A demanding ski-mountaineering training conducted by the "Taurinense" alpine brigade in the Piedmontese Alps ended yesterday, with the ascent to Col Bousson (q. 2155 asl), in which over 1100 men and women were involved of the different regiments stationed in the Region.
The activity, which was also attended by some young officers of the Application School of Turin and which saw the participation of two helicopters of the 34 ° Squadron Group of the Army, was aimed at verifying the capacities of the departments in knowing how to live and move and operate in the difficult and selective mountain environment, where the harsh winter temperatures, the isolation and the changing weather conditions put physical and mind to a severe test.
After a busy week, where the brigade departments equipped to operate in complete autonomy traveled five different routes that led them to overcome differences in levels of over 1.400 meters, Alpine troops, engineers and dragons - starting from Claviere, Cesana and Bousson - yes they are found at the top of Col Bousson.
Here, in the presence of the commander of the Alpine troops, General Federico Bonato, the commander of the brigade Taurinense, General Massimo Biagini, presided over the flag-raising ceremony in front of the departments deployed and the mayors and presidents of the sections of theNational Alpine Association of the cities where the exercised departments are located.
After this first training session, the particularly distinguished personnel for commitment and ability will be launched to carry out increasingly selective ski-mountaineering courses, at the end of which they will be able to achieve the coveted qualifications of "military expert in snow and avalanches", "commander of rescue team "and" military mountain guide ".
Training in the mountains and, in this specific case, in the field of ski mountaineering represents for the Alpine troops one of the main phases of the specialized training of their personnel. The specific skills that are acquired are in fact fundamental not only in the context of the numerous international operations in which the Army operates, but also in the homeland when called to intervene with specialized assets and highly qualified personnel to support the civilian population hit by public disasters. , as recently happened for the snow emergency in Central Italy.
