The 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin" is an active Special Forces unit of the Italian Army based in Livorno in Tuscany. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry arm's Paracadutisti speciality and assigned to the Army Special Forces Command for training, preparation, doctrinal and procedural development, and the materiel acquisition. Operationally the regiment falls under the Italian Armed Forces' Joint Special Forces Operations Command. The regiment is the only military unit, which has participated in all out-of-area missions of the Italian Army since World War II.
The Italian Army is the land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China, Libya, Northern Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, Abyssinia before World War II and in World War II in Albania, Balkans, North Africa, the Soviet Union, and Italy itself. During the Cold War, the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War, the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank and among its aircraft the Mangusta attack helicopter, recently deployed in UN missions. The headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome opposite the Quirinal Palace, where the president of Italy resides. The army is an all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel.
The Italian Special Forces include special forces units from several branches of the Italian Armed Forces: the Esercito Italiano (Army), the Marina Militare (Navy), the Aeronautica Militare and the Arma dei Carabinieri (Gendarmerie).
Surveillance and target acquisition (STA) is a military role assigned to units and/or their equipment. It involves watching an area to see what changes (surveillance) and then the acquisition of targets based on that information.
The 4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment is a ranger type special operations forces of the Italian Army, specializing in air assault, artillery observer, cold-weather warfare, direct action, forward air control, HUMINT, irregular warfare, ISTAR, long-range penetration, maneuver warfare, medical evacuation on mountain, military intelligence, mountain combat search and rescue, mountain rescue, mountain warfare, parachuting, special operation behind enemy lines, special reconnaissance, tactical emergency medical services, tracking targets on mountain, and urban warfare. The regiment is one of three regiments of the Army Special Forces Command. The regiment is a unit of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. The 4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment is one of the most decorated units of the Italian Army, although its two Gold Medals of Military Valor were awarded to the regiment's currently inactive Alpini Battalion "Aosta", respectively the currently active Skiers Battalion "Monte Cervino".
The Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" is an airborne brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units are three battalions of paratroopers (paracadutisti). The name "Folgore" is Italian for lightning. The Folgore is one of three light infantry brigades of the Italian Army. While the Folgore specializes in parachute operations its sister brigade in the Division "Vittorio Veneto" the Airmobile Brigade Friuli specializes in helicopter assault operations. The Folgore and its units are based in Tuscany, Veneto and Lazio.
The Paracadutisti are a speciality of the Italian army's infantry corps.
The 1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Regiment "Tuscania" is a special operations unit of the Italian Carabinieri. Together with the 7th Carabinieri Regiment in Laives, the 13th Carabinieri Regiment in Gorizia, and the Special Intervention Group it forms the 2nd Carabinieri Mobile Brigade. The regiment is based in Livorno, and has approximately 550 personnel.
The article provides an overview of the entire chain of command and organization of the Italian Army after the reform of 1 May 2024 and includes all active units as of 1 May 2024. The Armed Forces of Italy are under the command of the Italian Supreme Defense Council, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The Italian Army is commanded by the Chief of the Army General Staff or "Capo di Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito" in Rome.
The 184th Paratroopers Division "Nembo" was an airborne division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. After the Armistice of Cassibile the division joined the Italian Co-belligerent Army's Italian Liberation Corps and together with the Polish II Corps liberated Ancona in the Battle of Ancona.
The 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore is an artillery regiment of the Italian Army, specializing in airborne operations. Originally an artillery regiment of the Royal Italian Army, the regiment was assigned in World War II to the 185th Infantry Division "Folgore", with which the regiment was deployed to North Africa for the Western Desert campaign, during which division and regiment were destroyed in the Second Battle of El Alamein. Reformed in 1975 the regiment is today based in Bracciano near Rome and assigned to the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore". The regimental anniversary falls, as for all Italian Army artillery regiments, on June 15, the beginning of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.
Operational Land Forces Command is the Italian Army's major command tasked with the operational and administrative control of most of its combat forces. COMFOTER reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army. The command is based in Rome.
The 2nd Carabinieri Mobile Brigade, based in Livorno, is the Carabinieri formation dedicated to military missions abroad, including military police tasks. It employs the 7th Carabinieri Regiment "Trentino-Alto Adige", the 13th Carabinieri Regiment "Friuli-Venezia Giulia", the 1st Parachute Carabinieri Regiment "Tuscania" and the Gruppo di intervento speciale.
The 185th Paratroopers Reconnaissance Target Acquisition Regiment "Folgore" is an Italian Army special forces unit. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry arm's Paracadutisti speciality and assigned to the Army Special Forces Command.
The 186th Paratroopers Regiment "Folgore" is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Siena in Tuscany. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry arm's Paracadutisti speciality and assigned to the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore".
The 187th Paratroopers Regiment "Folgore" is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Livorno in Tuscany. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry arm's Paracadutisti speciality and assigned to the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore".
The 28th Regiment "Pavia" is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Pesaro in the Marche region. Founded as 28th Infantry Regiment "Pavia" the regiment was part of the Italian army's infantry arm until it became the army's Psychological Operations unit on 1 March 2004 and has since then been designated a "multi-arms unit". The unit is assigned to the Tactical Intelligence Brigade.
The 184th TLC Support Battalion "Cansiglio" is a telecommunications (TLC) support battalion of the Italian Army's signal corps. The battalion is based in Treviso in Veneto and assigned to the Army Logistic Command. The unit was formed in 1947 as a battalion and assigned to the Infantry Division "Folgore". In 1976 the battalion was named for the Cansiglio Pass and received the number 184th, which had been used by the 184th Connections Company that served with the 184th Infantry Division "Nembo" and the Combat Group "Folgore" during the Italian campaign of World War II. With the name and number the battalion also received its own flag. In 1993 the battalion was disbanded and its personnel used to form the Signals Materiel Repair, Supply and Experimentation Telematic Center. In 1999 the center was renamed 184th TLC Support Regiment, which received the flag and traditions of the battalion. In 2017 the regiment was disbanded and the battalion became an autonomous unit. Since 1999 the battalion is responsible to build the army's telecommunications network in northern Italy and Tuscany, and provide third line maintenance for the network in the aforementioned regions. The regimental anniversary falls, as for all signal units, on June 20, the height of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.
The Signal Command is a signals formation of the Italian Army. The Signal Command was established in Rome on 1 January 2017 following the disestablishment of the Army Information and Signals Command and of the Signals Brigade.
The Joint Special Forces Operations Headquarters is the joint command of the Italian Armed Forces charged with overseeing the various special operations units of the Italian Armed Forces. The command is part of the Joint Operations Command and is validated as NATO Component Command. COFS is headquartered at Centocelle Airport in Rome, Italy.
