As ordered by the Minister of Defense Hon. Lorenzo Guerini to speed up the distribution of medical devices, the Army immediately made personnel, helicopters, land vehicles and infrastructures available to Commissioner Arcuri and the Civil Protection.
In particular, the Army has identified some useful infrastructures for the storage and subsequent distribution in the southern regions of materials needed to fight COVID 19, the deposits identified in the cities of Bari, Lamezia Terme, Palermo and Cagliari, are located along the main roads roads and in the vicinity of ports and airports with a great strategic value for the reception and dispatch of medical devices.
In addition, the Armed Force has already prepared an air and land transport plan to be integrated with the needs of the Civil Protection and to accelerate the distribution of acquired and stored materials in all areas of the country.
Over 240 trucks were prepared for the transport plan, including 124 ACTL (Logistic Tactical Truck) and 115 APS (Roll-Off Platform Truck), the latter dedicated to the transport of containers; as regards air transport, the Army Air Force fielded 38 helicopters of various transport capacities (UH 205 A, RH 206 C, UH 90 A, CH 47 F, HH 412 A, MRH 109 A) and 5 fixed wing aircraft (UC 228 and VC 180) that will fly over Italian skies spread over 12 different bases.
The transport of materials for the fight against COVID 19 is already underway, in fact in the evening medical and personal protection devices will be collected at the airports of Catania and Venice for subsequent distribution, while in the next few days the transport will be carried out by the airports of Milan, Turin, Verona, Bari, Lamezia Terme Catania and Cagliari.
The Army, immediately at the forefront in combating the expansion of the virus, has made the utmost commitment to tackling the epidemic, providing health personnel in support of civil hospitals, specialized structures for the reception of the sick, materials, men and means for territorial control and emergency management.