"This event, if ever there was need for it, demonstrates the admirable organizational and coordination skills of our Armed Forces in interventions supporting Civil Protection activities".
Thus the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte at the end of the demonstration event "Dual systemic use: innovative use of the Armed Forces in the service of the country" - Ianus project - which took place this morning at the military airport of Sea Practice (Rome).
Thanks also to President Conte Armed forces: "We are proud of the men and women of the Defense, because we owe their peace, security, stability and the protection of fundamental rights to their precious work, to their professional dedication and spirit of sacrifice".
Before him, the Minister of Defense, Elisabetta Trenta, had explained the objectives of the Ianus project: "The application of Dual Systemic Use will favor the remodeling of the concept of Defense, thus contributing to increasing the resilience of the Country-System and making the Defense itself even more modern and sustainable. In this sense, my work as Minister of Defense will be aimed at making Italy a safer country in every respect ”.
Today the emergency activity was simulated following a high intensity earthquake. Assuming the occurrence of an earthquake followed by a tsunami, a demonstration event was set up which highlighted the activity that comes down in the event of an emergency of national importance: the Operational Committee of the Civil protection takes over the management and control and asks for the help of the Defense asking for special capabilities of the Armed Forces at Joint Operational Summit Command.
To assist, among others, the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities, Alberto Bonisoli, the Head of the Civil Protection Department, Angelo Borrelli, the Undersecretaries of Defense, Raffaele Volpi and Angelo Tofalo, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Salvatore Giuliano, the Undersecretary for the Environment, Vania Gava, the Chief of Defense Staff, General Enzo Vecciarelli, the Armed Forces Summits and numerous Roman school students who were able to see closely how the Armed Forces move in the event of national emergencies.
In particular, an inter-agency and inter-agency operation room for the event management was set up on the Etna ship. Simulated also air rescue and protection of cultural heritage, through the transport of highly infectious patients and decontamination activities from chemical-bacteriological and radioactive substances. These capacities derive from the continuous training of military personnel to maintain and constantly improve the country's defense capabilities, safeguarding the national air space and to fulfill the tasks assigned to missions abroad in cooperation with other actors of the international community.
A stage of the long journey begun by the Defense a few months ago, together with other Dicasteries, Departments and State Agencies, to give substance to that new approach of the Armed Forces as indicated in the Guidelines of the Dicastery and in the related "Conceptual Integration Document" entitled "Dual use and Resilience".
“Today's activity is the result of the training that our military conducts daily to carry out their main institutional tasks, both at home and abroad, and which allows them to intervene effectively even in competition activities with the other branches of the State in case of emergencies, calamities and support to the population " the Minister said, explaining that the underlying purpose of the project "Dual systemic use" as a whole it is to initiate an inter-ministerial process to solicit a common reflection on the theme of collective defense, to map the dual-use capabilities of Defense and, in this sense, to receive indications about the additional capabilities that the Defense could develop and make available .
"Over the last decade, the Defense has been asked more and more often to make available to other dicasteries their skills and abilities for performing tasks that are not strictly military, precisely in the broader context of the concept of national resilience" recalled the holder of the Dicastery.
"Today - he added - we want to ensure that the Defense is considered as a real integrated System, connected at multiple levels, that works in full synergy with the other branches of the State, to allow the Country to increase its ability to respond to all those emergencies of various kinds that can disturb the daily life of citizens ".
In closing, the videoconference connection with the Operations Rooms of the Army, Navy, Military Aeronautics and Carabinieri.
source: Ministry of Defense