1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Regiment "Tuscania"

The history of Carabinieri Paratroopers dates back to World War II. On 5 June 1940, the Chief of Staff of the Italian Royal Army, then Army General Mario Roatta, requested the Commandant General of the Royal Carabinieri, at the time Lieutenant General Riccardo Moizo, to establish a Royal Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion, approving an earlier request of General Moizo.p. 24 World War II On 1 July 1940 the 1st Royal Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion (1° Battaglione Reali Carabinieri Paracadutisti) was established with three companies in Tarquinia. On 9 July, Undersecretary Army General Ubaldo Soddu objected to the establishment of a Carabinieri battalion, arguing that a single-arm of single-speciality battalion could not be established (also in order to avoid rivalries); under the terms of Soddu's report, the Royal Carabinieri could establish only platoon-level units. The Higher Air Force Command, nonetheless, kept the Carabinieri Battalion in force. The first commander was Major Bruto Bixio Bersanetti; on 28 August 1940 he was replaced by Major Edoardo Alessi.pp. 95–96 When deployed in Libya, the battalion consisted of: and in Ajdabiya as a company (under Lieutenant Osmano Bonapace), With the surviving personnel, two Carabinieri Sections were formed: the 184th Carabinieri Section was assigned to the Folgore Division, while the 314th Carabinieri Section was assigned to the Nembo Division and fought in the Italian Civil War on the loyalist side. The Unit was devoted to the fulfilment of the Carabinieri gendarmerie tasks and was 140 troops-strong. On 10 January 1956, the Carabinieri Paratroopers Unit participated in the rescue operations for Viterbo and its surroundings, whose inhabitants had remained isolated, without food and without medical assistance, due to the violent blizzards that had paralyzed the road network and communications in that province. The Carabinieri Paratroopers Company depended for administrative purposes on Livorno Carabinieri Legion. the company was expanded and reorganized as Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion "Tuscania" within the Folgore Brigade. On 14 June 1964, then-President Antonio Segni awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor to the Carabinieri War Flag for the Battle of Elet el Ausel. On 1 October 1975 the battalion was renamed 1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion "Tuscania". The battalion was officially recognized as the legitimate heir of the 1st Royal Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion in the same year, when its War Flag was awarded with the silver medal for Military Valour for the North African campaign. On 2 February 1978, From 1982 to 1984 the 1st Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion "Tuscania" was part of UNIFIL with the task of providing protection to Sabra, Chatila and Burj el-Barajneh refugee camps: From 1983 to 1986 and from 1989 to 1993, the battalion was deployed in Calabria, Sardinia, and Sicilia, supporting the arrests of several mafia bosses. On occasion of the 2001 27th G8 summit held in Genoa, the regiment was deployed as part of the security apparatus with tactical reserve tasks.p. 184 having been moved from Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore". Despite the status of an Armed Force being awarded to the Carabinieri on 5 October 2000, the "Tuscania" shares the maroon beret of the paracadutisti. As of 2018, some military expert call for the establishment of an additional operational Company or even of an additional Battalion. == List of Commanders ==

1st Royal Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion The 1st Royal Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion had two Commanders from 1940 to 1942: • Magg. Bruto Bixio Bersanetti: 1 July 1940 - 28 August 1940; • Magg. Edoardo Alessi: 29 August 1940 - 6 March 1942. Carabinieri Paratroopers Unit The Carabinieri Paratroopers Unit had seven Commanders from 1951 to 1962: • Col. Leonardo Leso: 1 June 1996 - 6 September 1997; • Col. Michele Franzè: 7 September 1997 • Col. Alberto Raucci: January 2000 • Col. Carmelo Burgio: 30 September 2002 • Col. Sebastiano Comitini; 15 November 2003 • Col. Gino Micale: 8 September 2006 • Col. Paolo Nardone: assumed command on 27 September 2008 • Col. Antonio Frassinetto: assumed command on 11 May 2013 - 2017 • Col. Francesco Marra • Col. Salvatore Demontis • Col. Antonio Bruno == Operations ==

The unit has been involved in all major operations abroad of the Italian Armed Forces: • Namibia (1989-1990), UNTAG; • Kurdistan (1991), AIRONE 1; • Turkey (1991), AIRONE 2; • Somalia (1992-1994), IBIS (covering UN-sanctioned mission UNITAF): military police and rapid reaction unit; • Cambodia (1992), UNTAC; • Somalia (1993), UNOSOM II; • Israel (2 May 1994 - 8 August 1994), TIPH 1; • Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996-2003), IFOR/SFOR; • Palestinian territories (27 January 1996 - 25 July 1996), TIPH 2; • Albania (1997-1999), Operation Alba: military police services, coordination of military police entities of all other contingents, escort of the mission commander, of the International Commission, of VIPs and journalists, human intelligence, high-risk interventions, liaison with local authorities and Albanian Police, territory surveillance; • East Timor (1999-2000), United Nations Mission in East Timor; • Kosovo (2000-2003), Kosovo Force; • Republic of Macedonia (2001-2002), AMBER FOX; • Afghanistan (since 2001), ISAF; • Iraq (since 2003), MSU, Prima Parthica;p. 21 • Gaza Strip (2005-2009), EUBAM RAFAH; • Palestinian territories (Jericho, March–July 2014), MIADIT PALESTINA; • Libya (Tripoli, March–July 2014), MMIL. == Mission ==

Missions entrusted to the regiment are of three broad types: • Military duties (typical of paratroopers):p. 4 The Counter Terrorism Task Units are deployed in sensitive locations and on special occasions; these units are designed in order to be able to anti-irregular forces, executive protection, fighting in urban areas, providing security in areas at risk of terrorisms, and urban counterterrorism when terrorists attack scenarios, as well as hostage rescue. == Recruitment and training ==

Those aspiring to the regiment, of all ranks, are first submitted to a psycho-physical selection, aimed at ascertaining their attitude toward the specific military occupation. According to former Regimental commander Leonardo Leso, 1 out 30 candidates is accepted. Following the selection then they are admitted to taking a training Explorers Course lasting 44 weeks, including: • Analytical thinking for military operational planning; • Basic close-quarters battle; • Basic defusing and disposal of bombs and land mines; • Basic intelligence gathering and intelligence assessment; • Basic tatical emergency first aid; • Military communications; • Parachuting courses (parachuting, parachute packing, and problem solving); • Patrol and platoon-level training (abseiling, counter-ambush, counterinsurgency, guerilla warfare, raiding, reconnaissance, survival in military combat areas, and tactical hands signals); • Physical exercises; • Swimming; • Training in the use of special weapons and materials; • Using a maps and compasses; Passing the Explorers Course is the indispensable condition for admission to the ranks of the regiment. Only one candidate out of four attains the rank of Explorer Paratrooper, but the training does not end then. After passing the final test of the course, the paratrooper Carabiniere passes in the battalion, in which performs operational, maintenance training and further specialization activities. In particular, the Paratrooper Carabiniere specializes in: • Air assault and airborne operations; • Amphibious assault; • Analysis and planning for the deployment of forces to provide security in areas at risk of attacks or terrorisms; • Artillery observer; • Authorities and laws need to know when enforcing laws to civilians; • Commando styles raids techniques; • CQB/CQC techniques; • Defusing and disposal of bombs and land mines; • Fast tactical shooting with individual and unit weapons; • Hand-to-hand combat; • Intelligence assessment; • Irregular warfare; • Jungle warfare; • Long-range reconnaissance; • Marksmanship; • Maneuver warfare especially movement with infantry mobility vehicles (IFVs), light utility vehicles (LUVs), and reconnaissance vehicles; • Military logistics especially in air resupply and communications; • Military police techniques;p. 24 • Mountain warfare; • NBCR on operations in contaminated environments; • Resistance to interrogation;p. 24 • Special fighting techniques; • Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE);p. 24 • Tactical driving by cars and motorcycles; • Tactical emergency medical and medical evacuation; • Tactical communications; • Tactical military intelligence gathering;p. 24 • Urban counterterrorism and hostage rescue; • Urban warfare; • Use of special and explosive materials; == Organization ==

The regiment consists of: • Command Platoon • 3 Companies • Proximity Support Section The regiment also has a Sport Parachute Section, which is placed directly under the General Command of the Carabinieri. Regimental Command The Regiment Command has the traditional subdivisions of the Personnel, Operations Training Information, Logistics, Administrations and Health Sections; the Command controls the Training Unit, the Supports Unit and the Paratrooper Carabinieri Battalion. All Regiment personnel is considered capable to be deployed on operations and all personnel is sent on mission on rotational basis. The Training Unit, led by a field officer, provides recruitment, selection and training of the personnel of all ranks. This ensures a standard training. Battalion The Battalion "Eluet el Asel" (named after the battle of Eluet el Asel where the 1st Royal Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion fought with distinction)pp. 100–102 is the operational element of the whole Regiment, and it consists of a Battalion Command and of three operational Paratrooper Carabinieri Companies. The Battalion Command has a limited operational capability to make tactical plans, with a Tactical Command and Pianification Squad, a Specialist Training Squad and of a Proximity Support Section (in charge of weapons and vehicles). There are also three operational Paratrooper Carabinieri Companies. Each Company has three Platoons specialized in three different combat environments: amphibious warfare, military free fall launch techniques, and mountain warfare. Each of the three Paratrooper Carabinieri Companies include a command element and three Platoons, in turn consisting of 8 Teams of 4 Troops each; the organization is designed in order to operate in urban warfare scenarios and to be transported on a Lince vehicle. Each Team is led by a non commissioned officer, while a Team in each Platoon is led by the Platoon leader, usually a Lieutenant or an expert Marshal. Each Platoon also has specialized troops, organically part of the various Teams: Joint terminal attack controllers, EOD experts, laser-guidance operators, snipers and military rescuers. == Individual armament ==

Apart from special allocations of certain operators (see, for example Barrett M82), possibly related to the use of squad weapons or to the needs of unconventional warfare, any Tuscania member carries the same sidearm as common Carabinieri, the Beretta 92FS, and, like most Italian paratroopers, the foldingstock SC 70/90 or the shortened SCS 70/90 version of the Beretta AR70/90 assault rifle, M4 Bushmaster assault rifle, By the late 1990s, the Beretta rifle has been replaced by a version of the American carbine M4A1 built by Bushmaster and equipment vests are a special version of the Israeli "Ephod" made for the Tuscania regiment by an Israeli firm, Hagor. They also use the HK53 with a British-made 40mm grenade launcher. == Sports ==

Regiment "Tuscania" also includes a Sport Parachute Unit, which boasts significant results, both in the civil and military spheres, including several world titles achieved in the years 1990, 1994, 1998, 1999. == See also ==