Host and Partner

An Interview with the Col. Gianluca Chiriatti, Sigonella Airport Commander and 41st Wing of the Italian Air Force

By Janine Scianna/ NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

U.S. Navy photo by Janine Scianna

Photo courtesy Sigonella Air Base Public Affairs

Living overseas, and especially on an island, it can be easy to get tunnel vision. You get into your daily routine, go to work, and then come home. Rinse and repeat the next day. But if you take a moment to step back, a picture of the intricate network of functions, commands, and partnerships at Sigonella comes into focus. The “Hub of the Med” requires an impressive number of organizations and roles to effectively carry out the installation’s multiple missions.

NAS Sigonella has a dizzying array of tenant commands from all service branches except the Coast Guard—36 to be exact—but it definitely doesn’t end there. NAS Sigonella itself is actually a tenant of the larger Sigonella Italian Air Base, from which the U.S. military leases land according to our governments’ agreement. Col. Gianluca Chiriatti wears two hats as both the commander of the Sigonella airport and commander of the 41st Wing of the Italian Air Force. In addition, he coordinates the activities of all tenant commands on the base as well as the building up the NATO AGS presence with detachments from Spain, Poland, Luxemburg, and EU Naval Forces Mediterranean Operation Sophia. Chiriatti recently sat down with NAS Sigonella Public Affairs staff to explain the opportunities and challenges of his position.

Chiriatti, much like the NAS Sigonella commanding officer, has had a long and accomplished aviation career flying jets. And like the American side of the base, there are separate chains of command that handle operations—the 41st Stormo conducts missions in partnership with the Italian Navy—whereas the installation itself is under the purview of the Italian Air Force. In addition to the 41st Wing, which primarily conducts maritime patrols with P-72A aircraft, Sigonella is also home to other tenant commands of the Air Force. These include the 61st Wing, which flies the remotely-piloted Predator aircraft as well as a maintenance division for large transport aircraft. Italian Navy detachments and an operational Carabinieri unit round out the Italian units present on Sigonella.

In addition to managing the installation, as commander of the Sigonella airport, he also oversees air traffic control not only for the military terminal, but also for all of eastern Sicily’s skies to include Catania flights. When any aircraft, military or civilian, enters this airspace, it is Chiriatti’s air traffic controllers who direct landings and takeoffs at Catania, Comiso, and Sigonella airports. At Catania’s Fontanarossa airport alone, 10 million passengers were processed last year, representing Italy’s 5th busiest airport.

As one can imagine, Chiriatti’s main challenge is balancing and facilitating all of the requirements of tenant commands under his purview.

“The primary challenge I have is making sure that whatever needs to be done, I can refer to the proper person or unit,” said Chiriatti. “Sometimes to do one thing, you have to talk to several people, and you have to mediate between them to make it happen.”

Chiriatti also noted the challenges that come along with a growing number of personnel and requirements on base that support each country and Allied Forces efforts. The geographic location of Sigonella makes it a natural hub for military operations in the region. History also demonstrates this.

“Sigonella is like [an aircraft] carrier in the middle of the Mediterranean, a crossroad of cultures, and it’s been that way for centuries,” said Chiriatti. “You can see it everywhere you look, like the Baroque architecture.”

Despite the challenges that come with his position, Chiriatti is looking forward to further developing relations and trust across the base to creatively solve problems. One such example that is already happening is the streamlining of emergency response procedures across Italian and U.S. agencies.

Chiriatti also would like to find more opportunities to create cultural exchange and understanding between the two countries. He noted that such cultural exchange ultimately supports all service members. He wants to encourage everyone stationed here to get out and explore Sicily while they can and make the most of your Italian experience.

“Know the place you are living in. Enjoy it. And see all the support you are giving to your family member in uniform,” said Chiriatti.