The Italian Armed Forces encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and are also involved in missions and operations abroad as a combat force. Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, the Guardia di Finanza is organized along military lines. These five forces comprise a total of 340,885 men and women with the official status of active military personnel, of which 167,057 are in the Army, Navy and Air Force. The President of the Italian Republic heads the armed forces as the President of the High Council of Defence established by article 87 of the Constitution of Italy. According to article 78, the Parliament has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the powers to lead the war in the Government.
The Carabinieri are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign policing duties. It is one of Italy's main law enforcement agencies, alongside the Polizia di Stato and the Guardia di Finanza. As with the Guardia di Finanza but in contrast to the Polizia di Stato, the Carabinieri are a military force. As the fourth branch of the Italian Armed Forces, they come under the authority of the Ministry of Defence; for activities related to inland public order and security, they functionally depend on the Ministry of the Interior. In practice, there is a significant overlap between the jurisdiction of the Polizia di Stato and Carabinieri, although both of them are contactable through 112, the European Union's Single Emergency number. Unlike the Polizia di Stato, the Carabinieri have responsibility for policing the military, and a number of members regularly participate in military missions abroad.
Kosovo Polje or Fushë Kosova, is a town and municipality located in the District of Pristina in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Kosovo Polje has 12,919 inhabitants, while the municipality has 33,977 inhabitants.
The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo's Security Force, established in 2009, becomes self-sufficient.
The New Bridge is a steel truss bridge crossing the Ibar river in Mitrovica, Kosovo. The New Bridge has become an iconic symbol of Kosovo division, as it separates around 80,000 Kosovo Albanians in the south from around 50 000 Serbs and other nationalities living in the north. It was used as a military checkpoint and provides a de facto boundary and buffer zone between the mainly ethnic Serbian populated North Kosovo and the rest of Kosovo which has an ethnic Albanian majority. Today the bridge is open to pedestrians and there are only Carabinieri patrols from KFOR-MSU and Kosovo Police, but there is no longer any checkpoint.
The Romanian Military Police is the military police of the Romanian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1990, immediately after the Romanian Revolution, although the Romanian Gendarmerie performed military police duties between 1850 and 1949.
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 Kosovo Security Force (KSF) is the military of Kosovo. The KSF is tasked with defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo, military support for civilian authorities, and participation in international peacekeeping missions and operations. Since 2018, it is in the process of transforming into the Kosovo Armed Forces.
A confrontation between Russian forces and NATO forces over the Pristina International Airport occurred on 12 June 1999, in the aftermath of the Kosovo War. Russian troops occupied the airport ahead of a NATO deployment, resulting in a tense stand-off, which was resolved peacefully.
Swisscoy is a unit of the Swiss Armed Forces. Consisting of a contingent of 195 troops at most, the unit is deployed in Kosovo as part of the NATO-led KFOR international peacekeeping force. Swisscoy moved into Kosovo in October 1999 and will remain there until at least the end of 2023.
General Hans-Lothar Domröse is a senior German Army officer, former Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum.
Air Marshal Sir Graham Edward Stacey, is a senior Royal Air Force officer who served as Chief of Staff, Allied Command Transformation.
Viktor Mikhailovich Zavarzin is a former officer in the Soviet Ground Forces and later the Russian Ground Forces with the rank of colonel general.
The Carabinieri Mobile Units Division is the Carabinieri formation, established in 2001, dedicated to the performance of military duties abroad, the military police tasks when abroad, the support to Territorial Organization, the participation in civil protection operations and to ensure the emergency reserve for the General Command.
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.
State decorations of the Republic of Kosovo are regulated by the Law on Decorations. Decorations are divided into three grades: orders, medals and commemorative medals. The President also bestows the title of Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo to people who have made extraordinary contributions to the Republic of Kosovo. This is an honour bestowed very rarely with only nine recipients in the history of the Republic.
The Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU), is a unit of the Italian Carabinieri, dedicated to the military missions abroad, including the military and civilian police tasks, peacekeeping operations, crowd and riot control.
Massimo Panizzi is an Italian Army Lieutenant General who currently serves as the Commander of the Italian Army Territorial Command in Rome and Commander of the Military Geographic Institute in Florence. He previously served as the Italian Deputy Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee and Chief of the NATO Office of the Italian Military Delegation at NATO HQ, Brussels. He participated in numerous international military operations and he has served as the Deputy Chief of staff Support for the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Kabul. He assumed the assignment of Deputy Commander of the Military Command of the Capital in Rome on September 19, 2022. Since August 2023 he assumed the command of the Capital (Territorial) Command within the Italian Army Operational Forces HQ (Rome) and of the Military Geographic Institute (Florence).
Azolino Hazon was an Italian general during World War II, Commander-General of the Carabinieri from February 1943 till his death during the bombing of Rome.
The 13th Carabinieri Regiment "Friuli Venezia Giulia" is a Regiment of the mobile organization of the Carabinieri, part of the 2nd Carabinieri Mobile Brigade.
Italy 
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