Italian Army - Effective Operational Capability

Effective Operational Capability

All brigades may be deployed outside Italy and are often involved in peace-keeping operations on foreign soil. The brigades are combat brigades, numbering between 3–5,000 troops each. Units are designated as regiments, but field men and equipment comparable to large battalions and consist of a large Command, Logistics, and Support Company plus a combat battalion, which, in the case of light infantry units (Alpini, Lagunari and 66th Air-mobile Infantry Regiment Trieste), consists of:

• 3 Infantry companies
• 1 Mortar company with 120mm mortars
• 1 Anti-tank company with Spike anti-tank guided missile systems

In the mechanized infantry units (including Bersaglieri and Granatieri) the mortar and anti-tank companies are merged into a "Maneuver Support Company", while the paracadutisti regiments field a "Maneuver and Paracadutisti Special Forces Operations Support Company".