Colonel Iaia succeeds Colonel Zuzzaro.
Wednesday 26 October, at the Pratica di Mare military airport (RM), the Change of Command ceremony for Crew Training Centre Multi-Crew (CAE MC) between the outgoing Commander, Colonel Pietro Carlo Zuzzaro, and the incoming Commander, Colonel Alessandro Iaia. The ceremony was presided over by the Commander of the Air Force Schools/3rd Air Region, Air Chief Marshal Silvano Frigerio, in the presence of local military, civil, and religious authorities.
In his farewell speech, the Colonel Zuzzaro wanted to thank the soldiers he commanded during his tenure, stating that “The change of a Commanding Officer for a Flight Unit marks a moment of renewal, a handover of the baton [...] in the spirit of continuity. First and foremost, the Commander must be the primary guardian of the objective, the one who reminds everyone where they need to go, ensuring the route is always maintained towards achieving the assigned goals. These characteristics speak to continuity in command action. The term “renewal”, on the other hand, indicates *how* this command action should be carried out. A commander, while keeping the objective fixed, must utilise their personal characteristics to renew and innovate their organisation.”
It Colonel Iaia, in thanking the Higher Authorities for the trust placed in him for the conferment of the new and prestigious appointment, expressed his intention to draw inspiration from the past to underline the’The importance of school, of which he was already part as instructor and Head of Operations 8 years ago and who will turn 10 years old on 12th December 2023, precisely in the year of the Italian Air Force Centenary: “Our mission, as our name reminds us (center atraining ecrew), it is not expressed exclusively in the training of military pilots of excellent professional qualities, but above all in the’to train men and women to operate in perfect synergy between the professional figures that make up the crews of latest-generation multi-engine aircraft, in order to retrace, in their daily service, the exploits of the pioneering transatlantic flyers, carrying our tricolour everywhere, in all conditions” as happened in 1931 with the Italy-Brazil air expedition completed by 12 multi-engine seaplanes. “To the men and women of CAE MC, I place my absolute and unconditional trust for this period we will spend together; I am sure that we will be able to work jointly as a winning team, as only through our coordinated, synergistic, loyal and shared action among all the components of our Centre, can we provide our attendees with the first sound example of how to operate within a flight crew.”
At the end of the ceremony the General Frigerio has wanted to highlight how“The future holds increasingly complex and constantly evolving scenarios for us, unforeseeable challenges that we must respond to; this requires continuous improvement in every sector in order to continue the identity and capability growth of the Air Force, as an indispensable component of the national Military Tool“, and wished the new Centre Commander good luck with his work.
The C.A.E. Multi Crew, dependent on Air Force Schools Command / 3rd Air Force Region Based in Bari, it provides advanced training for Air Force pilot trainees destined for support roles, where they will undertake sensitive missions including emergency medical transport, medical evacuation, personnel transport, humanitarian transport, aerial refuelling, and maritime patrol. Furthermore, the School trains pilots from other Armed Forces or State Armed Corps according to the most modern international dictates of the “Multi Crew” concept for fixed-wing aircraft.
