The "''San Marco''" Marine Brigade (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
: ''Brigata Marina "San Marco"'') is an amphibious formation of the
Italian Navy
"Fatherland and Honour"
, patron =
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
, has been brigade since 2013 but the amphibious corps existed since 1915, reorganizing the Navy Landing Force.
It has its command in
Brindisi
Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Histo ...
. They are the
marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
of the Italian Navy.
It is a joint formation, framed within the amphibious projection force, whose commander is the same admiral who serves as commander of the San Marco Brigade.
History
The formation was previously the San Marco Battalion and later became the
San Marco Regiment
The 1st San Marco Regiment (Italian: ''1° Reggimento San Marco''), located in Brindisi, is an amphibious formation of the Italian Navy. They are the Italian marines.
Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the San Marco Battalion (' ...
in the 1990s.
A joint Italian-Spanish landing force (''SILF'' - ''Spanish Italian Landing Force'') was established on 23 November 1996, in order to operate in international combat theaters on behalf of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
.
The SILF was structured in the form of an amphibious brigade, consisting of two manoeuvre units, one being "''San Marco''" Regiment, of marine infantry, artillery, anti-armour and air defense weapons, reconnaissance and demolition, engineers, helicopters and air support,
IFV
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed For ...
s and assault vehicles.
![Marò San Marco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Mar%C3%B2_San_Marco.png)
On 1 October 1999, the Landing Force of the Navy was created, under the command of a
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
, stationed in Brindisi Naval Base and formed in two regiments: the "San Marco" Regiment and the "Carlotto" Regiment, both controlled by a
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, and the Landing Craft Group, commanded by a
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
.
The Landing Force was renamed from 1 March 2013 as "''San Marco''" Marine Brigade, still being based in Brindisi, but consisting of three regiments, totalling about 3,800 marines.
It is commanded by an
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
, reporting directly to the Commander in Chief of the Italian Navy Fleet Command (CINCNAV).
Organization
![Vladimir Putin with Sergio Mattarella (2015-06-14)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Vladimir_Putin_with_Sergio_Mattarella_%282015-06-14%29.jpg)
The brigade is organized as follows:
San Marco Marine Brigade
The San Marco Marine Brigade and the Navy's 3rd Naval Division form together with 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
Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli"
The Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" is a brigade of the Italian Army, based in the Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions. The Brigade consists of a command unit, a cavalry regiment, an amphibious infantry regiment, an artillery regiment, ...
the
Italian military
The Italian Armed Forces ( it, Forze armate italiane, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and ar ...
's National Sea Projection Capability (''Forza di proiezione dal mare'').
* San Marco Marine Brigade (Brigata Marina San Marco - COMFORSBARC), in Brindisi
** Brigade Headquarters (Quartier Generale della Brigata Marina San Marco - QUARTGEN Brigata Marina San Marco), in Brindisi
** Amphibious Integration Centre (Centro Integrazione Anfibia), in Brindisi
** Command Support Battalion (Battaglione Supporto al Comando), in Brindisi
*** C4 Company
*** Technical Support Company
** Training Battalion ''"
Caorle
Caorle (; vec, Càorle) is a coastal town in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy, located between the estuaries of the Livenza and Lemene rivers. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea between two other tourist towns, Eraclea and ...
"'' (Battaglione Scuole "Caorle"), in Brindisi
*** Formation Company
*** Training, Instruction, Specialization Company
*** Pedagne Team, manages the
Pedagne Islands training area
** Navy Landing Craft Group (Gruppo mezzi da sbarco della Marina Militare), in Brindisi - mans the
landing craft
Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...
of the amphibious ships and manages the ship-to-beach traffic
*** Propulsion and Vessels Section
*** Maritime Section
*** Beach Organization Section
*** Landing Craft Team, with 9x
LCM62-class Landing Craft Mechanized
The landing craft mechanized (LCM) is a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults.
Variants
There was no ...
, 4x LCM23-class Landing Craft Mechanized
*** Boat Team, with 20x
MTP96-class Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel
A Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel or Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) is any of a variety of amphibious landing craft designed to transport troops or armoured vehicles from ship to shore during amphibious landings.
United Kingdom
The desi ...
1st San Marco Regiment
*
1st San Marco Regiment
The 1st San Marco Regiment (Italian: ''1° Reggimento San Marco''), located in Brindisi, is an amphibious formation of the Italian Navy. They are the Italian marines.
Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the San Marco Battalion (' ...
(1° Reggimento San Marco), in Brindisi - amphibious landing force
** Command Unit (Reparto Comando)
*** Command Company with an Air Support Element team
*** Signal Company
*** Paratroopers Swimmers Company
**** 2x Reconnaissance platoons, 2x SALT platoons (
Supporting Arms Liaison Team)
***
EOD/
IEDD Engineer Platoon
*** FHT Platoon (Field
HUMINT
Human intelligence (abbreviated HUMINT and pronounced as ''hyoo-mint'') is Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the List of intelligence gathering disciplines, more technical ...
Team)
** 1st Assault Battalion ''"
Grado
Grado may refer to:
People
* Cristina Grado (1939–2016), Italian film actress
* Jonathan Grado (born 1991), American entrepreneur and photographer
* Francesco De Grado ( fl. 1694–1730), Italian engraver
* Gaetano Grado, Italian mafioso
* Gra ...
"'' (1° Battaglione Assalto "Grado")
*** 1st Assault Company "Bafile"
**** 3x Assault platoons, 1x support weapons platoon
*** 2nd Assault Company "Tobruk"
**** 3x Assault platoons, 1x support weapons platoon
*** Support Weapons Company
**** 1x Command support platoon, 1x
AAV7-A1 platoon with
amphibious assault vehicle
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV)—official designation AAVP-7A1 (formerly known as Landing Vehicle, Tracked, Personnel-7 abbr. LVTP-7)—is a fully tracked amphibious vehicle, amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Ar ...
s (will be replaced with
Amphibious Combat Vehicle
The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is a program initiated by Marine Corps Systems Command to procure an amphibious assault vehicle for the United States Marine Corps to supplement and ultimately replace the aging Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV ...
s)
** 2nd Assault Battalion ''"
Venezia
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...
"'' (2° Battaglione Assalto "Venezia")
*** 3rd Assault Company "An Nassiriya"
**** 3x Assault platoons, 1x support weapons platoon
*** 4th Assault Company "Monfalcone"
**** 3x Assault platoons, 1x support weapons platoon
*** Support Weapons Company
**** 1x Command support platoon, 1x
AAV7-A1 platoon with
amphibious assault vehicle
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV)—official designation AAVP-7A1 (formerly known as Landing Vehicle, Tracked, Personnel-7 abbr. LVTP-7)—is a fully tracked amphibious vehicle, amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Ar ...
s (will be replaced with
Amphibious Combat Vehicle
The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is a program initiated by Marine Corps Systems Command to procure an amphibious assault vehicle for the United States Marine Corps to supplement and ultimately replace the aging Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV ...
s)
** 3rd Combat Logistic Support Battalion ''"Golametto"'' (3° Battaglione Supporto Logistico al Combattimento "Golametto")
*** Command Support Platoon
*** Logistic Company
*** Tactical Transport Company
*** Medical Company
2nd San Marco Regiment
* 2nd San Marco Regiment (2° Reggimento San Marco), in Brindisi - maritime interdiction operations and embarked naval protection teams
** Mobility Team
** Naval Operations Battalion (Battaglione Operazioni Navali), in Brindisi
*** 2x Naval operations companies, each with 10x ship teams
** Interdiction and Protection Battalion (Battaglione Interdizione e Protezione), in Brindisi
*** Force Protection Company, with 10x teams
*** Port Protection Company, with 10x teams
3rd San Marco Regiment
* 3rd San Marco Regiment (3° Reggimento San Marco), in Taranto - installations defense service (Servizio difesa installazioni - SDI)
** 1st Honor Guard Company, in Taranto
** National Emergencies Company (Naval civil protection), in Taranto
**
K9 Unit, in Taranto
** SDI Battalion North (Battaglione SDI Nord), in La Spezia
*** Command Support Team
*** Telecommunications Team
*** SDI Company Liguria, in La Spezia
**** 3x SDI platoons: in La Spezia (Military Harbour),
Luni (Navy Helicopter Station), and
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
(Ammunition Depot Poggio)
*** SDI Company Sardinia, in
La Maddalena
La Maddalena (Gallurese: ''Madalena'' or ''La Madalena'', sc, Sa Madalena) is a town and ''comune'' located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy.
The main town of the same name is locat ...
**** 3x SDI platoons: at La Maddalena (Non-commissioned Officers School),
Santo Stefano Santo Stefano is the Italian name of Saint Stephen.
Santo Stefano may also refer to:
Places Islands
*Santo Stefano (island), an island in Sardinia, Italy
*Santo Stefano Island, an island in the Pontine Islands, Italy
Cities, towns and villages i ...
(Ammunition Depot), and
Tavolara
Tavolara is a small island off the northeast coast of Sardinia, Italy. The island is a limestone massif long and wide, with steep cliffs except at its ends. Its highest point, Monte Cannone, is above sea level. A cove and beach can be foun ...
(NATO
Very Low Frequency
Very low frequency or VLF is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 3–30 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 km, respectively. The band is also known as the myriameter band or myriameter wave a ...
Station)
** SDI Battalion Centre - Rome (Battaglione SDI Centro - Roma), in Rome
*** Command Support Team
*** Telecommunications Team
*** SDI Company Rome, at the Navy General Staff
** SDI Battalion South (Battaglione SDI Sud), in Taranto
*** Command Support Team
*** Telecommunications Team
*** SDI Company Taranto, in Taranto
**** 3x SDI platoons: in Taranto (Military Harbour),
Grottaglie
Grottaglie (; scn, label=Salentino, li Vurtàgghie; la, Criptalium) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, in southern Italy.
Geography
Grottaglie is located in the Salento peninsula, dividing the Adriatic sea from Ionian ...
(Navy Helicopter Station), and
Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula.
History
Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα ...
(Ammunition Depot Montagna Spaccata)
*** SDI Company Brindisi, in Brindisi
**** 3x SDI platoons: in Brindisi (Military Harbour),
Mesagne
Mesagne ( Mesagnese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brindisi and region of Apulia, on the south-east Italy coast. Its main economic activities are tourism and the growing of olives and grapes. It is the fifth most-populous town of the provin ...
(Ammunition Depot), and at the San Marco Marine Brigade headquarter
*** SDI Company Sicily, in Augusta
**** 4x SDI platoons: in Augusta (Military Harbour),
Priolo Gargallo
Priolo Gargallo ( Sicilian: ''Priolu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). It is about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Syracuse.
The name Priolo Gargallo comes from the nobleman Mar ...
(Ammunition Depot Cava di Sorciaro),
Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
(Navy Helicopter Station), and the NATO Pier in Augusta
3rd Naval Division
![ITS San Giusto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/ITS_San_Giusto.jpg)
The brigade is transported by the navy's 3rd Naval Division, co-located with the brigade in Brindisi, which consists of the following ships:
*
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
: ''
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
'' (will be replaced in June 2022 by
landing helicopter dock
A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship which is capable of operating helicopters and has a well deck. The United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) use the term as a hull classification symbo ...
''
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
'')
*
''San Giorgio''-class amphibious transport dock
An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operat ...
s: ''San Giorgio'', ''San Marco'', ''
San Giusto''
Equipment
*
Beretta 92
The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers co ...
FS service pistol
*
Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
A3 submachine gun
*
Beretta ARX160
The Beretta ARX160 is an Italian modular assault rifle manufactured by Beretta. Developed for the Italian Armed Forces as part of the ''Soldato Futuro'' (English: "Future Soldier") program, the ARX160 was launched in 2008 as a commercial weapon s ...
service rifle
* GLX-160 underslung grenade launcher for the ARX160
*
FN Minimi
The FN Minimi (short for french: Mini Mitrailleuse; "mini machine gun") is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun/squad automatic weapon developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. First introduced in the late 1970s, it is now in service in more th ...
light machine gun
*
MG 42/59 machine gun
*
M2 heavy machine gun
*
Panzerfaust 3
The Panzerfaust 3 (lit. "armor fist" or "tank fist") is a modern semi-disposable recoilless anti-tank weapon, which was developed between 1978 and 1985 and first entered service with the Bundeswehr in 1987 (although they did not officially adopt ...
anti-tank rocket
*
Spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
anti-tank guided missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
*
FIM-92 Stinger
The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters as the Air-to- ...
man-portable air-defense system
Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters.
Overview
MANPADS were developed in the 1950s to provide military ...
* 81mm mortars
*
120mm mortars
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
See also
*
Italian Navy
"Fatherland and Honour"
, patron =
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
*
San Marco Regiment
The 1st San Marco Regiment (Italian: ''1° Reggimento San Marco''), located in Brindisi, is an amphibious formation of the Italian Navy. They are the Italian marines.
Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the San Marco Battalion (' ...
*
Lagunari
*
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
Notes
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Marina Militare
Military units and formations established in 2013
Italian Marines
de:San-Marco-Brigade