The 16th Alpini Regiment ( it, 16° Reggimento Alpini) is an inactive

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

History

The regiment was formed on 19 September 1991 by elevating the existing Alpini Battalion "Belluno" to regiment. Between 1 October 1910 and 11 November 1975 the battalion was one of the battalions of the

7th Alpini Regiment The 7th Alpini Regiment ( it, 7° Reggimento Alpini) is a regiment of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. History Formation The 7th Alpini Re ...

. After the 7th Alpini Regiment was disbanded during the 1975 Italian Army reform the Alpini Battalion "Belluno", based in Belluno, became one of the battalions of the Alpine Brigade "Cadore". As the traditions and flag of the 7th Alpini Regiment were assigned to the "Feltre" battalion, the Belluno battalion was granted a new war flag on 12 November 1976 by decree 846 of the

President of the Italian Republic President most commonly refers to: * President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Giovanni Leone. The

Silver Medal of Military Valour The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

awarded to the 7th Alpini Regiment for the regiment's service in the

Greco-Italian war The Greco-Italian War (Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdoms of Italy and G ...

, and the Gold Medal of Civil Valour awarded to the 7th Alpini Regiment for its service after the

Vajont disaster The Vajont Dam (or Vaiont Dam) is a disused dam in northern Italy. It is one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of . It is in the valley of the Vajont River under Monte Toc, in the municipality of Erto e Casso, north of Venice. ...

, were duplicated for the new flag of the Belluno battalion. The main task of the regiment was to train recruits destined for the Alpini regiments based in the

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions of northern Italy. In January 1997 the "Cadore" brigade was disbanded and the regiment passed to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". Soon afterwards the Julia ceded the regiment to the Alpine Troops Command. With the suspension of

compulsory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

the regiment was dissolved on 30 November 2004. During its short existence the regiment trained approximately 85,000 soldiers.

Structure

When the regiment was disbanded it had the following structure: * CoA mil ITA rgt alpini 016

Regimental Command ** Nappina blu - Regimental supports

Command and Logistic Support Company ** Nappina verde

Alpini Battalion " Belluno" *** Nappina verde

77th Alpini Company *** Nappina verde

78th Alpini Company *** Nappina verde

79th Alpini Company *** Nappina verde

116th Mortar Company (in reserve status since 1975)

External links

16th Alpini Regiment on vecio.it

Source

* Franco dell'Uomo, Rodolfo Puletti: ''L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Volume Primo - Tomo I'', Rome 1998, Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito - Ufficio Storico, page: 512

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpini Regiment 16 Alpini regiments of Italy Military units and formations established in 1991 Military units and formations disestablished in 2004 1991 establishments in Italy