The carabinieri weapon is a leader in peacekeeping and in international cooperation missions. Its presence in various operating theaters has made it a point of reference for the states that are rising from long periods of wars and crises.
To try to understand better how the carabinieri operate abroad we met the Colonel Cristiano Desideri, head of the current operations section of the Arma.
Colonel Desideri you belong to the plan office and military police incardinated inside the II department "employment of forces", and is the head of the current operations section of the Carabinieri. What exactly does your office do?
What is meant by "military police"?
The carabinieri weapon has involved international missions for a very long time. The first experience dates back to 1854 in the Crimea. To date, what is the intensity of the Arma's commitment to missions outside the area?
What are the tasks performed by the Carabinieri in the contexts where they are operational?
Colonnello Desideri, the carabinieri's weapon is present with his men in various particularly delicate operating theaters. One of these, in which the carabinieri have been present for some time, is the Balkan area. What is the current situation of the mission?
In this context, how are the carabinieri seen by the population?
Let's move from the Balkans to North Africa, specifically in Libya. The fall of Gaddafi in the 2011 has created a vacuum within the security sector which is the natural event when a dictator who has ruled for over forty years falls. Italy has been called to respond to the high demand for security advanced by Libya and has done so through the Carabinieri, who are also exposed to risks deriving from the absence of written agreements or a Memorandum of Understanding. So how does the Arma work in Libya?
<In Libya, Italy has been involved for a year with a bilateral mission called the Italian Military Mission in Libya (MIL). This is a military cooperation mission whose strategic command is of SMD (Major Defense State, ed) and the OPCON (Operational Control, ed) is exerted by the COI (Operational Command of Vertice Interforze, ed). The Arma deploys within this mission a "Unit Unit" of thirty units. These have the task of conducting courses in favor of the police force of that country. At present it is a country that has decided to approach an Italian police model, so there is a civil police force, dependent on the Ministry of the Interior, and a military police force called "Border Guard" , dependent on the Ministry of Defense. Besides that, they are also creating police specialties such as the "Special Airborne Group" of the civil police, which was wanted by the Libyans a little 'model of the "Hunters of Calabria" of the weapon, and therefore a force of police with military training associated with a high degree of flexibility to be deployed quickly with helicopters or aircraft in various parts of the country. In addition, a diplomatic police and a specialized tourist police are being set up, the first in the protection of foreign institutions and diplomatic offices and, secondly, in the protection of cultural heritage. In all this the task of the Trainign Unit of the Carabinieri is to receive, through a liaison officer, the various training questions and develop a "syllabus", ie an educational program, to be submitted to the approval of the COI and SMD. Once these programs are approved, the Training Unit develops them in close contact with the General Command and with the II mobile brigade of the Arma, which provide functional technical advice. This is basically the chain of command that binds the staff. At present we do courses. We have trained about a thousand agents and we have scheduled courses until the end of June, Ramadan period. In May the courses will be scheduled until the second semester. This is the standard training model developed after the Iraqi experience. So first the security managers are trained, then through the T3 model, "Train the trainers", the best ones are extrapolated to become instructors in such a way that, in projection, a host nation enslavement is never created. compared to the force dedicated to training, but emancipated it by preparing their future trainers, remaining in any case in contact with them, no longer with training functions but rather with advising, that is consulting at a higher level. The ultimate goal is to arrive at the T5 model "train the trainers who train the trainers", ie create trainers who will train other trainers. As for risks, Libya is a country where, following the civil revolution, the so-called. paramilitary forces called katibe have partial control of many areas of the country. Note that the MIL is allocated on Tripoli and Tripoli compared to other areas of the country presents on the one hand less problems, on the other hand, being the political heart of the country, is subject to demonstration actions of these katibe that never miss the opportunity to draw attention to their military strength and therefore to the desire to establish themselves as interlocutors; this in order to obtain economic resources or classification within the ranks of the new military or police establishment.
The scientific police function carried out by the Carabinieri in Lebanon is very interesting. What does this activity consist of?
Afghanistan is back from the presidential elections that took place last April 5 but that did not lead to the election of the new president requiring a run-off between the two main candidates to be held at the end of May. However, they both underlined their willingness to maintain, even after December, 2014 a multinational force that continues to guard the situation in the country. How did the carabinieri's weapon help ensure the smooth running of the elections and how do you foresee the commitment in Afghanistan after December 2014?
Colonel, the carabinieri's weapon is used as an example to structure the police forces of states that are rebuilding their social and political fabric. How is the weapon considered internationally?
Colonel Do you want to know which units of the Arma are sent abroad and who are the carabinieri, men and women, who are chosen for these missions?
The economic moment that Italy, together with Europe is experiencing, is particularly delicate. Important cuts are feared that will inevitably reduce the entire structure of the defense sector. How much will these cuts affect current and future international missions?
In a strategic perspective of Italy's role in the international community and of cooperation missions, how do you see the carabinieri weapon?
It seems evident that the Arma constitutes a piece of Italy that works and that is appreciated and taken as an example abroad. Men and women who, around the world, put their professionalism and their commitment to the service of the international community in order to export what good our country has to offer.
An example for everyone in a very delicate moment that sees our very sense of belonging to the particularly fragile nation.
Andrea Strippoli Lanternini
