185th Artillery Paratroopers Regiment "Folgore"

The 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore" is a regiment of the Italian Army under Special Forces Command (Comando Forze Speciali dell'Esercito (COMFOSE)). Prior to 19 Sep 2014 it was part of the Folgore Parachute Brigade. Previously, the Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore" was a Special Operations Forces with the role of target acquisition. Since July 1, 2013, the Regiment has assumed the role of an airborne artillery unit at the headquarters of Bracciano, Italy, near Rome.

The 185th Artillery Paratroopers Regiment keeps the War Flag previously kept by the 185th Reconnaissance and Target Acquisition Regiment, which in turn receives the War Flag of the 185th Paratrooper Infantry Regiment "Nembo", disbanded in 1940s.

The Regiment currently consists of four artillery batteries: Control and logistical support Battery "Leoni", 1st Battery "Draghi" and 2nd Battery "Eagles" and Monitoring and Support Battery "Levrieri". The establishment of a third line battery, to be named "Diavoli", is planned for August 2014.

History
The Regiment traces its origins back to the 185th Artillery Regiment "Folgore", framed within the "Folgore" Division established between 1941 and 1942. The unit, who fought alongside the other divisional units at the Second Battle of El Alamein, was officially disestablished on December 8, 1942.

On October 1, 1975, the unit (downgraded after the World War II to an artillery Group) resumed the original numbering and became the 185th Paratroopers Field Artillery Group "Viterbo", while on September 8, 1992, the unit was renamed 1st Paratroopers Artillery Group, within the re-established 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore".

During the 1999-2000 winter, the unit was transformed into a special operations force, and in 2004 it changed its name into 185th Reconnaissance Target acquisition Regiment "Folgore", while maintaining traditions and War Flag of the old 185th Regiment. In 2013, the 185th regiment was "doubled": the artillery paratroopers regiment was reconstituted ex novo as artillery paratroopers regiment, at the headquarters of Bracciano (RM), while the special forces regiment was transferred to the COMFOSE, the Italian special operations command.

Deployments
During World War II, the Regiment was deployed in El Alamein, where it fought valiantly alongside its parent formation and the "Pavia" and "Trento" Divisions.

The activity abroad of 185th Regiment, after the World War II, begins with the first overseas mission of the Italian Army in 1982: a battery participates in the mission in Lebanon.

In 1991, as part of the Italfor Airone Mission, the Group contributes to the establishment of the Paratroopers Tactical Group sending its personnel in Iraq. The 185th Regiment was the first unit involved in the domestic operation named "Vespri Siciliani", and immediately after was sent into the operational cycles of Somalia, maintaining a mortar battery. Then it was the turn of former Yugoslavia: the 185th Regiment was present in all the missions that involve the Parachute Brigade in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Since the reconfiguration in Target Acquisition unit, detachments of the regiment operated in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Related voices

 * Folgore Parachute Brigade
 * United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
 * United Nations Operation in Somalia I
 * United Nations Operation in Somalia II
 * Unified Task Force