17º Stormo Incursori
17º Stormo Incursori (German 17th Special Forces Squadron ) is the name of a special unit of the Italian Air Force ( Aeronautica Militare ). It is stationed at the Furbara military airfield near Rome and is subordinate to the 1st Brigata Aerea . She is also involved in the Special Forces Command ( COFS ) of the Italian General Staff . The squadron , consisting of airmobile ground troops , was called Reparto Incursori Aeronautica Militare (RIAM) (German "Air Force Special Unit ") until April 8, 2008 .
assignment
As a long-distance spying association , the 17th Squadron supports airborne units in target acquisition and target marking ( forward air control , combat controlling, laser target designation ). So-called combat controllers direct air attacks at the front or in enemy-controlled areas and use laser devices to mark targets for precision weapons . The unit can be used to secure, hold and prepare forward airfields or landing sites and to take over general air traffic control tasks there. The unit has important tasks in the field of search and rescue operations under combat conditions (CSAR). It can also be used for other special tasks and for property protection purposes when deployed abroad.
organization
The squadron consists of four so-called groups. The operational unit called GOI ( Gruppo Operativo Incursori ) is more than 100 men strong and is divided into four operational platoons and one support platoon. The platoons consist of 4-man squads. There is also the training group GAI ( Gruppo Addestrativo Incursori ) and the support units GSS ( Gruppo Servizio di Supporto ) and CSF ( Compagnia Sopravvivenza delle Forze ), which take care of logistics , transport and telecommunications systems . Then there is the Servizio Amministrativo , an administrative unit. The members of the GOI wear sand-colored berets , which are reminiscent of those of the Special Air Service .
Recruitment and training
Applicants must first take a rigorous fitness test. In the subsequent basic training, sections at the air landing school in Pisa , at the mountain and winter combat school of the Alpini in Aosta , and especially with the 9th Paratrooper Assault Regiment Col Moschin are planned. The special training focuses on training to become a Combat Controller and Combat Search and Rescue . A number of advanced training courses can be attended later, including a. at the German special forces school in Pfullendorf (e.g. Combat Medic ).
history
The special forces association was set up on March 1, 2003 under the name Reparto Incursori Aeronautica Militare (RIAM) on the former airport of Furbara near Cerveteri ( Latium ). There was already a training center for Combat Search and Rescue there . The new unit continues the traditions of the special ADRA battalion ( Arditi Distruttori Regia Aeronautica ) and the 1st Paratrooper Battalion of the Regia Aeronautica . The ADRA battalion was established in July 1942 and had the task of raiding enemy airfields and destroying aircraft there. In June 1943 , a small team succeeded in destroying 25 British aircraft on the Benina airfield (now Benghazi airport ) in North Africa. Another team blew up a railway bridge near Beni Mansour in Algeria .
The 1st Paratrooper Battalion was set up in May 1942 and led by Lieutenant Colonel Edvino Dalmas. His 300 men fought with their khaki barrettes in November 1942 in Tunisia . At Djebel el-Abiod they temporarily stopped an Allied attack, but suffered heavy losses.
The 17th Squadron ( 17 ° Stormo ) was an anti-aircraft missile unit on Nike Hercules stationed in northern Italy during the Cold War . After these missiles were decommissioned, this squadron continues to exist as a special forces association. The name RIAM was a temporary solution.
Web links
- Official Website (Italian)