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. They are the Italian Army Marines.

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 high intensity, conventional battlefields, such as those expected during the Cold War. Nowadays, its focus is on 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 operations.

The regiment is structured as follows:

The Amphibious Battalion is organized and equipped like an infantry battalions of the Italian Army with in addition amphibious combat vehicles (AAVs) and combat boats (rubber boats and rigid crafts). It fields Lince light multirole vehicles. 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. The Italian AAV7 Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) is used as the Italian Lagunari primary amphibious platform to move Army Marines (and cargo) from military ship to shore. The Italian Lagunari use the AAV7 also for the shore to shore amphibious assault. The AAV7 uses a boat-like hull design and powerful water jets to make it one of the world's best amphibious assault vehicles.

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Wikipedia