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Published: October 9th 2011
Our next NATO Infrastructure Committees visit was to Italy. I had been looking forward to this trip ever since arriving at NATO, as Italy is perhaps my favorite country in Europe from the perspective of all its history and art, and of course the food.
For the first time Linda was unable to accompany me as my parents couldn't come to babysit Tamara (2 years 4 months) and Rosanna (8 months), as my Dad's health was deteriorating, and besides, we would be taking home leave back to visit them a month later.
8 June 1988 Wednesday. The committee members and their spouses gathered as usual at Melsbroek Air Base, shared with Zaventum Airport in Brussels. We boarded an Italian military jet for the two hour journey to Istrana Air Base, just north of Venice. Upon arrival at Istrana, we were briefed and then toured the airfield facilities there.
We then boraded buses for the hour long drive south to Venice. At every intersection there were police stationed to stop traffic so that our buses could proceed without stopping.
Upon arrival at Venice, our luggage was sent separately to our hotel. We boarded an Italian Navy version of
a vaporetto to the Italian Naval headquarters at the Arsenal for lunch and briefings. This was the homeport of the Venetian Empire's fleet which dominated Mediterranean Sea for centuries.
We returned by boat to our hotel where we were reunited with our luggage. That afternoon and evening we were free to explore Venice. Evening is absolutely the best time for this activity as most of the day tourists are gone, leaving the town in peace. Also the lighting in the evening is very romantic, both with the sun setting, and then the soft glow of the street lamps. Then, of course, there is no traffic...every narrow alley is a pedestrian paradise with interesting shops and restaurants, and residential areas with small squares where life can be observed.
9 -10 June 1988 Thursday and Friday. Both days were full of trips to military installations in northern Italy. We visited both airbases at Rivolto and Ghedi; army bases at Codriopo and Spilembargo; and the West Star war headquarters. Our trip to Ghedi took us near Lake Garda and the town of Medola where the Festa dell'Amicizia was taking place. We stopped to walk around and see the colorful parade with
marchers in Renaissance costumes. Each evening we returned to Venice.
11 -12 June 1988 Saturday and Sunday. As this was the weekend, we were treated with culture. In the morning we were off for a sightseeing tour of the Venetian Lagoon. We stopped at Burano, Murano, and Torcello islands just to the north of Venice. At Murano we walked across the island to the Murano Glass Factory where we saw demonstrations of the art of glass blowing. We, of course, had a chance to purchase some of these art pieces, which was my first gift on the trip for Linda.
We returned to Venice by late afternoon, and boarded our buses for the three hour dive to Florence. Again, at each intersection police blocked traffic, and as we crossed from one province to another our police escorts changed...amazing scheduling.
Upon arrival in FLorence we checked into the new Brunelleschi Hotel, just down the block from the Duomo, the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiori. The hotel was formerly a palace and in its basement were old Roman foundations. It was a tasteful mix of modern and ancient.
On Sunday we had a guided tour of Florence, starting
with the Duomo and its Baptistry, with the Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise" bas relief doors. Next we visited the Uffizi Gallery, with so much Renaissance art, and the Accademia with its statue of David. We didn't have to wait in lines, which is the only way to see Florence! Our guides were excellent...nothing like having a semester of art history condensed into one day. This was followed by lunch at the Air Force War College hosted by the commander.
Next we boarded our buses for a stop at the Boboli gardens across the river where we could see the Florentine skyline and Brunelleschi's Dome on the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiori. We continued on the Fiesole, a hilltop village to the northeast of Florence, where we walked around this quaint town. That evening we were free to explore Florence. Some of my colleagues and I walked across the Ponte Vecchio. with its gold shops. I could afford a gift there for Linda. We ate dinner in a trattoria.
13 June 1988 Monday. We drove to Pisa Air Base where we caught a military aircraft to Olbia Air Base on Sardinia. After briefings we boarded buses for the hour
long drive north to Pulau. There we boarded an Italian naval vessal for the trip to the naval bases at Santo Stefano and La Maddelena for more briefings and a tour of the naval facilities that the NATO Infrastructure Program had funded. We then boarded another military aircraft for the flight to Ciampino Air Base near Rome. From there we were taken by buses to our hotel in Rome. We had the evening free which was great to be able to explore our neighborhood around the Piazza Navona, with its many restaurants and trattoria.
14 June 1988 Tuesday. Our first stop was at the Ministry of Defense where we received a briefing from top officials. After lunch we had a tour of Rome, to incude the Roman Forum and Colusium, the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, and St Peter's Basilica and Vatican Museum. It really was too much to cover in one day, but I wasn't complaining!
That evening we were hosted by the Deputy Chief of the Defense General Staff for cocktails in the gallery of the Barbarini Palace. The walls were covered with huge paintings. It was a beautiful setting.
15 June 1988 Wednesday. The
committee boarded a bus for visits to Italian defense industries. This took us out of town to L'Aquila where Italtel was located. They hosted us for lunch after briefings and a factory tour. We also stopped at Selenia. One the way we passed aquaducts built by the Romans two thousand years earlier. We returned to Rome for the evening.
16 June 1988 Thursday. We flew from Ciampino, but our take off was delayed having to wait for the Pope's plane to go first. We flew to Gioia Del Colle Air Base near Naples, where we had briefings, toured the base and were hosted for lunch by the base commander. After lunch we flew to Sigonella Air Base, a U.S. Navy maritime patrol base, where we again had briefings and a tour of the airfield facilities. We then took buses to Siracusa where we checked into our hotel.
17 June 1988 Friday. Our first stop was to visit the POL pier and depot at San Cusumano. We visited Augusta Bay Naval Base, and after briefings toured the degausiing station and the ammunition depot with its the long tunnels leading from the piers. A U.S. Navy destroyer was tied up
Peggy and Steve, Hank and Gerlinda, and Frank on the Grand Canal
Steve was the SACLANT representative who I had worked for at OICC/Thailand in 1973. Linda and I had gone on vacation to Normany with Hank and Linda who are from Canada. Frank was the German representative on my committee.at one of the piers. Then we returned to Siracusa to learn about this ancient Greek colony. The city walls were impressive. They were constructed as a labyrinth with dead ends so that when the enemy entered they would be trapped. That evening we attended a performance by the Teatro Greco at the ancient ampitheater.
18 June 1988 Saturday. We had the day foro touring. We boarded buses for the trip to the sea coast town of Taormina, at the base of the volcanic Mt. Etna. The drive along the seacoast was scenic as was the town. We were hosted for lunch by the Defense General Staff for our farewell meal. We were given the opportunity to swim, but I just sacked out. We returned to our hotel at Siracusa for the evening.
19 June 1988 Sunday. We took the buses back to Sigonella where we boarded our flight for our return to Brussels via Torino.
A year later, from 8-10 June 1989, the committee had a short trip to Rome to discuss the construction program at Crotone where we were building an air base from scratch to base the fighter wing transferred from Torrejon, Spain. The
Italian authorities were having many problems. Just buying the land resulted in the Camorra, southern Italy's mafia, getting involved, and 173 people were killed. I guess some U.S. Congressmen had relatives in this area, and U.S. funding for any further development of the base was cut off. NATO eventually agreed to move the wing to Aviano Air Base, where NATO funded extensive facilities for the wing. The last six photos were taken during this trip.
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Terry W. Colvin
non-member comment
Enjoyed your business and travel log and photos of your visit to Italy. Our family and I lived in Pinetamare, a one half hour drive north north west of Naples, Italy from 1/77 to 1/80. My duty station was at Bagnoli at Allied Forces South. I worked as shift supervisor in the NATO communications center (RXFEAA/RXFEAD) in the tunnel near Bldg. L. As you know, NATO/OTAN is a whole 'nother world. Great food and places to see in and around Naples. Pizza, mozzarella made with water buffalo milk, blood oranges, croquettes, and gelato come to mind. See re buffalo milk: https://www.cheese.com/mozzarella-di-bufala/ . We came to Naples with two children and left with five. Stepson Sy came to live with us in Washington, DC area and our daughter Amy was born in Virginia. Stepson Thanit and Sapun came from Thailand in 1978, and our son Jeremy was born there in 1977. All the babies born to American-Thai couples were males. This was attributed to the sulfur bearing stone surrounding Mount Vesuvius. One known attribute is that this material kept the cockroaches away. Northeast of Naples is an alternate war headquarters inside a mountain. This was similar in concept to Cheyenne Mountain but less sophisticated, about a one hour bus ride. Proto was manned during war games such as CIMEX/WINTEX. See: https://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/proto-former-nato-allied-forces-europe-southern-europe-afsouth-underground-hq/view/google/ . I'm probably the only person to works comms at both CINCSOUTHs. First, for the CINC (Admirals Turner and Shear) in Naples, and for the CINC in Panama (Generals Nutting and Gorman). I saw misrouted messages at each. One I remember is a man overboard from a US Navy ship transiting the Panama Canal that was sent to Naples, Italy; and an incident in Naples that was sent to Panama.