185º Reggimento paracadutisti ricognizione acquisizione obiettivi “Folgore”

Coat of arms of the 185th Long-Distance Regiment

The 185th Fernspähregiment "Folgore" ( it. 185º Reggimento Ricognizione Acquisizione Obiettivi - RRAO ) is an association in battalion strength and a special unit of the Italian Army with the use of gravity reconnaissance . The regiment is stationed in Livorno ( Tuscany ) and is subordinate to the special forces command of the army. The association is part of the Special Forces Task Force ( COFS ) of the Italian armed forces .

assignment

The long range surveillance (LRS ), especially in the field of battlefield surveillance (e.g. Battle Damage Assessment - BDA ), target acquisition and fire control ( Joint Terminal Attack Controller - JTAC, laser ) takes on tasks in the field of information gathering in hostile territory ( Long Range Surveillance - LRS ) Target Marking ), as well as other intelligence tasks ( Human Intelligence - HUMINT ). The motto of the regiment's operational units is videre nec videri - "see without being seen".

organization

The 185th regiment is currently (as of July 2020) organized as follows:

Regimental staff

Headquarters and supply company

3rd Poggio Rusco
Telecommunications Battalion
- 7. Telecommunication company
- 8. Telecommunication company
- 9. Telecom company

Support battalion

Support company (telecommunications, transport)
Training company
Training company

The televsioning companies are divided into teams (Distaccamento Acquisizione Obiettivi, DAO) of up to twelve soldiers, who are led by an officer or a higher non-commissioned officer ( Maresciallo ). You can divide yourself into two to three squads of four to six soldiers each. For smaller teams of six to eight soldiers, the troop level is usually not required. The composition of the teams depends on the assignment and the situation. The soldiers in the teams each specialize in one task (scout, observer, image analysis, radio operator, paramedic, NBC defense, JTAC, sniper), but also have very good knowledge of the other specialist areas. Individual teams specialize in certain areas, including HAHO / HALO jumping or amphibious operations. The training company takes over the regiment-specific basic training, the advanced training company the special training and advanced training in the above-mentioned specialist areas. The regiment is equipped with a wide variety of weapons, telecommunications and target acquisition devices. The VTLM "Lince" serves as a multi-purpose vehicle .

Recruitment and training

All ranks up to first lieutenant can apply, provided various formal requirements are met. The recruitment and basic training of all soldiers of the special forces of the army takes place at the training center of the special forces command of the army in Camp Darby near Livorno . The selection process is followed by uniform basic training for special forces (Operatore Basico per Operazioni Speciali, OBOS) at Camp Darby , including paratrooper training at the air landing school in Pisa. After completing the OBOS basic training, the training company of the 185th telecommunications regiment is followed by deployment training lasting about a year. Training sections are the recognition of military material, radio communication and fire control, the behavior during capture and questioning as well as escape from captivity, so-called SERE training . This is followed by the extended special training, which can be different for each soldier. Possible include HAHO / HALO jumping or special training in desert areas, trained as forward air control in the Italian Air Force in Guidonia , courses at the Foreign Language School of the Army in Perugia and various courses at the German training center Special operations in Pfullendorf .

history

Lines of tradition

The history of the 185º RRAO is relatively complex.

During the Second World War , the 185th paratrooper division "Folgore" (Eng. "Lightning strike") was established in 1941 . This division consisted essentially of the parachute regiments 185, 186 and 187 as well as the parachute artillery regiment 185. The division was sent to North Africa in 1942 with the exception of the parachute regiment 185, where it distinguished itself at El Alamein , but there was almost completely worn out.

In 1963 the "Folgore" was re-established as a brigade in Pisa . Among other things, it was under the control of the Parachute Artillery Regiment 185, a battalion-strength unit equipped with 105 / 14mm guns , mortars and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles . After the mentioned artillery was decommissioned, the regiment was converted into a special unit of the observation artillery in 2000 (185º RRAO). This long-distance spying group , divided into batteries, took on reconnaissance tasks in enemy territory. In this form he succeeded the only Italian televsion unit of the Cold War , the 13º Gruppo Acquisizione Obiettivi (13º GRACO, Verona ) of the former rocket artillery brigade "Aquileia" , which was equipped with Lance missiles and American nuclear warheads .

In 2012 it was decided to equip the paratrooper brigade "Folgore" with its own shooting "artillery unit". The 185th Parachute Artillery Regiment with heavy mortars was re-established in Bracciano . Due to historical references, the 185th Long-Distance Regiment (185º RRAO) surrendered its troop flag to the (reactivated) 185th Parachute Artillery Regiment on June 21, 2013. In return, the long-range regiment received the troop flag of the 185th Paratrooper Regiment, which in 1942 did not go to North Africa with the “Folgore” division.

Until the armistice

The 185th Paratrooper Regiment in Italy in 1942 formed the basis for the formation of the 184th Parachute Division “Nembo” (German “thundercloud”). This division consisted of the parachute regiments 183, 184 and 185 and the 184th parachute artillery regiment. In 1943 the "Nembo" division, with the exception of the 185th Parachute Regiment, was transferred to Sardinia , where it served as an operational reserve and to protect military airfields. The 185th Regiment, on the other hand, was initially deployed against partisans in the Italian-Yugoslav border area and then transferred to Sicily , where it was briefly deployed near Messina in the final phase of the Allied Operation Husky . In neighboring Calabria , the regiment was still fighting Canadian troops, with one of its three battalions being wiped out.

The announcement of the Cassibile armistice on September 8, 1943 led to a split in the regiment. The regimental staff and one battalion joined the Allies, parts of the other (third) battalion of the German 29th Panzer Grenadier Division .

In the war of liberation

The 185th Paratrooper Regiment stayed in Calabria until November 1943, then relocated to Puglia , where it was downgraded to a battalion. From the beginning of 1944 it took part with the Allies in the War of Liberation (guerra di liberazione) . In May 1944 the rest of the "Nembo" division (if they had not joined German troops) moved from Sardinia to the mainland, where they temporarily took over the 185th paratrooper battalion near Lanciano and then took part in the battles for Filottrano in July 1944 .

In September 1944, the Allies approved the formation of five Italian combat groups with strong divisions, which should take part in further operations in Italy. The “Nembo” division and the 185th paratrooper battalion were used to set up the “Folgore” combat group. The combat group “Folgore” took part in the battles for Borgo Tossignano and Grizzano with their new paratrooper regiment “Nembo” in April 1945 between Senio and Santerno and then advanced with the Allies to the Brenner Pass . In the further course of the "Nembo" regiment, today's 183rd Parachute Regiment "Nembo" emerged .

F Recce Squadron

After the armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, parts of the 185th Paratrooper Regiment formed in Calabria into an initially independent unit, which came under the command of the 1st Canadian Division in October 1943. The Italian paratrooper unit wanted to take on reconnaissance tasks behind the enemy lines. From December 1943 the unit operated under the designation "F Recce Squadron" or "Squadrone da Ricognizione F" (the "F" stood for the division "Folgore") as a reconnaissance company under the direct command of the XIII. British Corps from Campobasso . After various missions beyond Biferno and Sangro , additional training and personnel reinforcement from the 185th Paratrooper Battalion, the reconnaissance unit moved to the Cassino Front in May 1944 . After the Allied breakthrough, the unit supported the advance to the German Goth position with various reconnaissance and combat missions, also together with partisans , where it finally took a break in Fiesole in late 1944 and early 1945 and was reorganized.

The most important operation (Operation Herring) took place from April 20 to 23, 1945. A total of 226 selected volunteers from the F Squadron and the paratrooper regiment "Nembo" jumped from behind the German lines at Poggio Rusco on the night of April 21 to support the Allied breakthrough in the Po Valley together with partisans through reconnaissance, security or sabotage actions. After this last successful mission, the unit returned to Fiesole, where it was disbanded at the end of June 1945. The commanding general of the XIII. British Corps, later Field Marshal John Harding , personally bid farewell to each and every survivor of the F Recce Squadron .

Further development

The traditions of the 185th Paratrooper Regiment and the F Squadron were taken over by the 3rd Paratrooper Training Battalion "Poggio Rusco" in 1975 until its dissolution in 1998, then the Airborne School in Pisa and in 2013 finally the 185th Fernspähre Regiment "Folgore" (185º RRAO ). The latter has participated in missions in the former Yugoslavia , Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 . In 2013 it was spun off from the "Folgore" paratrooper brigade and placed under the new Army Special Forces Command in Pisa.

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