Italian special forces

The Italian Special Forces include special forces units from several branches of the Italian Military: the Esercito Italiano or Army, the Marina Militare or Navy, the Aeronautica Militare or Air force and l'Arma dei Carabinieri. Each of these four branches has its own special forces unit, and other state bodies, such as the Italian State Police, have their own units.

Italian Army special units

Italian Army special units are divided in Special Forces and Special Operations Forces:

Special Forces

• 9th Parachute Assault Regiment "Col Moschin", an SAS-like force trained for special operations in all kinds of environments. It is descended from the Arditi (Brave) units that operated on the Italo-Austrian Front of the First World War.

Special Operations Forces

• 4th Alpini Parachutist Regiment "Monte Cervino" - a combination of elite mountain infantry and airborne troops. The 4th is best-suited for high-altitude operations. It inherits the name from the Battaglione Alpini Sciatori (Alpine Skiers Battalion) "Monte Cervino", a battalion of "special operation forces" born during WWI and deployed in the eastern front in WWII. They were nicknamed Diavoli Bianchi (White Devils) for their white snow camouflage suits. Disbanded after WWII, in 1964 became the Compagnia Alpini Paracadutisti (Alpini Parachute Company), in 1990 gained the name of "Monte Cervino", in 1996 was reformed. In 1999, the battalion earned the......
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