With the sword-handing ceremony, the entry into the Armed Forces is officially marked for the 37 new cadet-pupils of the Military Aeronautics High School
Thursday 7 December, in the charming Great Hall of the’Air Force Military Sciences Institute (ISMA) of Florence, 37 young Officer Cadets of the 1st Course of the “Giulio Douhet” Air Force Military School” they received it small sword, symbol of belonging to the School and the Italian Air Force.
The ceremony, presided over by the Commander of the Air Force Military Science Institute, Air Vice-Marshal Giovanni Francesco Adamo, was opened by the intervention of Colonel Massimiliano Macioce, Commander of the Douhet who, after greeting his parents and the authorities present, praised the commitment and determination with which these young boys and girls tackled the competitive examinations and their first few months of life within the School.
Addressing the students of the 1st Course directly, Col. Macioce urged them to commit themselves with dedication to their studies, in order to face a rapidly and continuously changing world with competence and creativity.
Having finished his speech, Col. Macioce then invited the two guest speakers of the evening, Second Lieutenants Lorenzo Comelli and Alvise Loris, to come up to the stage for their talk. The two young Officers, former pupils of the Douhet School, recently distinguished themselves in the international university competition “CanSat”at the Virginia Tech, in the United States.
This competition, organised by the American Astronautical Society, has the objective of designing and building a small, can-sized atmospheric probe intended to carry out a predetermined mission. Among the over 100 teams that participate annually in the competition, Sub-Lieutenant Comelli took part in the 2022 edition, finishing in the top 20, whilst Sub-Lieutenant Loris participated in the 2023 edition, reaching the final phase and placing in the top 10.
For the two former students, recounting the challenges faced during the competition was an opportunity to rewind the tape of their experience within the Douhet. It was an experience made of unbreakable human bonds, sacrifices made to achieve one's dreams, and challenges that one might even lose, provided one knows how to get back up again. In this regard, Comelli and Loris invited their young colleagues to immerse themselves with passion in this new adventure and to treasure it, certain that the greater the effort put into the three years at the desks of the Douhet, the greater the satisfaction in the future.
Then he intervened Gen. Adamo, who, addressing the pupils, invited them to make their own “the sense of belonging and solidarity that arise from study, discipline, sporting activity and living together aimed at achieving shared objectives”. This path of growth, General Adamo continued, will enable the students to “surpass any goal in future life, helping to further raise the prestige of our beloved Italy.
The ceremony continued with the awarding of scholarships, donated by associations, bodies and families long linked to the school, to the pupils who had most distinguished themselves for curricular, disciplinary and sports achievements attained in the previous school year.
Following is the most significant moment of the event, the presentation of the sword“ to the Students of the 1st Course, incorporated on the 5th of September last: the students in their second year of education have in fact personally handed over the coveted small sword to each student of the 1st Course. A ideal handover, traditions and values passed down among students as well as being a symbol of belonging to the School and the Italian Air Force.
The Military Aviation School “Giulio Douhet” It was inaugurated in Florence in 2006 and reports to the Military Aeronautics Sciences Institute (ISMA). The Douhet is a upper secondary education institution that runs courses for the final three-year period in classical and scientific studies, entry to which is by public competition. The purpose of the Institute is to encourage a balanced growth of the pupils from a human, cultural, moral, physical and character perspective so that they have the necessary skills to become good citizens and face the challenges of tomorrow, regardless of the future life choices of each individual pupil.
