On Tuesday, 6th December, the annual Workshop for Information Officers at AM Bodies and Departments was held in Rome.
Approximately 60 officers from as many Air Force bodies present throughout the national territory took part in the meeting. The work began with a welcome address from the Head of the Public Information Office of the SMA, Colonel Achille Cazzaniga, who spoke about the most recent PI activities. In particular, what was identified and learned at the conclusion of the air operations in Libya was analysed; these operations were considered the most important operational, logistic, and image-related commitment undertaken by the Armed Force since the end of the Second World War.
Other topics of discussion included the relationship between Public Information (PI) and predispositions concerning confidentiality and the protection of military secrets, organisational systems that integrate communication with operational activity (Info Ops), and the responsibilities of the PI Officer towards personnel designated to operate outside national borders. At the conclusion of the event, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Giuseppe Bernardis, underlined the importance of Public Information in the current social context, indicating “teamwork” as the determining factor for the correct success of assigned tasks. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force finally presented the “Communicator of the Year 2011” award to Lieutenant Colonel Gianluca Di Battista, press officer of the 37th Wing of Trapani Birgi, for his Public Information activities carried out as part of Operation ‘Unified Protector’.
