UNIFIL conducts training with anti-missile flares
Interview
In the the framework of routine training, pilots operating as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) conducted an exercise in the South using anti-missile flares on Wednesday. The Daily Star sat down for an interview with the commanding officer of UNIFIL”s Task Force Italair, Lieutenant Colonel Arrigo Arrighi, only moments before the training kicked off.
Q: How many helicopters do you have?
A: We have six helicopters. We fly with two kinds of helicopters, the first one is AB 205 and the second is AB 412. AB 205 is the oldest helicopter serving in UNIFIL. The first helicopter was deployed in 1979 by my country, Italy.
Q: What are the tasks assigned to Italair?
A: The tasks assigned to Italair, in accordance with UNIFIL”s mandate, is to support, first of all, medical evacuation. The second is to transport personnel from one side to another. And the third task is to support as much as possible all the Lebanese people. For instance, recently we flew missions to fight forest fires.
Q: It is the holiday season, and usually Italair distributes gifts to children and usually, Santa Claus comes in a UNIFIL helicopter. Are you going to do the same this year?
A: That can happen but honestly, right now, I have no clue about this activity. I know that in the past those activities have been done, but right now, we are ready to do it. However, this is something organized not only by Italair but by all of UNIFIL.
Q: When you conduct your flights from here, do you usually coordinate with the Israeli Air Force and the Lebanese Army?
A: We always coordinate with both because we need to fly in a safe way. We are flying over Lebanon and Lebanon is under the Lebanese authorities. Regarding the airspace over Naqoura, it is UNIFIL that has the control of the airspace because the Lebanese authorities delegated UNIFIL to do so. That is why we normally coordinate with our local system and if we need to fly toward Beirut or Israel then of course we need to contact them.
Q: The routine flights over the Blue Line, are they conducted on daily basis?
A: Yes. sometimes more than once per day.
Q: There is a proverb that says Rome from above is not the same as Rome from below. How do you see Lebanon “from above?”
A: It is a wonderful country. It is my first time in Lebanon. I was really surprised how beautiful Lebanon is. All the Lebanese are similar to the Italians. For me, it is a pleasure to serve UNIFIL in this environment.
Q: Did your unit fly the three EU foreign ministers when they visited UNIFIL recently?
A: Yes, it was us.
Q: Why are you doing this training today on flares?
A: The purpose of the training is to increase flight safety to avoid any specific threat that can be done from everywhere.
Q: Have you noticed any threat and is that why you are doing this training?
A: Absolutely not. This is normal training, a normal test and training activity. It is something that is done on a routine basis.
Picture: An Italian U.N. helicopter launches flares, during a routine training exercise near the coastal border town of Naqoura, Lebanon Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007. Known as UNIFIL, the 13,000-member U.N. force is drawn from 30 countries. It was deployed on Lebanon”s southern border with Israel along with 15,000 Lebanese troops after last year”s war between Israel and Hezbollah. The mission enforces a U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 34-day war, which killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and 159 people on the Israeli side. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)