to behave in case of emergency, allowed the acquisition of the US military paratrooper certificate. The parachute launches carried out by the Air Rifle Battalion are part of the Joint and Combined training activities aimed at deepening the knowledge of specific procedures of the Armed Forces of other NATO countries and increasing the standard of preparation necessary for those called upon to operate in the delicate operational contexts outside national borders.
