The "Riccio 22" exercise, conducted by the 3rd sapper engineers regiment, as part of the training activities of the Permanent Training Company (PTC), at the Cormor training area in Udine, in the presence of the Army Chief of Staff, Corps General Pietro Serino, accompanied by the Commander of the Northern Operational Forces, Corps General Roberto Perretti .
The exercise, held in compliance with the prevention and protection measures imposed by the current epidemiological emergency, saw the engineers of the 3rd regiment conduct a series of activities peculiar to the sappers specialty, in coordination with the assets of the "Genoa" Cavalry regiment (4 °) and counter tanks of the “Serenissima” lagoon regiment, with the aim of training the skills of planning and execution of works on the battlefield to support the maneuvering unit, through the creation and activation of active and passive obstacles.
In particular, the combat capabilities in high-intensity scenarios, acquired as part of the training cycle of the Permanent Training Company of the 3rd Engineer Regiment, with a particular focus on the use of the technical tactical procedures typical of Combined Arms Route Clearance Operations (CARCO), also with the use of a Medium Girder Bridge (portable light bridge).
The head of SME, in attending the salient phases of the exercise, expressed his appreciation for the commitment and professionalism highlighted in the conduct of the training activity, addressing his satisfaction to the participating staff: “There is nothing more stimulating than seeing a department in training, where the technical gesture is combined with the tactical ability. The multi-weapon approach, on the battlefield is the winning solution and the integration capacity you have demonstrated in this exercise is proof of this ".
The 3rd sappers engineer regiment is part of the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" cavalry brigade, force provider of the terrestrial assets of the National Projection Screening Capacity (CNPM). In this context, the peculiarity of the sappers is to support the maneuver of the force and speed up all tactical activities, such as expert reconnaissance of internal waterways. In particular, their task consists in verifying the characteristics of the riverbeds, the typology of the banks, the current, the depth and the presence of possible fords. Furthermore, the advanced reconnaissance assets, Advanced Combat Reconnaissance Team (ACRT), are able to identify the best places to assemble bridges or build ferry lines, evaluate the class and characteristics of the viaducts and bridges located in correspondence with the courses of water, identify enemy elements and areas covered by observation.
