Lagunari

The Lagunari (from the Italian "laguna" = lagoon) are amphibious troops of the Italian Army. Today's Reggimento Lagunari Serenissima amphibious assault regiment has its headquarters in Mestre, a borough of Venice, and in the present day they are still subordinate to the Pozzuolo del Friuli Cavalry Brigade. The lagunari tend to be a very mobile attack force, high-powered weaponry, and tactical skills. They are trained to attack from the water and to establish a beachhead, which is an area of control on foreign territory.

Mission
During the Cold War, the regiment was stationed in the lagoon-rich south flank of the northeast Italian front. The Lagunari Regiment focused more on yesterday's high intensity, conventional battlefields, such as those expected during the Cold War. Nowadays, it has been replaced by the more probable mid- and low intensity conflicts. The Lagunari have the ability to be projected to any hostile area around the globe due to their maneuverability. The Lagunari Regiment is versatile enough to be capable in conducting special operations under 'unconventional' methods while engaging on a 'conventional' battlefield. Today the Lagunari are intended for international missions, particularly in coastal regions and in areas rich in inland waterways. The Lagunari Regiment is a littoral focused, amphibious, specialised light - medium force capable of deploying at short notice in support of the Italian military and diplomatic objectives overseas and are optimised for expeditionary warfare: operational situations requiring highly manoeuvrable, normally amphibious, forces. As the Italian Army' specialists in riverine operations the Regiment provides assets and expertise for these unique operations.

Organization and Equipment
The regiment is structured as follows:


 * Regimental Headquarters
 * Command and Logistic Support Company
 * Amphibious Tactical Support Company
 * 1st Amphibious Battalion
 * 1st Amphibious Assault Company
 * 2nd Amphibious Assault Company
 * 3rd Amphibious Assault Company
 * 4th Mortar Company
 * 5th Anti-tank Company

The Amphibious Battalion is organized and equipped like all light infantry battalions of the Italian Army. It fields Lince light multirole vehicles and Puma 4x4 wheeled armored personnel carriers. The mortar company is equipped with 120mm Mortars, while the anti-tank company fields Spike anti-tank guided missile systems. The Amphibious Tactical Support Company ensures the amphibious capability of the regiment and is equipped with AAV7-A1 amphibious assault vehicles, landing boats and small speedboats.

History
The Italian Lagunari (some times known as the 'Venetian Regiment') are the heirs to the embarked troops of the Republic of Venice. In 1964, the Head of the Italian Army entrusted to the “Serenissima” Lagunari Regiment the formal heritage of this centuries-old unit. The birth of the embarked troops of Venice goes back to the time of the fourth crusade when the Doge “Enrico Dandolo” put together one “Regiment ” from ten companies distributed on the warships of the Venetian fleet, and then employed them in the two captures of Constantinople (Bisanzio - 1203/1204). The embarked troops of Venice had their final organisation in 1550 becoming the “Fanti da Mar” (Infantry of the sea) and they distinguished themselves during all the wars that the Republic of Venice fought against the Ottoman Empire, especially during the sieges of Famagosta and Candia, and in the great victory in the battle of Lepanto.

In 1951, the Italian army raised the Lagunari as an amphibious infantry unit. The Italian V Army Corps realized the need to secure its right flank against amphibious landings and due to the nature of the marshy tidal terrain and many small islands on the Northern Adriatic coast an amphibious unit was deemed the best answer to the needs of the Italian Army. Up to the army reform in 1975, the Lagunari Regiment consisted of three amphibious infantry and one tank battalion. Afterwards, it was reduced to two battalions: the amphibious infantry battalion "Serenissima" and the amphibious vehicles battalion "Sile" under the Amphibious Troops Command, which carried on the traditions of the regiment. The Amphibious Troops Command came under the Folgore Mechanized Division in 1975. When the Folgore was disbanded in 1986 the Command returned to the 5th Army Corps. In 1992, regiment was re-instituted and the two battalions merged into one. The regiment remained subordinate to the 5th Army Corps. Afterwards it came under the "Projection Forces Command" in Milan and later it joined the Pozzuolo del Friuli Brigade.

Today the Lagunari are intended for international missions. Plans to integrate the Lagunari into an amphibious brigade containing all Italian naval infantry, including the Navy's San Marco Marine Regiment failed in the 1990s, partly because of the distance between the respective bases: Venice and Brindisi.

In 2006, to establish closer cooperation between the two regiments, a common operations staff (‘‘ Forza Nazionale di Proiezione dal Mare ‘‘) was established in Brindisi. The Italian Navy can, if necessary, fall back on the Lagunari and other support forces of the army. The San Marco Marines can also come within the scope of land operations under army control. Both organizations were used together for the first time, with support forces, in the UNIFIL operations after the 2006 Lebanon war as part of the Early Entry Force in September 2006.

Until 2011 the Lagunari Regiment wore the black infantry beret of the Italian Army with their own distinctive badge. On returning from service in Afghanistan, they received a new beret in 'lagoon' green, retaining the same badge.

Main Operations Abroad

 * Operation “Constant Forge” Sarajevo –BOSNIA (September – December 1998);
 * Operation “Joint Guardian” Dakovica – KOSSOVO ( November 1999 – March 2000);
 * Operation “Consistent Effort” Pec / Klina – KOSSOVO ( February – June 2001);
 * Operation “Decisive Endeavour” Pec/Klina/Gorazdevac – KOSSOVO (2002-2003);
 * Operation “Antica Babilonia” IRAQ ( June 2003 – March 2005);
 * Operation “LEONTE” LEBANON ( August 2006 – April 2007);
 * Operation “LEONTE 5” LEBANON ( August 2008 – April 2009);
 * Operation “ISAF 15” AFGHANISTAN ( October 2010 – ...)