Task Force 45: the Invisible Soldiers

The Task Force 45 (TF-45) was a combat military unit, joint, of Italian special forces, operating from June 2006 to 2014 in Afghanistan, as part of Operation "Sarissa" of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

It reported directly to the NATO Special Forces Command in Kabul, and not to Italian national commands. However, the Italian Defense Staff coordinated its operations through the COFS.

The task force was classified, and its members were not counted in the overall Italian contingent deployed in Afghanistan, which is why the number of TF-45 personnel is still unknown (estimated at about 300 personnel, but the figure is uncertain).

It was composed exclusively of military personnel from the special forces of the 4 armed forces, with the technical operational support of the 11th Signal Regiment (Italian Army) and the 26th Helicopter Unit for Special Operations (REOS) "Giove" (from 2014 3rd Special Operations Helicopter Regiment "Aldebaran")

It was the largest deployment of special forces ever fielded by Italy since World War II.

History

In 2004, the Italian government received, confidentially, instructions from NATO for the creation of a special forces unit to be permanently stationed in Afghanistan until the end of the mission. The Italian Defense Staff tasked the newly established COFS (Joint Special Operations Command) to handle it.

On February 3, 2005, in the Afghan mountains between Herat and Kabul, in an air accident, Captain Bruno Vianini, an Incursore of COMSUBIN (Italian Navy), lost his life. He was sent on reconnaissance by COFS to prepare the deployment for what would become Task Force 45.

In June 2006, under the command of Lt. Col Roberto Vannacci, the first commander of the 45, it was ready to act with men and equipment.

Immediately, the following month, the Task Force was employed in the infamous operation "Medusa", aimed at dismantling Taliban formations, pressured by conventional forces in a complex NATO offensive.

Initially, TF-45 was deployed on two bases:

• Forward Support Base (FSB) "Camp Arena" in Herat, Task Unit "Alfa" and TF-45 Command
• Forward Operating Base (FOB) "El Alamein" in Farah, Afghanistan, Task Unit "Bravo"

On August 9, 2009, due to a malfunction of an electric generator, a fire broke out and destroyed the TF-45 Base in Farah, located within a U.S. base.

On October 15, 2009, during a move from Herat to Shindadin, due to a mechanical problem with the VTLM Lince, 1st Corporal Major Ranger Rosario Ponziano of the 4th Rgt. Alpini Par. Monte Cervino lost his life.

On September 17, 2010, it suffered its first combat casualty, Lt. Incursore Paratrooper Alessandro Romani, of the 9th Rgt. Col Moschin. Along with the operational detachment he was part of, he was airlifted to the Bakwah area, Herat province, to capture Afghan terrorists identified by a UAV Predator while placing an explosive device under a road bridge.

Wounded in the shoulder in the ensuing firefight, he died a few hours later at the Role 2 hospital in Farah due to cardiac arrest caused by the injuries sustained.

Composition

TF-45 was composed of military personnel from all Italian Special Forces units (FS - TIER 1) and Special Operations Forces (FOS - TIER 2) and operated under the exclusive operational command of the 9th Paratrooper Assault Regiment "Col Moschin" of the Italian Army.

Operational units:

• 9th Paratrooper Assault Regiment "Col Moschin" (Italian Army)
• Incursori Operational Group of COMSUBIN "Teseo Tesei" (Italian Navy)
• 17th Incursori Wing (Italian Air Force)
• Special Intervention Group (Carabinieri Corps)
• 4th Paratrooper Alpini Regiment "Monte Cervino" (Italian Army)
• 185th Paratrooper Reconnaissance Target Acquisition Regiment "Folgore" (Italian Army)

Operational support:

• 26th REOS Squadron Group (from 2014 3rd Special Operations Helicopter Regiment "Aldebaran")
• 11th Signal Regiment (Italian Army)

Command structure:

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
  • International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
    • Headquarters ISAF (HQ-ISAF)
      • ISAF Special Operations Forces/Special Operations Command and Control Element (ISAF-SOF/SOCCE)
        • ISAF Regional Special Operations Task Group "West" (ISAF-SOTG-W)
          • Joint Special Operations Task Group "Condor-A" (JSOTG "Condor-A")
            • Task Force 45 (TF-45)

TF-45 was, along with the British Task Force 42 under the command of the 22nd SAS and composed of SAS, SBS, and SFSG operators, the first NATO Special Forces Task Force operating in Afghanistan. Only later were other combat military units of special forces created, including:

• Task Force 45 (Italy) - Territory of Regional Command "West" (RC-W);
• Task Force 47 (Germany) - Territory of Regional Command "North" (RC-N);
• Task Force 49 (W Grom, Poland) - Ghazni Province and territories of Regional Command "East" (RC-E);
• Task Force 50 (JW Komandosów, Poland) - Ghazni Province, Paktika Province, and territories of Regional Command "East" (RC-E);
• Task Force 42 (SAS, SAS, SFSG, United Kingdom) - Helmand Province;
• Task Force 66 (Australia) - Provinces of Oruzgan and Kandahar.
• Task Force EAGLE (Special Operations Battalion, Albania) - Kandahar Province.

Tasks

TF-45 operated with the techniques typical of special forces to perform the "classic" tasks of the same.

The operations, on which the Italian government and military commands often maintained the utmost secrecy, often involved conducting unconventional warfare missions, in a highly asymmetric context when not in support of conventional forces.

According to testimonies, including that of the then first commander of TF-45, Gen. Div. Roberto Vannacci in an interview with Difesa Online in 2021 and the book by the retired Incursore of the 9th Rgt "Col Moschin" Claudio Spinelli, the tasks of TF-45 were as follows:

• Dismantling Taliban formations, specifically targeting group leaderships
• Preventing attacks directed against Italian and coalition military personnel
• Rescuing civilian and military hostages
• Supporting Afghan police forces in executing arrest warrants
• Combating illicit arms trafficking directed at insurgents
• Providing security for political, civilian, and military figures, both local and international
• Creating safe zones pending the arrival of conventional forces

Crucial was the support of the intelligence forces of Aise and those of other ISAF coalition countries. However, TF-45 had its own humint and special reconnaissance units.

The conventional designation of the mission in which Task Force 45 participated is "Operation Sarissa" (named after a Macedonian spear).