Having arrived in Italy for a round of institutional visits, a delegation from Samaritan’s Purse (SP), a US evangelical humanitarian organisation, was received today, Monday 11 September, by Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Luca Goretti.
During the cordial meeting that took place in Hall of the Constellations of the Palazzo Aeronautica in Rome, Ken Isaacs, Vice President of Programmes and Government Relations, accompanied by Barnaba Ruggieri, Italian SP representative and European Government Relations & Public Affairs Advisor, first thanked the’Italian Air Force for the insurance support provided on the occasion of donation of a field hospital to Italy, installed in the city of Cremona in March 2020, during the first phase of the pandemic crisis from Covid-19.
“Italy is very grateful to Samaritan’s Purse for the invaluable support provided to the national health service – commented Gen. Goretti – also thanks to your help it was possible to restore hope to a population particularly hit by the virus and ease the pressure on Lombard hospital facilities. The friendship that was established on that occasion between the Italian Air Force and Samaritan’s Purse – Gen. Goretti continued – opens the door to further discussions and initiatives of mutual understanding in the name of international collaboration in a hypothetical crisis situation”.
In those terrible days, in fact, having received the offer from the SP, the Italian government, through the Department of Civil Protection, the Interforce Summit Operational Command and the Armed Forces, ordered the support of the 3rd Wing to ensure the reception of US material, equipment and medical personnel at the’Air Terminal Operations Centre of Villafranca.
This operation sparked widespread attention, not only in relation to the dramatic nature of that period characterised by the spread of the virus in the Lombardy area and by the lockdown national, but above all because the specialist contribution of the personnel of the 3rd Wing was decisive for the completion of the structure in record time, with 60 beds and 8 intensive care units, and the subsequent activation of the first intensive care units only 36 hours after the arrival of the EMT in Italy.
Such an important result was greatly appreciated by the SP representatives, so much so that before the redeployment taking place in May 2020, a delegation from the SP returned to visit the 3rd Wing in April to meet the personnel with whom it had collaborated, in a very emotional atmosphere of shared experience, donating to the Wing the Banner placed at the entrance of the field hospital, bearing the signatures of all the volunteers.
The bond with the 3rd Wing has remained so strong that, before arriving in Rome, the SP delegation paid a visit to the Villafranca base, where they were welcomed by the Wing Commander, Col. Paolo Tamburro, having the opportunity to reunite with some members of the team involved in Cremona and gain a deeper understanding of their skills expeditionary expressed by the AM.
