Exercise Emerald Warrior 14 (EW2025), which began on January 25, concluded on Friday 27 February.
The training event took place in the United States, in Arizona and California, with the aim of consolidating procedures and tactics between Special Forces and flight departments.
The activities, planned and supervised by AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command), involved, in addition to the US Special Forces, the raider personnel of the 17th Raider Wing of Furbara (Rome) and the operational personnel of the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa with the use of a C-130J transport aircraft.
The event was also attended by other joint forces from the Joint Command for Special Forces Operations (COFS) in Rome and the 185th Reconnaissance and Target Acquisition Regiment (RRAO) in Livorno of the Italian Army, as well as other Special Forces from France and Romania.
The training was mainly focused on activities of combat controller (CC) with qualified operators of the 17th Raiders Wing, together with personnel of the special tactics American, with reconnaissance operations and preparation of semi-prepared runways, managing the landing circuit in a tactical environment of the aircraft participating in the EW25 until their arrival on the ground. Using air-to-ground ranges present in Arizona, the qualified JTAC personnel (joint terminal attack controller) had the opportunity to test activities of close air support (close air support), difficult to replicate in other contexts, with the help of A-10 and AC-130 aircraft. The qualified SOCM personnel (special operations combat medic), alongside a US SOST (special operations surgical team) unit, had the opportunity to practice treating the wounded during a conflict or following terrorist attacks/bombings with the related transportation of the wounded aboard C-130J aircraft. The 46th Air Brigade, with its crews on C-130J aircraft, carried out low-altitude flights, airdrops of material and airdrops of personnel, training activities, all in a complex scenario.
The joint exercise, which brought together both conventional and special operations forces from the United States, as well as those of its international partners and allies, provided an important training opportunity to prepare for the difficult challenges of the present and future.
The 1st Special Operations Air Brigade (BAOS) ensures the qualification, training, specialization and preparation of the Special Forces (Incursori), and of the Air Support Forces for Special Operations (SAOS) and for the activities of Personnel recovery, ensuring the constant updating, standardization and interoperability of tactics, techniques and procedures at the Armed Forces, Joint, Interagency and International levels.
Furthermore, it has the task of expressing the skills necessary to prepare a structure of a joint special operation air task group (JSOATG) highly specialized, versatile and with high levels of operational readiness for exercises and operations. The 1th Stormo Incursori of Furbara and the 17th Stormo of Grazzanise depend on the 9st BAOS. The 1st BAOS depends hierarchically on the command air team-1st air region of Milan.
The 46th Air Brigade is a transport unit of the Air Force that depends on the Air Squad Command - 1st Air Region through the Command forces for mobility and support. With its fleet of C-130J and C-27J aircraft, it is engaged daily in the service of the country. Among the tasks of the department, there is the air landing, the air dropping of personnel and material, the medical air evacuation and tactical operations.
