The activity was organized and conducted to test and improve the strategic projection capabilities of aviotruppe in an interforce / multinational context, through the conduct of the largest multi-national avian pilot exercise ever conducted in Europe since the "Cold War" and which has seen to work jointly Italian, American, Canadian and Bulgarian paratroopers. In this training context, at the end of last August, the company of the 186 parachute regiment "Folgore" initially reached the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, where, after being integrated under the command of the 1 ° battalion / 503 ° regiment paratroopers of the 173 ^ US airborne brigade stationed in Vicenza, was subjected to an intense force on force training which provided, in rapid succession, to carry out a company attack with subsequent reclamation of a complex of underground tunnels, the mopping up of wooded areas and a night-time tactical group attack on a town.
Moreover, these activities were part of a broader supposed NATO exercise that involved, at the same time, more than 5000 men belonging to more than 16 nations in 5 European countries.
Subsequently, the multinational paratroopers unit moved to the Ramstein air base, also in Germany, to carry out the necessary preparatory activities for the airborne operation, including the conduct of inter-force planning, preparatory training for the avi-orange and the aerial loading tests.
In the execution phase of the operation, the paratroopers of the 186 ° "Folgore" paratroopers regiment framed in the multinational airborne device, which included among other things the use of about twenty aeronautical C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft American, conducted, after about three and a half hours of tactical flight, a mass nocturnal aviation aircraft for the occupation of Lienvarde airport, Latvia, to allow the subsequent release of the bulk of the forces via a powerful airlift. After securing the airport, the "Folgore" paratroopers also successfully completed a night-time helicopter attack on a second-half target, with support from AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Blackhawk and CH- 47 Chinook.
The complex training context, the considerable quantity of vehicles and equipment deployed and the realism given to the activities, both from the presence of a particularly reactive opposing party and from the extensive use of advanced simulation systems, have allowed the training of paratroopers of the 186 ° paratroopers regiment "Folgore" to conduct a wide range of high intensity combat missions, as well as verification of the interoperability of procedures and equipment in a distinctly joint and multinational environment.
In this context, of particular importance was the close collaboration established with the American paratrooper brigade stationed in Vicenza, right from the preparation of the activity in the homeland, which demonstrated the natural propensity of the airborne groups to cooperate with each other, thanks to the sharing of characteristics that inextricably link them, beyond the Country of belonging: operating with short notice times, explaining quickly at considerable distances, moving with marked autonomy, acting with a spirit of initiative, surprise and determination.
Source: Army Majority Staff
(photo: EI, US army)
