Italian Paratroopers Name Course After Russian Officer Killed in Palmyra

The Italian National Association of Parachutists will name its new training course after Russian officer Alexander Prokhorenko who heroically died during the battle for Palmyra in Syria.

The idea was proposed by Andriano Tocchi, president of the Rome department of the association.

The move would comply with the spirit of the organization. In some aspects, the association is military-patriotic. Classes are conducted by former military paratroopers.

The association’s activities include not only parachuting classes but also teaching traditional values like patriotism and allegiance to the motherland. Anyone can easily sign up for a course.

The 161st course of parachute training will be named after the Russian hero. It will start in September and will take place at a sports hall in Rome. The training will last for 10 weeks and will include lectures in theory as well as practical training.

For the first time in history of the organization, their course has been named after a hero from a foreign country.

Alexander Prokhorenko, 25, was killed during the operation to liberate the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra from Daesh while providing intelligence and coordinating the Russian Aerospace Forces to attack Daesh targets in the city.

After being surrounded by Daesh fighters, Prokhorenko ordered his comrades to carry out an airstrike on his position after he was discovered and surrounded by Daesh terrorists.

In April, he was awarded Russia’s highest military decoration posthumously.

On Friday, Alexander Prokhorenko was buried at a cemetery in his native village of Gorodki, in Russia’s Orenburg Region.