"IO, FRA I 'CUSTODI' DI BOMBE ATOMICHE

Gianni Pagliarini, a retired first lieutenant in the Italian Air Force, was only 19 years old when he found himself having to carry out an order no one wants to receive: launch a missile at an unidentified aircraft flying at an unregulated altitude. "The entire sequence was green light; everything had been prepared. It was just a matter of waiting for the order from the COFA Command in Ferrara," he told me. But fortunately, that order never came. Gianni recalls a story of military life and the Cold War, a testament to how the political and strategic dynamics heard on the news and read in the newspapers were reflected in the reality close to home. And this story was touching to me, because at the time I lived in Bovolone, where Gianni worked for 11 years at the NATO base at the entrance to the town. When I passed by it as a child, I was somewhat apprehensive. No one, of course, knew what was happening inside that huge compound, where, it was said, there were missiles and atomic bombs. It wasn't just hearsay; it was all true. Gianni can now talk about it, though without going into too many details. It was about 35 years ago; the base was decommissioned in 2009 and taken over by the municipality, but some parts of it remain classified. "I've seen several atomic warheads pass through here," he explained to me. "I can't tell you how many, but I can tell you there were 20- and 40-kiloton ones. Consider that the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima carried about a dozen..." Stories that make your spine tingle, and which Gianni recounts as a professional, having served in the Italian Air Force for more than 40 years, finding himself confronted as a soldier called to do his duty, but also as a man and father. Nothing happened (the launch alert was not given at Bovolone but at Zelo, also at a NATO base, identical in every way). Today, together with some colleagues from the Gruppo del 72 association, he organizes and promotes cultural meetings on flight, also taking people to visit the Bovolone base and sharing what you'll hear in the video. It was about 30-35 years ago, and Gianni's descriptions of the destructive force of the weapons that passed through here are enough to make your mouth water. Just imagine the scale of the situation today... Download the Ti Porto Io app: Android https://goo.gl/m5o99t iOS https://goo.gl/gzZl9s Follow me on my social media profiles! Facebook   / stevecantiero   Instagram   / tiportoio_official