Last Monday, at the base of Hohenfels (GER), the multinational exercise Combined Resolve XVII ended, in which the Italian Army participated with a platoon of C1 Ariete tanks with the support of command and control and logistical assets, belonging to the 4th Tank Regiment.
The activity is part of NATO’s training commitment to the implementation of the operational capabilities of the units of the member countries in a combined environment, and was conducted with the participation of the contingents of ten partner nations.
The objective of the exercise was to test the real combat capabilities, verify the interoperability of weapon and communication systems between the forces of the participating Allied countries, in a simulated operating environment, characterized by an increasing level of complexity, to opposing parties (force on force) in collaboration with different nations.
The Italian unit, part of the Bravo Company of the 69th Armor Battalion of the 1st Brigade of the US Army, conducted, during the continuous exercise of 10 days, offensive and defensive tactical activities and maintained for the entire period the maximum combat power, using in support of the device both the Leopard rescue for recovery and maintenance activities, and tactical means to ensure logistical supplies.
At the end of the exercise, the platoon commander of the 4th Tank, Lieutenant Dario Romano, was awarded by the US Brigade with the certificate of “Hero of Hohenfels”, for his attitudes as a junior leader, for the maneuvering ability of his unit and for the methods of planning logistical support, which allowed him to maintain a very high standard of performance of the unit.
The commitment and resources used during the exercise confirmed the ability of the Italian Army to provide NATO with forces equipped with full spectrum skills, to operate in warfighiting scenarios with very high readiness and capable of fulfilling all tasks.
