Colonel Arturo DI MARTINO joined the Italian Air Force Academy in 1989 and graduated in 1993.
After attending at the Undergraduate Pilot Training, at Vance Air Force Base (Enid, Oklahoma), from 1993 until 1994, and after having gained his Military Pilot “Wings”, he was assigned to the 41st Stormo, at Sigonella Air Force Base, where he served as a Pilot until 2009. During his operational career at Sigonella, Col. DI MARTINO filled several positions related with training management Aircrews and with training standardization. In the meanwhile, Col. DI MARTINO had been flying a total of more than 4.500 flying hours as Pilot, Pilot In Command, Instructor Pilot, Evaluator Pilot and as Production Test Pilot, conducting also Functional Check Flights on the Br-1150 Atlantic. In 2007, he was appointed as 86th Aircrew Training Center Commander, responsible for the training of all the new crew members and for the standardization of training and procedures for all the crews. In 2008, he was appointed as 88th Flying Squadron Commander.
In 2009, Col. DI MARTINO was selected to attend the Italian Joint Services Staff College in Rome, where he gained his Master on “Strategic Studies for Security and Defence”.
In 2010, Col. DI MARTINO was assigned at the Italian Air Force Staff – 1st Division, responsible for Personnel, Regulations and Organizational Design.
In 2013, Col. DI MARTINO was assigned at the NATO E-3A Component, in Geilenkirchen (DEU), as Training Wing Commander and as Operations Wing Commander, being responsible for the execution of all the operational activities tasked by NATO to the NATO AWACS, flown from 5 different location, across all Europe, and from a location in Afghanistan, while guaranteeing an efficient and a self-sustainable training process, in order to maintain the highest standards in a multinational environment (16 different nations), like the NAEW&C Force, where all the crew personnel (coming from 11 different professional backgrounds and training profiles) rotates, on average, every four years. In addition, Col. DI MARTINO was responsible for the management of a one of a kind organizational restructuring, while downsizing the two units that Col. DI MARTINO was leading at that time. This restructuring process eventually culminated with the Training Wing merging with the Operations Wing, while keeping the same quality of training. The above mentioned organizational restructuring required a total review of all the internal processes and procedures. All of this was conducted without stopping any training and any operational activity, in a contest where the operational demand from the NATO nations had been constantly increasing for the NAEW&C Force. For all of the above, Col. Di MARTINO was awarded by the NATO Secretary General, Jens STOLTENBERG, in 2017, with the NATO Meritorious Service Medal.
