At the center of the visit, the meeting with the students of the 1st class of the regular courses of the Air Force Academy and an inspection of the modernization and energy efficiency works in progress on the infrastructures of the Pontine air base
Thursday 22 September, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General of the Air Force Luca Goretti, visited the 70th Wing of Latina.
To welcome him to the Pontine Department, the Commander of the 4th Telecommunications and Systems Brigade for Air Defense and Flight Assistance and of the Latina Aeronautical Presidium, Brigadier General Sandro Sanasi, the Commander of the 70th Stormo, Colonel Giuseppe Bellomo, and the Commander of the 2nd Engineering Department A.M., Colonel Aniello Corcione.
After a short greeting address, General Goretti wanted to meet, at Piazzale Bandiera dello Stormo, the students of the 1st class of the regular courses of the Aeronautical Academy, Dragon Course VI, currently engaged in the competitive selection and flight training phases for the achievement of the Airplane Pilot License (BPA). “If this is your dream“, said the Chief of Staff to the young students, “if your highest aspiration is to fly and be part of the glorious Military Air Force to be at the service of your country, you must with pride and passion dedicate your every thought, your every action and effort to be able to overcome this first very important stage of your training path. You are the Centennial course, you will have the honor and the burden of representing our Armed Forces and of being remembered as the course that will receive its baptism on 28 March 2023. Be proud of it!!“.
The visit then continued at the building called "new student accommodation", recently come into use, and at construction sites and airport infrastructures under construction, where General Goretti wanted to verify the status of the work in progress for the construction of the new building of the 207th Flight Group and the infrastructural modernization of the single canteen, planned and implemented with a view to optimizing theenergy efficiency of airport structures.
“A flight school that aims to offer quality standards of excellence must be able, al pari, offer high quality standards in terms of logistical infrastructure made available to visitors and staff“, declared General Goretti in addressing his appreciation and satisfaction to the staff for the results achieved so far in terms of infrastructural modernization. “The interventions taking place today at the Stormo are only the first step of a broader info and infrastructural modernization plan that will allow, in the next future, to be able to benefit from much more functional structures, made in accordance with the most modern quality standards, ergonomics and eco-sustainability, not only at the 70th Stormo, but also at all the Armed Forces entities included in the program Blue Airports“.
The Armed Forces is, indeed, committed to making its activities and infrastructures less energy-intensive on the one hand, fielding all the best resources in terms of planning and technical-logistical implementation of the Armed Forces, to implement the latest generation technologies and materials that are increasingly efficient in terms of energy e, at the same time, work on a concept of “energy autonomy” of its foundations, in particular with the design of photovoltaic parks capable of ensuring independence from external sources. A tal fine, the Air Force is operating in close synergy with the Task Force for real estate valuation, energy and the environment of the Ministry of Defense - within the framework of the accessible resources of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) and the recent inter-ministerial decree called "Bills 2022" - for the launch of an energy production plan from renewable sources aimed at self-consumption, as well as contribute to the national objectives of decarbonisation and reduction of dependence on imports.
“Blue Airports”, in particular, is one of the pillars – together with Caserme Verdi (NO) and Blue Bases (MM) - of the Large Defense Infrastructure Projects, an initiative that aims to implement - between now and the next few years - a vast plan for the modernization and efficiency of the strategic infrastructures of the Armed Forces. The Air Force is working, in particular, on two main lines of action: let us be guided by the technological standards and related infrastructural needs that the new/future weapon systems require, at the same time adapting to all those "environmental" standards that derive from both a renewed regulatory framework on the subject and a new concept of energy resilience/independence from external sources.
The 70th Wing, placed under the command of the Air Force Schools Command and 3rd Air Region of Bari, is based at the "Enrico Comani" Military Airport in Latina and for over sixty years has been the first mandatory stage in the professional training of the "military pilot", since it performs the institutional tasks of selecting and training future military pilots of the Air Force, of the other Armed Forces and Armed Corps of the State and cadets of other Nations, through the issue of the first driving license, Airplane Pilot Licence (BPA).
Sources:
Photo Air Force
Texts Section PI and Institutional Communication 70° Stormo
