The Navy's “AMPHEX 24” exercise, which took place from 8 to 23 October and aimed at obtaining certification of the Full Operational Capability in the planning and conduct of an amphibious operation of the “Pozzuolo del Friuli” brigade. With this certification, the “Pozzuolo del Friuli” completes a process that began in the second half of 2023 as part of the revitalization of the National Projection Screening Capacity (CNPM) and the achievement of the Initial Operational Capability (plus) on the part of the joint landing force command on the basis of the marine brigade "San Marco" integrated with elements of the "Pozzuolo del Friuli". The activity, which saw for the first time what joint landing force commander an Army commander, Brigadier General Nicola Mandolesi, commander of the “Pozzuolo del Friuli”, was evaluated by an inter-force commission (Army-Navy) which verified all the phases of the Amphibious Assault and the procedures.
During AMPHEX 24, the “Pozzuolo del Friuli”, completed with elements of the “San Marco” marine brigade, was integrated into the task force naval amphibious framework third naval division - under the command of Rear Admiral Michele Orini - composed of two amphibious ships (Nave St. George of the Ship Saint Mark) and a flagship (Nave Etna), helicopter assets of the Navy and a Landing Force composed of approximately 300 units from all the regiments that make up the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade, together with more than 100 riflemen of the marine brigade Saint Mark. “Achieving certification - said General Mandolesi - it is the conclusion of long years of planning and training for the “Pozzuolo del Friuli” and all its departments aimed at a new employment and a new identity for this great unit of the Army”.
The CNPM is a modern instrument capable of planning and conducting maritime operations with amphibious connotations and the joint landing force commander will be guaranteed in a two-year rotation between the Army and the Navy. This capacity is expressed in a pool of forces, including all the maneuver and combat support capabilities, available to the Chief of Defense Staff and employable for the conduct of amphibious operations upon mandate from the military political leadership. The Gorizia Brigade becomes, in fact, the large "amphibious" unit of the Army, capable of having, in addition to the light infantry units of the lagoon regiment, also artillery, engineering, cavalry and logistical support assets capable of operating in amphibious contexts.
