Conferring Honours on the Nuclear War Unit

On 4 November, after laying down a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, President Napolitano, assisted by the Defense Minister, Pinotti, delivered the Croce di Cavaliere dell’Ordine Militare d’Italia to the War Unit of the Sixth Formation of the Military Air Force. This is based at Ghedi-Torre (Brescia), where the Nato drill for nuclear war, Steadfast Noon, has just taken place [1].

The US Natural Resources Defense Council’s report, U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe, states:
“Forty US B 61 bombs are stored at the base in Ghedi. These are earmarked for the Italian Tornado fighters of the 102th and 154th squads of the Sixth Formation.”

Another 50 nuclear bombs have been stored at Aviano (Pordenone), the base of the US 31st Formation of F-16 fighter bombers. In the two bases, the nuclear bombs have been stored with the fighter bombers in special hangars and are ready for nuclear attack. The Air Force informs us that the Tornado bomber fighters of the Sixth Formation have been equipped with a “cutting edge system of arms” that will enable them to wipe out enemy air defence and strike targets on the ground. It was no coincidence that the two Tornados that crashed last August in the outskirts of Ascoli Piceno while they were training for an imminent Nato Nuclear War drill, were flying at a very low height, a technique used for this type of attack led in the depths of enemy territory [2].

In recognition of such military activities that violate the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, ratified by Italy, the War Unit of the Sixth Formation is honoured by President Napolitano who, in the ceremony of conferring the decoration, exalts “Italy’s perfect coherence and synergy with its Constitutional Charter”.