Frosinone, Air Force flight school, mayor Ottaviani: Pd and 5S block the havoc

Regarding the hypothesis of construction of the new Joint Helicopter School based in Viterbo, the Mayor of Frosinone, Nicholas Ottaviani, addressed, last August, a request to the Minister of Defense, Hon. Lorenzo Guerini, to the Undersecretaries on. Giulio Calvisi and Hon. Angelo Tofalo, as well as the Chief of Defense Staff, Gen. SA Enzo Vecciarelli, to the Chief of Staff of the AOS, General SA Alberto Rosso, to try to block the dismantling of the flight school at the 72 ° Stormo of the Italian Air Force.

"We are worried about the existence of a project " - reads the letter signed by Mayor Ottaviani - contained in a letter of intent signed between the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Army, which provides for the construction of the new Joint Helicopter School based in Viterbo , thus effectively dismantling and undersizing the extraordinary training and education activity conducted by the 72nd Wing of Frosinone. Over 5.000 flight professionals trained in Frosinone in 50 years of history: helicopters and personnel, thanks to the 72 ° Stormo, have been deployed to support Italian and NATO contingents around the world, demonstrating the high level of professionalism and skills that the base makes available to our Armed Forces, the State Bodies and other foreign countries. Not only that: the Wing is able to offer the contribution to the continuous and frequent Civil Protection and SAR (Search and Rescue - Rescue and Recovery) operations. The Ciociara office also provides training for future Instructors (PIT course - Pilot Instructor Training), specialists and on-board Operators. This heritage does not deserve to be dispersed or strongly compromised by the merger with Viterbo.

The city of Frosinone therefore asks the Authorities to reconsider the initiative in question, which will only herald considerable damage to the territory, also taking into account the gross domestic product and the economic induced generated, up to now, by the enormous movement of vehicles and personnel, in transit or even stationed.

The Frosinone helicopter school constitutes, for all, operators or ordinary citizens, an institution of inalienable importance, both by tradition and for the luster which, since its construction on the grounds of a pre-existing 'makeshift field', has conferred on our province. It represents an exceptionally significant economic-financial as well as cultural asset, without which we would risk losing a fundamental piece of our own identity.

Hereby, therefore, on behalf of the entire Municipal Administration and the entire City of Frosinone, we ask to review the merger project with Viterbo, in order to give voice and implementation to an instance deeply felt by the entire territory ".

"At this moment, therefore, it appears fundamental - said Mayor Ottaviani - that the representatives of the Democratic Party and the Movimento5Stelle, parties of reference both of the holder of the Ministry and of the Undersecretaries of Defense, do their part, seriously, avoiding pleasantries and facade mannerisms, to avoid the hypothesis of a dismantling of the school helicopters in Frosinone, also in order not to leave their fingerprints on the foreseeable asphyxiation of the 'Moscardini', should the transfer project to Viterbo go to port, causing yet another economic and social damage to our territory ”.

The project is not political

It should be noted that the decision is not political but has matured following the precise indications of the Defense: ... "The training system will have to be rethought by providing for a strong organizational integration of all those activities that are common to the Armed Forces ...",Thus states a paragraph of the strategic lines of the Ministry of Defense, contained in the "White Paper for international security and defense". On April 4, 2019, the Army and Air Force signed a letter of intent for an important project in the field of training for helicopter pilots, for the establishment of a joint-force helicopter training school.

The project, aimed at meeting the training needs of both Armed Forces, represents a goal shared by the Italian Air Force and the Italian Army to guarantee a virtuous cost reduction, as well as greater synergy in the sharing of experiences and projects that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the "rotary wing" structures increasingly fundamental in the operational and training activities at the service of the country.

The project, as hoped during the signing of the letter of intent, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, general Alberto Rosso and the "starting point for a larger company at Interforce, Inter-ministerial, International level, as well as an opportunity for the Country System".

The Chief of the Army, general Salvatore Farina, following the signing of the letter of intent, he highlighted how "lwith inter-force cooperation represents an added value that makes the Armed Forces a safe point of reference for the country ..."

The strategic partnership between the Italian Air Force and the Italian Army in the field of training for the piloting of rotary-wing aircraft is one of the programmatic lines of Defense for an ever greater integration and collaboration between Armed Forces in support of the community.

Frosinone, Air Force flight school, mayor Ottaviani: Pd and 5S block the havoc

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