3rd Special Operations Helicopter Regiment "Aldebaran"

The 3rd Special Operations Helicopter Regiment "Aldebaran" (3rd REOS or REOS) is a significant and highly strategic helicopter regiment of the Italian Army, qualified within NATO as a Special Operations Air Task Group (SOATG).

It has three flight lines on CH47, AB412, and NH90 for conducting operations in the Full Spectrum of specific missions of special forces, both in national territory and abroad.

The regiment is located at Tommaso Fabbri Airport in Viterbo since November 10, 2014, from the reconfiguration of the 26th REOS Aviation Squadron Group "Giove", to develop an increasingly greater operational capability to support Italian special forces and to operate in new scenarios.

History

The 39th Air Cavalry Squadron Group "Drago" was established on July 24, 1964 at Alghero-Fertilia Airport, where a Light Aircraft Section (S.A.L.) was formed to support special operations and directly dependent on the Special Units Grouping.

In November 1989, the unit was elevated to the rank of Squadron Group "Drago", incorporating AB412 helicopters, and was dissolved in 2000. From September 1, 2001, the 1st Air Cavalry Regiment "Antares" included the 26th Army Aviation Squadron Group "Giove", stationed at Pisa-San Giusto base and already part of the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore".

The 26th REOS "Giove

The 26th Special Operations Helicopter Unit (REOS) "Giove" was formed in 2002 from the merger of the 26th Squadron Group "Giove" of Pisa (already part of the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore"), the 51st Squadron Group "Leone" of Viterbo, and the 39th Squadron Group "Drago" of Alghero, and was part of the 1st AVES Regiment "Antares" until 2012.

The 26th REOS was structured with a squadron group composed of two flight squadrons (one operating on CH-47 helicopter and the other on AB-412 and NH-90 helicopters); to ensure the necessary operational and logistical autonomy, it was equipped with an O.A.I. section, a logistics section, and a maintenance squadron.

In this configuration, it participated in the "Ancient Babylon" mission in Iraq from November 2003 to March 2004. Since then, REOS crews, integrated within AVES Task Forces, have been employed as an air component dedicated to operating in favor of Special Forces deployed in the Iraqi and Afghan theaters.

The 3rd Regiment

On November 10, 2014, with the establishment of the Army Special Forces Command (COMFOSE), the General Staff decided to elevate the REOS to the level of a regiment, following a specific project aimed at adapting operational capability to new national and international needs, placing it under the operational control of COMFOSE.

On November 19, 2014, it assumed the war flag that belonged until 1998, the year of the unit's dissolution, to the 3rd AVES Regiment "Aldebaran" of Bresso (MI) and then kept at the Vittoriano's Shrine of Flags. Within NATO, it is qualified as a Special Operations Air Task Group. In October 2016, it transitioned from COMFOSE to the command of the Army Aviation Command, under the operational control of the Land Operational Forces Command (COMFOTER COE).

Organization

Regiment structure:

• Regiment Command
• Majority and Personnel Office
• Training, Information, and Computer Operations Office
• Logistics Office
• Flight Safety Section
• Technical Publications and Maintenance Quality Management System Section
• 26th Squadron Group "Giove"
  • Command
  • 261st Squadron ETM1
    • 2 sections on CH-47
• 262nd Squadron ESC5
  • 3 sections HH-412A
• 263rd Squadron ETT
  • 3 sections UH-90A
• Support Squadron Group
  • Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
  • Command and Logistics Support Squadron

Selection

Candidates for the unit are chosen through a selective process and a training cycle at the AVES Training Center.

The physical pre-selections consist of a series of tests valid for access to the units: 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin", 185th Paratroopers Reconnaissance Target Acquisition Regiment "Folgore", 4th Alpine Paratroopers Regiment "Monte Cervino", and 3rd REOS "Aldebaran".

Those who pass the physical pre-selections are called to attend the selection internship, the second phase of the selection process.

The selection internship, lasting two weeks, aims to assess not only the psychophysical characteristics and the physical and mental endurance of the candidate under prolonged effort but also their moral and character qualities.

Those who pass the physical fitness pre-selection and the internship are admitted to the Basic Special Operations Operator Course (OBOS).

The Basic Operator Course for Special Operators (OBOS) is organized at the RAFOS (Special Operations Forces Training Unit) of the 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin", for onboard gunners, and at the FS/FOS unit of the 3rd REOS for pilots and onboard technical operators.

Students deemed suitable at the end of the OBOS begin the specialization phase, different for each final destination unit.

Candidates to become REOS crews undergo the following modules:

• survival in snowy mountain environments
• survival in non-snowy mountain environments
• survival in marine environments
• planning and conducting flight missions with specific methods

Aircraft in service

The regiment has three flight lines on:

• Agusta-Bell AB 412
• Boeing CH-47 Chinook
• NHIndustries NH90