San Marco Marine Brigade

The "San Marco" Marine Brigade (Italian: Brigata Marina "San Marco") is an amphibious formation of the Italian Navy established on 1 March 2013, reorganizing the Navy Landing Force.[1] It has its command in Brindisi. They are the marines of the Italian Navy.

San Marco Marine Brigade
Brigata Marina "San Marco"
Badge of Italian naval riflemen
Active	1550-1914 (as the La Marina Regiment) 1914-1919 (as the Brigata Marina) 1919-1956 1965-1994 (as the Marina Battaglione "San Marco") 1994-2013 (as the San Marco Regiment) 2013-Present
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Navy
Role	Naval infantry
Size	ca. 3,800
Garrison/HQ	Caserma “Carlotto”, Brindisi, Italy
Nickname(s)	Marò
Patron	St. Mark
Motto(s)	"PER MARE, PER TERRAM"
March	"Pace armata" (by V. Musso)
Commanders
Current commander	Rear admiral Cesare Bruno Petragnani

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 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 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, IFVs and assault vehicles.

San Marco marines

On 1 October 1999, the Landing Force of the Navy was created, under the command of a Rear Admiral, stationed in Brindisi Naval Base and formed in two regiments: the "San Marco" Regiment and the "Carlotto" Regiment, both controlled by a Captain, and the Landing Craft Group, commanded by a Commander.

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.[1] It is commanded by an Admiral, reporting directly to the Commander in Chief of the Italian Navy Fleet Command (CINCNAV).

Organization 2020

San Marco Marine Brigade structure 2020 (click to enlarge)

The 1st Honor Guard Company of the San Marco Marine Brigade at the Quirinale Palace during the visit of Vladimir Putin to Rome, June 2015

The brigade is organized as follows:[2]

San Marco Marine Brigade

The San Marco Marine Brigade and the Navy's 3rd Naval Division form together with the Italian Army's Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" the Italian military's National Sea Projection Capability (Forza di proiezione dal mare).

San Marco Marine Brigade (Brigata Marina San Marco - COMFORSBARC), in Brindisi[3]
- 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[3]
  - C4 Company
  - Technical Support Company
- Training Battalion "Caorle" (Battaglione Scuole "Caorle"), in Brindisi[4]
  - 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[5] - mans the landing craft of the amphibious ships and manages the ship-to-beach traffic[3]
  - Propulsion and Vessels Section
  - Maritime Section
  - Beach Organization Section
  - Landing Craft Team, with 9x LCM62-class Landing Craft Mechanized, 4x LCM23-class Landing Craft Mechanized
  - Boat Team, with 20x MTP96-class Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel

1st San Marco Regiment

1st San Marco Regiment (1° Reggimento San Marco), in Brindisi - amphibious landing force[6][3]
- Command Unit (Reparto Comando)[3]
  - 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 Team)
- 1st Assault Battalion "Grado" (1° Battaglione Assalto "Grado")[7][3]
  - 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 vehicles (will be replaced with Amphibious Combat Vehicles)
- 2nd Assault Battalion "Venezia" (2° Battaglione Assalto "Venezia")[8][3]
  - 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 vehicles (will be replaced with Amphibious Combat Vehicles)
- 3rd Combat Logistic Support Battalion "Golametto" (3° Battaglione Supporto Logistico al Combattimento "Golametto")[9][3]
  - 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[3]
- Mobility Team
- Naval Operations Battalion (Battaglione Operazioni Navali), in Brindisi[3]
  - 2x Naval operations companies, each with 10x ship teams
- Interdiction and Protection Battalion (Battaglione Interdizione e Protezione), in Brindisi[3]
  - 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)[3]
- 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[10][3]
  - 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 (Ammunition Depot Poggio)
  - SDI Company Sardinia, in La Maddalena[11]
    - 3x SDI platoons: at La Maddalena (Non-commissioned Officers School), Santo Stefano (Ammunition Depot), and Tavolara (NATO Very Low Frequency Station)
- SDI Battalion Centre - Rome (Battaglione SDI Centro - Roma), in Rome[3]
  - Command Support Team
  - Telecommunications Team
  - SDI Company Rome, at the Navy General Staff
- SDI Battalion South (Battaglione SDI Sud), in Taranto[12][3]
  - Command Support Team
  - Telecommunications Team
  - SDI Company Taranto, in Taranto
    - 3x SDI platoons: in Taranto (Military Harbour), Grottaglie (Navy Helicopter Station), and Pozzuoli (Ammunition Depot Montagna Spaccata)
  - SDI Company Brindisi, in Brindisi[13]
    - 3x SDI platoons: in Brindisi (Military Harbour), Mesagne (Ammunition Depot), and at the San Marco Marine Brigade headquarter
  - SDI Company Sicily, in Augusta[14]
    - 4x SDI platoons: in Augusta (Military Harbour), Priolo Gargallo (Ammunition Depot Cava di Sorciaro), Catania (Navy Helicopter Station), and the NATO Pier in Augusta

3rd Naval Division

"San Giusto" at sea

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: "Giuseppe Garibaldi" (will be replaced in June 2022 by landing helicopter dock "Trieste")
San Giorgio-class amphibious transport docks: "San Giorgio", "San Marco", "San Giusto"

Equipment

Beretta 92FS service pistol
Heckler & Koch MP5A3 submachine gun
Beretta ARX160 service rifle
GLX-160 underslung grenade launcher for the ARX160
FN Minimi light machine gun
MG 42/59 machine gun
M2 heavy machine gun
Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank rocket
Spike anti-tank guided missile
FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air-defense system
81mm mortars
120mm mortars

See also

Notes

"Nasce la Brigata San Marco: tradizioni e ottimizzazione delle risorse". Retrieved 19 May 2013.
"La Brigata Marina San Marco oggi". Retrieved 19 May 2013.
"La Forza di Proiezione dal Mare". Ares Osservatorio Difesa. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"Battaglione Scuole Caorle". Marina Militare. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"Gruppo Mezzi da Sbarco della Marina Militare". Marina Militare. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"1° Reggimento San Marco". Marina Militare. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"1° Battaglione Assalto "Grado"". Italian Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"2° Battaglione Assalto "Venezia"". Italian Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"3° Battaglione Supporto Logistico al Combattimento "Golametto"". Italian Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"Battaglione SDI Nord". Marina Militare. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"Compagnia SDI Sardegna". Marina Militare. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"Battaglione SDI Sud". Marina Militare. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"Compagnia SDI Brindisi". Marina Militare. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
"Compagnia SDI Sicilia". Marina Militare. Retrieved 29 May 2020.

Italian Navy
Components	Organization Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy Italian Coast Guard COMSUBIN Commander in Chief Naval Fleet
Fleet Command	San Marco Marine Brigade Naval Aviation
Equipment	Ships active inactive Aircraft
Schools	Francesco Morosini Naval School Naval Academy Istituto di Studi Militari Marittimi
History and traditions	Regia Marina Decima Flottiglia MAS Battle of Lissa Operation Mare Nostrum Naval Museum Technical Naval Museum at La Spezia
Related	Italian Navy ranks Corps of Naval Engineering La Spezia Naval Base

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