San Marco Marine Brigade: new amphibious scouts for the Paratrooper Swimmers Company

The Island of Pedagne, connected to the Brindisi mainland by the Stone Bridge, was the setting, on the morning of January 29, 2026, for the closing ceremony of the XVII Recon Course. An event with a strong operational character, during which five riflemen were officially welcomed into the ranks of the Paratrooper Swimmers Company of the San Marco Marine Brigade with the qualification of amphibious scouts.

The ceremony fully reflected the identity of the Unit and the vision of an increasingly projectable, modern, and ready-to-deploy Navy. Not a formal celebration, but a concrete demonstration of operational capabilities and military spirit.

The course attendees, now Recon, flew over the ceremony area aboard an SH-90 helicopter, in front of a square crowded with family and friends. Immediately after, they jumped into the sea using the helo-duck technique, diving from the helicopter into the bay in front of the island under the eyes of the guests. Recovered by a boat, they reached the beach and, accompanied by the instructors, ran into the event location.

The moment of awarding the brevet was marked by gestures of strong symbolic value: the delivery of the certificate, the placement of the Recon patch on the uniform, and finally, the delivery of the fins, emblem of the indissoluble bond with the sea and the function of connection between terrestrial and maritime environments that characterizes the amphibious scouts. Each newly breveted also returned to the instructors the braided cord with a flat knot, worn on the shoulders throughout the training.

To close the ceremony, the words of the Commander of the San Marco Marine Brigade, Rear Admiral Michele Orini, who emphasized the “vigorous ambition and dedication that distinguish the young men whom San Marco and the Country need”.

A handover that marks not only the end of a very tough training course but the entry into an elite operational community, called to operate where sea and land meet, often in silence and always away from the spotlight.

Photos and news source Italian Navy