Carabinieri Legion
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A Carabinieri Legion is a police association of the Carabinieri , a military police force in Italy .
Area of responsibility
Since 2009, a territorial Carabinieri legion has been responsible for one region of Italy at a time . Since the Aosta Valley is under the jurisdiction of the Carabinieri Legion Piedmont , there are currently 19 territorial legions. Criminal and protection police units are combined in them. Depending on the territorial extent and population of the respective region, the respective legions are commanded by brigadier generals or major generals . Generally they are equivalent to a brigade .
In addition to the 19 territorial legions, there is also a brigade-equivalent training legion for teams .
The term "Legion" refers to the Roman legion of antiquity.
organization
The commander of a legion is supported by a deputy and a staff . The latter is divided into the usual staff departments . There are also other small administrative and support services.
Provincial commands are subordinate to the Legion Command according to the administrative structure of the respective region. Depending on their size and population, these provincial commands are led by brigadier generals, colonels or lieutenant colonels . These are subordinate to the territorial Carabinieri companies with the subordinate Carabinieri stations.
The supporting and specialized units that are directly subordinate to the legionary command include forensic agencies, water protection police units, carabinieri on horseback and explosives specialists. Specialized units of the Carabinieri that do not belong to the territorial organization can be assigned to the territorial legions for service or administration. These can be departments for the protection of cultural assets, consumer protection, environmental protection, occupational safety or helicopter units.
history
Since the Carabinieri originated in 1814 as a very small organization in the relatively small Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont , there were no associations above the battalion level until the unification of Italy in 1861 . In 1861, in addition to a training legion in Turin ( Caserma Cernaia ), 13 territorial legions were established, which were commanded by colonels, usually each covering several provinces and in this form corresponded to a regiment until 1992 : 1. in Turin , 2. in Genoa , 3 in Cagliari , 4th in Milan , 5th in Bologna , 6th in Florence , 7th in Naples , 8th in Chieti , 9th in Bari , 10th in Salerno , 11th in Catanzaro , 12th in Palermo and 13th in . in Ancona . At that time Rome and Latium were still part of the Papal States , while northeastern Italy was part of the Austrian Empire at the time . In the course of the incorporation of these areas into the Kingdom of Italy , legions were also set up there. As early as 1867, the numbering of the legions had been abolished, so that they were only designated according to their location.
During the First World War it became necessary in 1917 to combine the Carabinieri legions into five so-called "legion groups", which were brought to seven in the same year because of the larger number of personnel. These large associations were replaced by five territorial inspectorates in 1926, to which another was added the following year. These six inspectorates were replaced by six brigades on July 16, 1936, which in turn formed two, and from 1939 three, Carabinieri divisions:
- 1st division "Pastrengo" ( Milan )
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- I. Brigade ( Turin )
- Legions in Turin, Alessandria , Genoa
- II Brigade (Milan)
- 2nd division "Podgora" (Rome)
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- III. Brigade in Florence
- IV Brigade in Rome
- 3rd Division "Ogaden" (Naples)
In addition to the 20 territorial legions, there was a training legion in Rome ( Caserma Vittorio Emanuele II ) .
On May 9, 1940, it was decided to set up a VII Brigade and eight other legions. In these new legions one wanted to organize the Carabinieri units in the Italian colonies and thus put them on an equal footing with those in the mother country . However, due to the Second World War , this could not be implemented. Even during the war and in the first post-war years, the above-mentioned territorial organization remained largely unchanged.
The first more far-reaching reorganization took place in 1956: the 1st Division in Milan was subordinated to the three brigades in Turin (I), Milan (II) and Padua (VII) with the subordinate legions, and the 2nd Division in Rome three brigades in Florence (III.), Rome (IV.) and Bologna (VIII.), the 3rd division in Naples the three brigades in Naples (V), Palermo (VI) and Bari (IX). At the same time a (tenth) training brigade was established in Rome, to which the officers 'school of the Carabinieri in Rome, the non-commissioned officers' school in Florence and the two training legions in Rome and Turin were subordinated. On April 1, 1963, an XI. Brigade in which riot police regiments in Milan (1st), Rome (2nd) and Naples (3rd) were combined with subordinate battalions and a Carabinieri regiment on horseback in Rome (4th).
From 1992 the divisions, brigades and legions of the Carabinieri were dissolved. In their place there were five “interregional commands”, 19 “regional commands” and over 100 “provincial commands”, with which the Carabinieri organizationally adapted to the decentralized state structure of the Republic of Italy. In 2009, the regional commands of the Carabinieri were renamed Legions , reactivating a term steeped in tradition without calling into question the reorganization of 1992.