Ex. Amaranth Beret: the 187th Regiment “Folgore” trains with the 173rd Airborne Brigade USA

Altopascio (LU) / Valle Ugione (LI) – April 2025. The exercise “Amaranth Beret” has just concluded, featuring the amaranth berets of the 187th Paratroopers Regiment “Folgore” and a platoon of paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the U.S. Army, stationed at the “Ederle” Barracks in Vicenza.

An internationally significant training event, part of the joint activities of the so-called “Airborne Community”: a network of allied paratrooper units, united by the desire to maintain high operational standards, interoperability, and cohesion in joint operations.

Exercise objectives: cooperation, speed, effectiveness

The exercise had a dual purpose: on one hand, to strengthen cooperation between elite Italian and American units, and on the other, to test and refine the ability to plan and conduct joint airborne operations in realistic and complex scenarios.

A valuable “mutual training” opportunity, allowing both contingents to compare procedures, techniques, and approaches that are different yet complementary, in a perspective of continuous tactical and technical evolution.

Phase 1: Joint Forcible Entry Operation on DZ “Nella”

The first part of the exercise took place in the “Nella” drop zone in Altopascio (LU). Here, Italian and American paratroopers operated side by side in a Joint Forcible Entry Operation (JFEO): a military action aimed at seizing and consolidating a strategic objective through airdrop.

The activity required a high capacity for rapid planning, coordination among multiple assets, and responsiveness in facing environmental and operational variables, simulating high-intensity scenarios, such as interventions in hostile or enemy-occupied theaters.

Phase 2: urban combat and C-IED countermeasures

The second phase took place in the training area of Valle Ugione (LI), where personnel engaged in complex exercises, with particular emphasis on Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT): operations in urban environments, among the most insidious and challenging for combat troops.

Main activities included:

• Use of Inflatable Wall System, highly realistic inflatable buildings to simulate urban scenarios;
• Use of SIMUNITION, non-lethal ammunition that allows realistic simulations with impact marking;
• Counter-IED training, recognizing and neutralizing improvised explosive devices, one of the main threats in modern operational theaters.

These activities required maximum coordination, adaptability, and effective communication between the two formations, contributing to consolidating a common operational language.

Final phase: joint shooting exercise

The exercise concluded at the ISOPOL range, within the “Folgore” Multifunctional Training Complex. Here, an advanced shooting activity took place, aimed at evaluating engagement capabilities in realistic and simulated conditions, refining the readiness to use individual and unit weapons in high-intensity contexts.

A final moment of verification of the skills acquired during the entire exercise, but also of sharing best practices between the two units.

A strategic and operational bond between allies

The collaboration between the 187th Regiment of the Folgore and the 173rd Airborne Brigade USA is not episodic: it is based on a long history of cooperation and a shared vision of the operational readiness of Italian and American paratrooper forces.

These exercises, in addition to ensuring interoperability between contingents, represent a strategic investment in the collective security of NATO and partner forces. In an increasingly dynamic geopolitical context, the ability to operate in an integrated and reactive manner is a fundamental resource.

The bond between the Italian amaranth berets and the American “Sky Soldiers” goes beyond mere technical cooperation: it is based on a common culture of duty, sacrifice, and military excellence.

Events like “Amaranth Beret” not only enrich professional skills but also strengthen the brotherhood among men and women who share the same military vocation: to operate with speed, precision, and courage in the most challenging contexts.

The Folgore Paratroopers Brigade, once again, confirms its leading role within the Italian and allied land operational forces, maintaining training excellence standards and demonstrating the full capability to act in synergy with the most prestigious international airborne units.