Where the struggle is toughest and the risk greatest, the Supreme Command sends the most reliable soldiers:
the Paratroopers
The 1980s: it begins with Lebanon
The "first time" was Lebanon, in 1982, with the mission Italcon Lebanon 2, where an organic battalion remained deployed for a full eighteen months.
The 1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion Tuscania, the 2nd Battalion Tarquinia, and the 5th Battalion El Alamein alternated as follows:
- September 1982 - March 1983, 1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion Tuscania
- March 1983 - July 1983, 2nd Paratroopers Battalion Tarquinia
- July 1983 - November 1983, 5th Paratroopers Battalion El Alamein
- November 1983 - February 1984, 1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion Tuscania
The main task of the battalion was to garrison one of the subsectors into which the Italian area of responsibility in Beirut had been divided, a particularly delicate area, densely populated mostly by Shiite Muslims and within which was the Bori el Barajne refugee camp, hosting thousands of Palestinians.
The order to repatriate arrived on February 16: positions held for eighteen months were orderly abandoned, passing through a semi-destroyed Beirut. Thus ended the mission "Lebanon Two", during which our soldiers, confronted with war professionals such as the American Marines or the French Paras, managed to earn esteem and admiration on the international stage.
Lampedusa, no peace mission. We are one step away from war. But ready for anything.
The spring of 1986 will instead be remembered as full of tension and adrenaline at its peak. Warned by intelligence services of an imminent political and military crisis between the United States and Libya, the 5th Paratroopers Battalion and the 9th Battalion Col Moschin headed to Lampedusa and Pantelleria in record time.
A nighttime call from the duty officer in the first week of March alerts the Paratroopers stationed in Siena: immediately a first column of the Command and Services Company "Sorci Verdi" moves towards the Rapolano ammunition depot to collect frontline equipment, while the 5th Battalion heads to Grosseto Airport where a C-130 and a G-222 with engines running await. Ammunition arrives, all board, heading to Trapani, then preventive occupation of the minor islands Pantelleria and Lampedusa given the deteriorated situation with Libya, training and protection of sensitive points. Operation GIRASOLE begins. And it is precisely during this operation, in a training break, that on the night of April 14, 1986 the USA bombed Tripoli: a platoon of the 15th Cp. "Diavoli Neri" reinforced by an anti-tank team and a logistics quota, led by then Lieutenant Paratrooper Enrico Pollini, receives the order at 2 AM on April 15, 1986 to depart in combat gear. The Paratroopers, still in their underwear, receive weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Tactical low-altitude flight on C-130 to avoid Libyan anti-aircraft, escorted by F-104 fighters. Assault landing on Lampedusa at dawn. The Paratroopers deploy, round in the chamber, finger on the trigger. To support them, the anti-tank support team armed with Milan missiles. In the early afternoon, two booms, the ground shakes, the Americans from the Loran Base rush out to evacuate. Two SS1-Scud missiles are launched on Lampedusa aiming to hit the US military installation. Lt. Pollini, initially thinking of an attack, but seeing no smoke, immediately informs the chain of command. Calm and composure. Hold positions. We are Paratroopers, and in our crazy but romantic and brilliant minds, we were born for moments like these.
The official version still claims today that the arrival of the paratroopers occurred after the missile launch. FALSE.
Subsequently, every corner of the island was garrisoned with the deployment of the entire Paratroopers Brigade, with the 2nd Battalion "Tarquinia" and the 1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion "Tuscania" at the forefront along with the 5th Battalion "El Alamein".
Should the situation have deteriorated, a counterattack was planned to be carried out together with the 1st S-SFOD USA (the infamous Delta Force). On the Italian side, it would have seen the 9th Btg. Col Moschin infiltrators enter Libya with a small advanced unit, followed by an airdrop of the 5th Paratrooper Battalion. However, the diplomatic line and naval operations prevailed. But even in this case, without fear and without hesitation, and above all, in record time, the Folgore proved ready for real warfare action.
A few years later, they returned to the Middle East. This time in Iraqi Kurdistan with Operation Airone.
The 1990s, intense and relentless. The Folgore immediately in Iraqi Kurdistan.
It is 1991 and we are in the midst of the Gulf War.
In the month of April, the Italian participation in the mission Airone begins with the launch of relief supplies, operations carried out by the Air Force and the Air Supply Units of the Folgore Paratrooper Brigade.
On May 16, the entire contingent is fully operational in its components: the Folgore deploys nearly 1,000 men, including Col Moschin infiltrators, Tuscania Paratrooper Carabinieri, and Paratroopers of the 2nd and 5th Battalions.
The paratroopers set up 646 tents for refugees, the health unit conducted a health screening on 4,700 refugees and provided medical care to 600 individuals.
AIRONE was assigned a security responsibility sector in which infiltrators, paratrooper carabinieri, and paratroopers carried out the tasks assigned by the UN with high capacity and competence, ensuring control of an area up to 1,400 km and the entire Zakho-Kirkuk-Baghdad road section through patrols, checkpoints, and cordons.
The Brigade is employed in difficult environmental conditions, thousands of kilometers away from the Motherland, initially organizing reception camps and providing aid and security to populations fleeing the war, while later being deployed in front of the Iraqi forces, pushed north by the pressure of the allies.
Our paratroopers demonstrate, by unanimous and international recognition, great professionalism and an enormous spirit of sacrifice: all Italian military personnel participating in the AIRONE mission will be awarded the commemorative cross by the Ministry of Defense, the Certificate of Merit from the Army General Staff signed by General Goffredo Canino, Chief of the Army General Staff, and the Certificate of Appreciation, signed by General John Shalikashvili and General Mario Buscemi.
A cordon was successfully established that created the crucial security framework for the return of the refugees.
Vespri Siciliani: Paratroopers for Italy, in Italy
Hardly any time to return, resume training activities, and they are deployed in Sicily in the Vespri Siciliani operation.
It is July 25, 1992. 300 Paratroopers of the Folgore Brigade land at 4:00 PM at Punta Raisi airport, in Palermo, with arms and luggage. Others will arrive in the evening.
It is not a trip or a prize journey, it is a military operation, with military Paratroopers equipped and armed for war, on Italian soil.
A few hours later, the main key points of the city are under the control of the maroon berets, officially starting the operation Vespri Siciliani. It is the state's response, hit hard by the deaths of the two famous magistrates, Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone.
1,000 Paratroopers of the Folgore Brigade are deployed in the city of Palermo.
Cordons, night watch posts, mobile checkpoints, security for prominent figures, constant cooperation with law enforcement are guaranteed by the sacrifice of Paratroopers subjected to heavy and continuous shifts, demonstrating an uncommon sense of duty that will be applauded by an entire nation.
December 1992: Operation "IBIS" begins
We are at December 3, 1992. The regiments are still in Sicily. A "forced" rotation will be necessary: the Folgore is expected at an appointment it cannot miss. This is not a "normal" peace mission. But the operation IBIS in Somalia. The UN has issued resolution number 794 and Italy, together with the United States, must provide the largest military contingent.
The Folgore commands the Italian contingent and is authorized, along with the USA, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter: the one that authorizes the use of weapons. All units are deployed, 183rd Nembo Regiment, 186th and 187th Folgore, 185th Artillery, 1st Tuscania Battalion, 9th Col Moschin and Logistic Units.
An unprecedented deployment of forces. Italy cannot fail: and the Folgore, even though hit straight to the heart in the clashes of July 2, 1993, emerges with the Italian military honor held high.
For more on Somalia, see this link.
In the mid-1990s there are several interventions in war zones by Col Moschin, first in Yemen, then in Rwanda. Interventions necessary to exfiltrate Italian personnel remaining in those nations ravaged by war.
Operation "Hippocampus": a special commitment for special forces
In Rwanda, in the operation Hippocampus, the raiders of the Col Moschin will participate in one of the most risky and difficult operations ever.
On May 10, after landing first in Nairobi and then in Kigali, the Italian raiders, while disembarking from the C-130, will find themselves under mortar fire on the airport runway. The military aircraft will quickly move away from the runway, leaving the Italian forces on Rwandan territory.
At that moment, finding themselves isolated and unable to obtain military transport (despite requests made to other contingents), the special forces detachment opted to requisition civilian vehicles at the airport.
After modifying them to meet their needs, removing the doors, they headed towards areas where civilians still needed to be rescued, moving in a tragic context, amidst frequent shootings on every corner of the streets and mortar fire.
Within a week, thanks to numerous missions in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, the raiders successfully completed the evacuation of all Italians, an achievement made possible by the valor and preparation of the 46th Air Brigade: during the takeoff of the last C-130, loaded beyond expectations, a heavy attack by Soviet ZU-23 anti-aircraft machine guns occurred. According to Gen. Raider Roberto Vannacci, then Commander of the operation's device in Rwanda, it represents one of the most difficult operations, if not the most difficult, in which the 9th Regiment has participated.
A mission that will cost the life of the raider Sgt. Maj. Marco Di Sarra, who fell ill with malaria right in Rwanda, and who will lose his life due to the disease shortly after returning to Italy.
The Balkan era begins
The Balkan crisis will once again see the deployment of "conventional" Paratrooper regiments: in 1996 the 187th Regiment is in Bosnia for the operation SFOR, not even having time to return in March 1997, when the following month it participates in the mission Alba (with elements of the 183rd and 186th).
It is the first form of multinational intervention led by Italy.
It is an operation that officially serves to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid, but in reality to prevent civil war by enabling the resolution of the Albanian political crisis.
Two years later, from April to October 1999, Paratrooper General Pierluigi Torelli will command the Multinational Brigade North in Bosnia during Operation Constant Forge, deploying the 187th and 186th Regiment in Operation Constant Forge.
The Balkan area will continue with the mission for the following decade until the end of 2004.
On July 9, 2004, UN Resolution 1551 authorized the continuation of SFOR for an additional six months and welcomed NATO's decision to conclude SFOR by the end of 2004. It will be up to the EU to launch a mission in Bosnia, starting in December 2004, which will also include a military component.
A foray into Southeast Asia: Operation "Interfet"
During the same period when the 186th is still in Bosnia, from September 1999 to January 2000, the Paratroopers of the 187th will be deployed in the distant East Timor together with the Paratroopers of Tuscania and the raiders of Col Moschin.
Located in the far Southeast Asia, and reachable after more than 24 hours (!) of scheduled flight, East Timor is for the Italians the destination of Operation Interfet, made necessary after the violent actions of groups opposed to East Timor's independence from Indonesia.
These violences prompted the UN, through resolution no. 1264 of September 15, 1999, to authorize the establishment of a multinational force led by Australia.
The Folgore tactical group had an important task, that of patrolling and ensuring the safety of the population in the most arduous and hard-to-reach areas due to the dense vegetation.
Moving with VM vehicles and Cagiva motorcycles, the Italian Paratroopers managed, as usual, to excellently fulfill the assigned tasks.
The mission in East Timor will also be remembered as the farthest mission where an Italian unit has been deployed.
New millennium: returning to the Balkans
The new millennium begins with a return to the Balkans. In June 2000, the entire 186th Regiment will be deployed in Albania. It seems like a "simple and boring" mission, but in reality, the Paratroopers have an important task: to reorganize the reborn Albanian Army.
In the URE base, Albanian soldiers are trained, and long-range reconnaissance operations are also carried out in hard-to-reach areas. A task previously exclusive to special forces.
The task of these "missions within the mission" was to reconnoiter new routes, assess their passability, and secretly photograph, as much as possible, the state of military barracks to evaluate their level of reconstruction.
Doing things excellently is a habit for the Folgore, a duty. But there are those who remain surprised: General Amilcare Casalotto, commander of the Multinational Brigade West, will be so impressed by the work of the Paratroopers that he will reform his personal escort: from August 2000, his security will no longer be handled by the Carabinieri, but by the Paratrooper Riflemen of the 5th Battalion El Alamein framed in the 186th Regiment.
For these ten guys of Lieutenant Colonel Paratrooper Massimo Mingiardi, the mission will continue for another 6 months compared to the four of the Regiment.
The cycle of deployment in the Balkans continues where the 185th Regiment will be deployed multiple times also in support of units outside the Brigade.
G8 in Genoa 2001: a very important event on Italian territory
The summer of 2001 is instead that of the G8, an international meeting of the most important Heads of State in the world.
The FOLGORE is deployed in the red zone of the Genoa airport. The Paratroopers of the three maneuver regiments (183rd, 186th, and 187th) perform the function of Public Security Agents inside the Genoa airport for three days.
They control, stop, and search anyone entering or moving within the airport. They guard the hangars and sensitive points with engagement rules that are not reassuring for potential heroes: unconditional fire on anyone who wants to enter the airport without authorization or who even approaches the outer fence.
Col Moschin and the 185th RAO will observe armed with carbines and day and night vision devices everything that moves around the same airport.
The Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, during the boarding on his plane at the end of the event, will make an unscheduled stop: he will get out of the car and shake hands with about ten Paratroopers, congratulating them.
On July 20, the Paratroopers have a very important task: to guard the perimeter of Air Force One of American President George W. Bush.
September 11, 2001: the world changes. The Folgore is ready.
After the G8 and the summer of 2001, the event that shocked the entire world will occur: the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 in the United States.
From that day, the Paratroopers Brigade, with all its regiments, will experience a cycle of deployment practically without breaks. The Col Moschin raiders will be the first Italians to arrive in Afghanistan in December 2001. For many months, they will exclusively carry out infiltration tasks in special reconnaissance and long-range reconnaissance patrols, giving and receiving support to the British SAS and the American Delta Force.
The base weapon regiments will continue to be deployed in Kosovo, a new destination for Islamic terrorists to escape international capture warrants. Kosovo, being an unstable area, was and still is an area frequented by individuals seeking anonymity.
During one of these missions, in January 2002, an operation conducted by Major Paratrooper Aldo Zizzo with the Paratroopers of the Fifth Battalion El Alamein will see the capture of dangerous fugitives sought by the Americans for the attack on the US ship in Yemen a few years earlier in Kosovo.
It is an operation conducted with masterful operational efficiency. The Americans who will come to take the wanted individuals at the Task Force Falco in Djacovica, headquarters in Kosovo in 2001-2002 of the 186th Regiment, will be amazed and pleasantly surprised, applauding, once again, what the Italian Paratroopers have done.
Iraq and Afghanistan: two treacherous territories
In the following years, the 9th Regiment Col Moschin and the 185th (which in the meantime changes its name and is integrated into the special operations forces) will focus their efforts in the Middle East, mainly between Afghanistan and Iraq. And precisely in Iraq, during Operation Ancient Babylon, these two units will be involved in several conflicts.
In April 2004, a detachment of the Col Moschin, at the gates of Nassirya, falls victim to an L-shaped ambush.
A bit of luck, and a very high combat capability in tight spaces allows the raiders to save their skins and neutralize all the militiamen (about ten).
The Col Moschin will carry out high-level special operations in Iraq, as well as escorting important figures, particularly politicians.
The Middle East is the most challenging scenario, but there is still glory for the Folgore in the Balkans: in March 2004, the 186th Regiment, in yet another mission in Kosovo (the third in three years!) named Determined Effort, will be of fundamental help to the Serbian ethnic population.
The unit will be forced to intervene in defense of monasteries and to protect villages during the riots of March 17 and 18. The Paratroopers, not at all intimidated by the violent attitude of the rioters, will be forced to respond with weapons to repeated assaults.
For the glories of those days, the regiment's flag is once again decorated, as happened in Somalia, with a silver medal.
In the same year, the 187th Regiment will be deployed in Afghanistan in Operation Nibbio 2. The Livorno regiment will carry out top-level operations. The Paratroopers, deployed in Khowst, have the task of neutralizing and destroying the pockets of terrorism still present in Afghanistan, possible logistical bases, and recruitment centers. The unit will carry out all assigned tasks in an exemplary manner, receiving praise from all the international forces involved in Enduring Freedom.
As mentioned, an intense operational cycle... in the summer of 2005, the 183rd Paratroopers Regiment Nembo will be deployed in Sudan in Operation Nile.
The task of the Pistoia Paratroopers, framed in the Task Force Leone, is to enforce the peace treaty signed on January 9 by Sudanese President Omar el Bashir and John Garang, commander of the major independence movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, SPLA, which ended the twenty-year war for control of the southern regions of the country.
A difficult task, also because it is a peacekeeping operation commanded by the UN, with very specific rules of engagement, but which will present delicate and difficult operational situations in a war climate. But precisely this difficulty will be an additional reason for the Paratroopers: the work carried out by the Task Force Leone will be an extraordinary success and the Italian operation will be applauded by the UN itself.
The Task Force 45 is born
In June 2006, the legendary Task Force 45 is born, the largest deployment of special forces ever fielded by Italy since the post-war period.
In July of the same year, it was already operating in the Afghan mountains, participating in the infamous operation "Medusa".
Initially, it was composed of raiders from the 9th Assault Regiment "Col Moschin" and the GOI, Operational Raiders Group of the Navy (COMSUBIN).
Subsequently, it expanded its personnel with units from the Italian Army's fos and other special forces units from all the armed forces.
The first commander will be Lt. Col. Roberto Vannacci.
Returning to Lebanon
The front changes, we are at the beginning of 2007. The 186th Regiment will be deployed in Lebanon. It is a familiar place for the Paratroopers of Siena. Lebanon was indeed the first foreign theater of operation for the Italian Army, and the Paratroopers of this Regiment participated for four long months in that very first mission.
Even though much time has passed, the situation does not seem to have changed: the scenario is one of total devastation, the frictions the same as 25 years earlier.
The operation Leonte is an extremely difficult task for the Paratroopers: it is necessary to ensure that the Lebanese area of operation for the disarmament of Hezbollah is not used for offensive activities. Intense patrols, escorts, and protection of sensitive sites will be the main tasks of the maroon berets who will emerge, as always and once again, to applause.
2008, the start of operation "Strade Sicure"
2008 will instead be marked by an intense training cycle: at the new year, the entire Paratrooper Brigade will be deployed in Afghanistan. There is still time to spend three months in Campania for the operation Strade Sicure.
The Strade Sicure Operation, extended several times over the years with deployment in various parts of Italy, involves the use of Italian armed forces personnel in combating crime.
Still ongoing, it provides Italian armed forces personnel to the prefects of some provinces for the protection of public order, combating petty crime, and surveillance of sites and objectives deemed sensitive, granting such personnel the status of public security agent with the extension of the powers under art. 4 of the law of May 22, 1975, no. 152, as well as patrolling and joint operations with police forces to increase deterrence against petty crime, and for surveillance services at "sensitive" sites and objectives, as well as conducting territorial control operations in metropolitan or otherwise densely populated areas.
The planning and coordination of the operation have been entrusted to the Joint Operational Command (COVI).
2009-2011, when the going gets tough, the tough get going
Afghanistan is a difficult, complex deployment. Important tasks that only the best know how to perform correctly. It has been 16 years since Somalia, and once again, as then, the entire Brigade is deployed in the theater of operations. The ISAF operation begins (specifically in 2009 we are at ISAF XII).
The constitution of the Brigade, with the three battalions of maneuver regiments deployed on the front line and the high level of troop preparation, at historical highs, will yield unprecedented results in the fight against the Taliban.
Base El Alamein (Farah), base Tarquinia (Shouz), and base Tobruk (Bala Boluk) will represent three crucial points that will have fundamental importance in the success of the mission.
The three Regiments, deployed between Herat, Kabul, and Farah, will deal a severe blow to the Taliban, and in numerous firefights, the fundamentalist militia will be forced to significantly moderate its combat ardor. The fos (185th) and fs (9th) units will carry out full-scale special operations in harmony with the three mentioned units.
Excellent also the work of the 8th Paratrooper Engineers Regiment, which will ensure support to all units with continuity and efficiency.
First the killing of 1st Corporal Major Paratrooper Alessandro Di Lisio, then the Kabul attack on September 17, 2009, will be the infamous cowardice of those who do not have the courage, due to manifest combat incapacity, to face the enemy face to face.
The Folgore in Afghanistan has pushed deep, providing security and hope to populations overwhelmed by terrorist mentality.
The Folgore, once again, wounded and hit at the heart, has completed its mission. In 2011, they return to Afghanistan (ISAF XVI) and the situation remains unchanged: a complex operation, but the Folgore emerges with its head held high, even though it counts casualties and wounded.
2013, return to Somalia
Somalia has a special flavor, just ask the Paratroopers, especially those of the 186th.
Led by Paratrooper General Massimo Mingiardi, appointed as the new commander of the EU mission for the training of military personnel in Somalia (EUTM), they return to the Horn of Africa 30 years after the operation IBIS.
Launched in the spring of 2010, the EUTM Somalia mission contributes to the training of 3,600 Somali soldiers, focusing particularly on the preparation of officers, specialists, and instructors, and is part of the initiatives undertaken by the EU to contribute to the stability of the country still affected by the war, with the government of Mogadishu supported by African Union troops opposing the Shabab Qaeda militias.
Italian military personnel, mostly paratroopers and raiders, participate in the mission with tasks of instruction and protection of the instructors, the latter role being covered by a platoon of the 186th Paratrooper Regiment.
2015, operation "Prima Parthica", Iraqi Kurdistan
The 187th flies to Iraq, in Iraqi Kurdistan, an old acquaintance of the Paratroopers from the Airone mission of 1991.
The Paratroopers of Livorno, framed in Task Force “Praesidium”, are responsible for the protection of the Mosul Dam.
Task Force “Praesidium”, as part of Operation “Inherent Resolve - Prima Parthica”, is the unit of the Italian Armed Forces tasked with the protection of the Mosul Dam in coordination with local security forces. In addition to ensuring the defense of the dam, Task Force “Praesidium” must guarantee the safety of American military and civilian personnel and the workers of the Italian company TREVI engaged in the infrastructure rehabilitation works. The paratroopers of the 187th and subsequently those of the 187th will participate multiple times in the following years, until 2019, in the operation Prima Parthica
2016, heading to Libya to defend the medical mission
With a few weeks' notice in September 2016, the Paratroopers of the 186th Regiment fly to Libya for operation Ippocrate.
The task of the Siena Paratroopers is more than noble: to protect the Italian contingent engaged in the medical mission in Misurata.
A contingent composed of 65 doctors and paramedics, 135 logistics personnel, an organic company of Paratroopers for the so-called “defense force” of the 186th Rgt. Par. Folgore, and a specialized unit of the 8th Paratrooper Engineers Regiment. The base of the operation is the former Libyan Air Academy, where an advanced unit of raiders from the 9th Regiment is already present, having paved the way for the operation.
The decade closes between Niger and Mali
The 186th Regiment, 187th Regiment, the 8th Paratrooper Engineers Regiment and the Parachuting Training Center will be in Niger for operation MISIN, between the end of the decade and the following years (from 2018 to 2021), for intensive training of the Nigerien Army, including two courses with a high level of specialization: the 1st Air Supply Course and the 4th C-IED Awareness Course.
In particular, the 1st Air Supply Course allowed Nigerien paratroopers to learn the necessary techniques for preparing light loads of various kinds to be air-dropped in support of ground troops or in aid of the civilian population. The 4th C-IED Awareness Course provided the basic knowledge for implementing procedures for searching and reporting the discovery of concealed explosive devices.
The maneuver units, 186th and 187th, will instead train the Nigerien paratroopers to conduct specific tactical attack and defense actions in various operational environments. The 187th will also be present with a small contingent in Mali with support and assistance tasks.
2021, Afghanistan farewell or see you later?
They return once again to Afghanistan, to Herat in 2021 for operation Resolute Support with the 186th and 187th Rgt.
The new mission, led by NATO "Resolute Support", focuses on training, advising, and assisting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and Afghan institutions. It is therefore, unlike ISAF, a "non-combat" mission.
Several courses have been conducted, primarily inspired by the train the trainer principle (training of instructors), for a total of about three hundred military and police personnel trained in subjects such as counter IED, intelligence, map reading, and self-defense.
In addition, various meetings (shure) have been organized on topics related to security, logistics, and the efficiency of Afghan units, which have helped to improve and make the work of local institutions and defense apparatuses more credible and effective.
The transition from ISAF to RS was not just a change of name. It was supposed to be a culmination point after 13 years of efforts, culminating in the creation of a state of law, credible and transparent institutions, and above all, autonomous and well-equipped Security Forces capable of independently taking on the task of ensuring the country's security. Unfortunately, the facts tell us otherwise. Resolute Support ends in June 2021.
By August, Afghanistan is back in the hands of the Taliban. We are talking about one of the greatest failures in Western foreign policy.
Afghanistan has been one of the greatest failures in Western foreign policy. The sacrifice of 3,612 fallen did not save the country from Islamic extremism.
2023, Leonte XXIII, back in Lebanon
With the operation Leonte XXXIII, the Folgore Paratroopers Brigade completes its third mandate in Southern Lebanon, since the beginning of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission, where it has practically deployed all units since 2006 and reflects the terms of Resolution 1701, assigning the Blue Helmets the specific task of monitoring the cessation of hostilities, assisting local institutions in exercising sovereignty, particularly the Lebanese Armed Forces, and supporting the civilian population.
Starting from February 2023, the Folgore has formed the backbone of a multinational device structured on five Task Forces, respectively of Ghanaian nationality (Ghanbatt), Malaysian (Malbatt), Italian (Italbatt), South Korean (Rokbatt), and Irish, the latter co-supported with Poland (IrishPolbatt).
The story continues.
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