Training in arctic areas is becoming more and more intense for NATO armies. After the Alpini with the CWO exercise in the Arctic environment, hundreds of American and Norwegian paratroopers tested their capabilities in extreme cold conditions as part of Exercise Arctic Shock. The US unit involved was the 11th Airborne Division [...]
The British Army's historic Parachute Regiment, also known as the 'Paras', is in a serious personnel crisis. The British Ministry of Defence has offered £7,500 (around €8,800) to soldiers from other infantry units to join the Parachute Regiment. The unprecedented 'offer', if you want to call it that, was notified to personnel [...].
The reflection on military conscription is gaining new momentum in Italy, influenced by the tensions on the international scene and the recent decisions of some NATO member states. Denmark has decided to extend compulsory military service to women and to increase the duration of this service from 4 to 11 months for all [...]
Late yesterday evening, 14 March 2024, the glorious and multi-decorated 186th Parachute Regiment "Folgore" marked the end of its mission in Kosovo by returning to Siena with its War Flag. The return marks the conclusion of an engagement that lasted from November 2023 to March 2024, during which it held the [...]
When I joined the Folgore in 1999, a saying circulated in the corridors of the cold dormitories of the Bandini barracks in Siena: 'A paratrooper officer will never make a career. Impossible to see an amaranth beret at the top of the armed forces'. They were talking about Gen. C.A. Franco Angioni, who in the mid-1990s came to be National Director of the [...].
The exercise "ERMES 1/24", coordinated by the Operational Forces Command North and oriented to the preparation of the next deployment units in the NATO enhanced Vigilance Activity (e-VA) mission in Bulgaria, has ended. In particular, the 132nd land artillery regiment "Ariete" conducted the activity at the Cellina Meduna training area. During the exercise, a Command Post was simulated [...].
July 2000: Parachutists of the 186th Regiment on patrol near Lake Shkodra, Albania
In a solemn international context, the paratroopers of the Folgore Parachute Brigade handed over command of the Italian contingent in Hungary to the 'Aosta' Brigade. This handover marks the end of six months of Italian command within the NATO mission "eVA-enhanced Vigilance Activity", under the leadership of the 183rd Parachute Regiment "Nembo" from Pistoia. The handover ceremony [...]
During Operation Airone, the Folgore Parachute Brigade deploys almost 1,000 men - Copyright Italian Army
The tenth Annual International Airborne Commanders Conference (AIACC) was recently held at the prestigious Citadelle de Québec in Canada, an event of international importance attended by military delegations from thirteen countries. Among the participants, the presence of the 'Folgore' Parachute Brigade representing Italy stood out, confirming the strategic importance and [...]
