A first-hand overview of Italy’s commitment within the Coalition against Daesh and the support provided to NATO Mission Iraq-NMI was the purpose of the visit to Ain Al Asad military air base by the Italian Ambassador to Iraq, Maurizio Greganti, and the Commander of the NATO Mission in Iraq, Gen. C.A. Giovanni Maria Iannucci. Col. Luigi Sambin, the Italian Embassy’s defense attaché, accompanied the delegation.
Ambassador Greganti was then able to meet Lieutenant-Colonel Mirco Drudi and a detachment of the Erbil-based Italian Air Task Group “Griffon”, a highly specialized helicopter unit of the Italian Army Aviation.
At Ain Al Asad the Ambassador was shown the base’s perimeter, the defense and security services provided in the fight against the terrorist threat, as well as the various tactical and operational capabilities managed by the Italian personnel. NH90 helicopters being are some of the most cutting-edge machines in the world, the helicopter component stationed at Al Asad offers transport capability for both Operation Inherent Resolve and NMI components.
“I am impressed by the complexity of the operations our personnel have to carry out from this base – even more by the fact that, thanks to their efficiency and level of integration, these mechanisms appear to be smooth and simple. Complex dynamics in a near-perfect machine: the essentials for effective and timely action in the face of a never-predictable threat like terrorism,” the Ambassador said.
