On a gloomy day lashed by an icy sea wind, a group of boys in camouflage waits impatiently on the sidewalk of a quay in Marina di Pisa: some of them wear an amaranth beret, others an alpine hat or the black beret of the infantry. A burly officer with the head covered by a woolen cap, press a key under a canopy protected by an old shed, while nods to prepare. After a few moments, on the other side of the canal, a rubber boat emerges, whose engine, driven at idle speed, breaks the silence and tension of the cold morning; with a simple maneuver the boat approaches a concrete step, starting to embark the first volunteers. From that moment on - think the young aspirants - everything will be different, everything will change into a nightmare or a dream. In any case, however, no one will ever be able to forget the day when he decided to try the arduous path to become the Ninth's raider, but even more nobody will be able to remove from his mind the air breathed in that sacred place: the Base Raiders training otherwise known as "Base a Mare".
A story of fatigue and sweat
I do not believe there are any military bases in Italy and maybe even in Europe, inserted in a natural landscape like a dream like that of San Rossore. Like a gray patch in the middle of the green and deep blue of the sea, the BAI offers a unique morphological variety that is well suited to all the training needs of an elite department such as the Ninth. The sea, the beach, woods and abandoned houses are, in fact, the ideal landscape to forge the soul and the technique of future incursors of the "With Moschin". The Base at Sea but it is not a training center whatsoever, it does not belong to the dense array of anonymous military structures or "passage" in the career of a soldier. The foundations were carved by the hands of the raiders themselves - at that time saboteurs - and by many conscripts who have had the privilege of supporting men of immense value. A history of fatigue and sweat, of course, but also of great satisfaction and carefree moments between fellow soldiers all belonging to the same family.
But how was the idea of placing a barracks in the middle of a presidential reserve? The first to think about the construction of an amphibious base for the saboteurs was Valdimiro Rossi, official of the thunderbolt and future innovator of the ninth department: he, during his stay at the brigade, mentioned to the superiors the possibility to equip a military area at the mouth of the Serchio. The idea of the future Commander Rossi never saw the light, but someone gathered his intentions and then realized them thanks to the intervention of a very influential person: none other than the president of the Republic. At the end of the Sixties, at the Quirinale sat Giuseppe Saragat who, among his intimate friendships, boasted that of General Alberto Li Gobbi, commander of the brigade thunderbolt. The soldier and the president shared a passion for hunting and often found themselves taking long walks inside the San Rossore Park, populated by the typical fauna of the Apennines.
In the sixties the areas used for the training of paratroopers were limited: the Italian army was coming out of the head with a long crisis thanks to the work of men like General Li Gobbi, but unfortunately still had serious structural deficiencies. In the same way they were also difficult years for those who chose a career in the Saboteurs, A unit misunderstood to most but that had already proved its value during the Arno flood and during the mission in South Tyrol South Tyrol against terrorists. The figure of the saboteur, arising from the new philosophy of "special force" born in the last war, was set up to fight in every operating environment. But if in the mountain sector things were going well thanks to precursors like Peter Amadio, real wolf in the Alps, the most difficult issue to settle was the amphibious preparation before Base at Sea, was carried out under the Ponte di Calafuria, a narrow stretch of coast not far from Livorno. Thus the President of the Republic granted the sabotage battalion a small isthmus of land, lapped on one side by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the opposite side of the Arno to use it as a point of support for launches at sea and amphibious operations. The place was immersed in the wild and uncontaminated nature, the surface was dominated by tangles of brambles and thick reeds and it seemed strange to build something on it. The then commander of the Sabotatori battalion, Colonel Italo Cavallino commanded the first team involved in the new base. The lieutenant Enrico Persi Paoli was appointed as the officer in charge of the small group, flanked by men who later became a legend in the history of the Ninth: the marshals Mario Del Bianco, Marco Bodocco, Giuseppe Vit and Franco Bernardi. The team of saboteurs was accompanied inside the park by the parish priest of San Rossore and as soon as they reached their destination they realized that the situation was really desperate: how to get a dock from a place like that?
The saboteurs had only a few tools including a bulldozer, but nothing extraordinary. There was no shelter, no housing or other comfort; however, they were all accustomed to deprivation and did not lose heart. It was like being in a training camp where there was no kind of comfort: the first accommodation was a tent 4x4 and the food arrived every day from Vannucci. The bulldozer was used in shifts, but in those conditions it became necessary to provide specialized personnel: after some time the army engineers led by Sergeant Paolo Bandini arrived and placed the ground for future work. From the original group only Marco Bodocco broke away, leaving the place to another saboteur, the sergeant major Giuliano Bellini, who returned from a brilliant experience as an instructor at the Cesano Infantry School. The work of the engineers facilitated the development of the Base, nevertheless the design and organization of the structures arose from the brilliant mind of a saboteur: Giuseppe Vit said "Bepi". Originally from Portogruaro, Vit did not know anything about engineering, he had no university degree nor had he ever built buildings or marinas, yet he harbored in him an innate ability to organize work, but above all his strong arms created where nothing existed. It was from the "dream" of that man that the original design of the Base at Sea: Thanks to "Bepi" Vit and the work of his colleagues the earth was dug so as to give space to the water and then moor the first boats.
Giuliano Bellini recalls that period with happiness and emotion; these were tiring days, partly because part of the work was carried out after the hours of normal training. Sometimes it happened to receive the sight of President Saragat himself. One day - Bellini always recalls - while the saboteurs were working, the head of the state arrived and, seeing the soldiers exhausted and hungry, gave them wine and plenty of game..
The materials used for the construction of the first housings came from the Vannucci barracks and from disused equipment available at other units. Day after day Lost Paoli and his men witnessed the miracle and in a few months since nothing was born the first amphibious base of the special forces of the Italian army and all without the help of external companies or civilian staff. After months of hard work the result was so exemplary and functional that several owners of naval clubs in the area looked to the base as a model to be inspired. The then Army Command Region then provided the delivery of four buildings to house the soldiers who today represent the original nucleus of the MOVM Barracks Ciro Scianna.
Of course the Base at Sea, to carry out the task for which it was born, it needed the boats. The first to enter the dock was a small boat of just 9 meters with two engines, purchased from the battalion on Lake Trasimeno: was baptized with the name "Buscaglia"In memory of a fellow soldier and classmate of the lieutenant Persi Paoli.
The work at the BAI continued unabated and no day went by when improvements were made; at this juncture it is good to remember the service carried out by all those conscripts who, despite not being saboteurs, spent the period of naja in the ranks of the ward. The Command and Services Company has always done an essential job for the daily functioning of the base, including the surveillance service in the roof terraces that still surround the perimeter of the Scianna.
The paratrooper Renato Valente of the CCS remembers how the BAI held "a multitude of jobs: painted, pulled weeds, pulled gravel, made hundreds of gallons of mixture (for the rubber boats) pumped liters and liters of diesel in the tank of Caria and together with Carlo Franceschini mounted and dismantled the canoes ". In his narration shines an inordinate admiration for his superiors, and in particular the Commander Vincenzo Mollo who embodied the spirit humble and determined a real intruder.
In addition to Enrico Persi Paoli and Giuseppe Vit from this place the captain Francesco Impresa, Lieutenant Giovanni Castellano, the aforementioned lieutenant Vincenzo Mollo and following the captains Claudio Marini, Aldemiro Cardillo, Stefano Iubini and Piero Tanda passed as commander. Each brought with him a good deal of experience and all contributed in some way to the evolution of a place that perfectly embodied the restless spirit of the saboteurs / raiders, always in constant motion.
The Raid Training Base
The boundary network surrounding the BAI safeguards an emotional heritage of great value and for the raiders there is no other place worthy of representing the values for which they have struggled so much. Although at the BAI a student raider spends its hardest period, it is remarkable to note the mental dynamics that change an insidious at first place in a family environment of which one can no longer do without.
Today's features of the Base at Sea they are among the most modern and offer a unique opportunity to learn and then perfect the operating techniques in an amphibious environment. The primigenia "Buscaglia"Was then replaced by"Caria"To which the powerful RHIB inflatable boats have been added (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat). Inside the barracks there are large warehouses for the assembly of the amphibious operating material, a maximum security room for the loading of oxygen tanks, a hold for the various waterproof suits useful for operations and a large room inside the which is arranged a tank to test the "first" aquaticity of the students.
In this evocative setting - but only for those who are able to understand its meaning - on Friday 11 May 2018 the celebration of the 50 years of its foundation took place. A ceremony attended by the commander of COMFOSE, General Ivan Caruso, the commander of the Ninth Colonel Giuliano Angelucci and a large representation of the ANIE led by Colonel Angelo Passafiume and his honorary general president Franco Angioni. Among the guests - but it would be better to call them family members of the Ninth - there was also the consort of Giuseppe Vit, the relatives of Marshal Bodocco and Vincenzo Mollo. After a brief speech by General Caruso and Commander Angelucci, General Enrico Persi Paoli took the floor and summed up the steps that led to the birth of the Base at Sea. He then mentioned the sacrifices and fatigue of his comrades, but in his words it clearly showed the idea that they would do it at all costs. As a corollary of the party, the TCL instructors of the regiment carried out an air raid on the base after which there was the ceremony of naming a new briefing room to the first marshal Carlo Franceschini.
After a small refreshment the BAI has finally closed the doors to its guests to resume the daily work that allows a unique base of its kind to always maintain perfect efficiency.
Thanks
For the drafting of this article it is right and pleasant to thank the commander of the Ninth Regiment Colonel Giuliano Angelucci for his impeccable hospitality.
Special thanks go also to the general commander Enrico Persi Paoli and to the marshal Giuliano Bellini: thanks to their memory, they have made some parts of this article unpublished.
Thanks also to the president Colonel Angelo Passafiume and to all the ANIE of which I am honored to be a part. In this context, I would also like to pay a heartfelt acknowledgment to Renato Valente, Decimo Moretto and Andrea Guzzo, worthy representatives of the command company and services of the regiment for their excellent contribution.
Paolo Palumbo
(photo: Viviana Cariola, Piero Tanda)
