The Need to Establish an Infantry Scout Course: A Structural Proposal

In the current operational and training context of the Italian Army, the need to establish an Infantry Scout Course and an Infantry Scout Instructor Course strongly emerges. In fact, only for the scouts of the Folgore Paratroopers Brigade, the Lagunari Regiment Serenissima, and the Alpine Brigades have specific training activities been activated. This is a proposal aimed at standardizing procedures, training standards, and equipment within a sector—the infantry regiment scouts—so far lacking a structured and homogeneous training path.

Currently, unlike other specialist assets such as mortar operators, anti-tank operators, or snipers, the operators of scout platoons do not follow any dedicated course, leaving individual units with the burden of creating internal training paths. This results in technical-tactical inconsistencies, which risk compromising interoperability and operational effectiveness. A concrete example is offered by the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, which, with the support of the 9th Paratrooper Assault Regiment "Col Moschin," conducted a specific training activity for its scouts.

This training, held between the 9th Regiment's headquarters in Livorno and the San Rossore training area, featured an intensive two-week cycle during which the personnel of the 8th Regiment trained in urban, hilly, and marshy environments, refining their information acquisition and mission analysis skills. The activity culminated in an "After Action Review" (AAR), which outlined the guidelines for integrating the acquired skills into future operational activities.

A Concrete Proposal: Standardized Course and Decentralized Execution

To address this issue, the proposal includes the introduction of two official courses within the Infantry School's training catalog:

• Infantry Scout Course
• Infantry Scout Instructor Course

The courses could be decentralized at the regiments, with uniform training programs validated by the School, which would ensure supervision, standardization, and qualification issuance.

The selection process should include aptitude, motivational, and physical tests to identify candidates truly suitable for operating in critical contexts and high-mobility assets, with autonomous responsibilities in hostile environments. The path should be structured into:

1. Selective Phase: physical and psychological tests.
2. Basic Phase: topography, armament, radio, medical techniques, infiltration, and concealment.
3. Specialist Phase: operational modules on mobility, observation, indirect fire management, RSTA mission planning and execution.
4. Advanced Phase: complementary courses (expert marksman, fast rope, vehicles, SERE, etc.), integrable at specialist centers (Cesano, Forlì, Aosta, Viterbo).

Operational Objectives and Benefits of Uniformity

The scout platoon represents the tactical RISTA unit of the Light Infantry Regiments. With teams of 8 operators capable of operating motorized or on foot, down to the team level, these units perform advanced reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition tasks. These assets operate in depth and autonomously, even beyond enemy lines, contributing to the deconfliction of air and ground operations.

For this reason, it is essential that personnel be trained according to common, shared, and recognized standards. The skills to be acquired include:

• concealed movement in any terrain;
• ability to request indirect fire and CAS;
• advanced use of tactical vehicles, radio systems, and weapons;
• survival, infiltration, and information gathering capabilities.

A standardized course would not only standardize operational profiles but also improve training effectiveness, interoperability between units, and formal recognition of the qualification, enhancing the prestige and functionality of the asset.

In summary, the creation of the Infantry Scout Course is a concrete necessity to rationalize resources, ensure doctrinal coherence, and optimize the operational capabilities of one of the most versatile and critical assets of the Italian Army. The Infantry School is the natural reference point to transform this need into an institutional, lasting, and effective program.