Issuu

Contents Foreword Lt. Gcn. Claudio Gnzùmo Cb~ef oft be Genera/ St.t/f

Jntroduction Col. Felrce De Leo Director, Rivista Militttre

Peacebuilders Francesca Cannataro Valentzna Cosco

Press Releases

My Guys of'Albatros' Lt. Gen. Claudio Graziano

First Time Abroad Gian Franco Bianco

Tbe 'Susa' Battalion

ùz Mozctmbique

Brig. Michele Risi A Captaitz's Memories Col. Andrea Pio-r:em

Mozambique Stays in the lleart Irdncescd Ctmnataro V,lfentin.t Cosco

The Peacekeeping Mission in Mozambique Aldo Ajello

Editor in Chief: Col. Felice De Leo Editor: Lf.Col. Stejm10 Mnssnro

Graphics:

OR-9 Antonio Dosa

1993-2013: The Flight ofthe Albatros, 20 Years Later Francesca Cannataro Valentina Casco

Llbnldo Russo

English Version: Pnolo Cnppell i Printed by:

Artlllorized by tlle Cour/ of Rome rmder No. 994 of /Ile Regisii')J by Decree 7-6-1949.

EDISTAMPA SUD SRL 8101 O Dragom (Caserta) Phone 0039 (0823) 866710 v.ww.edistampa.com

~Vittoria

Vt/ .Asstc:araztonl Rivista Militare

81lE:.RAXl0Nrii"I:8A"T.ROS:

FOREWORD Twenty years ha ve passed since the Jta/ian Army regained lhe internationa/ stage. having pe1j'ormed admirably abroad. Back in 1993, il deployed a regimental task.force as part oflhe multinationa/militaJy contingent. A conscripts-based contingent taken from the 'Taurinense 'Mountain Troops Brigacie an d the 'Susa ' A /pini Regimenl was sent Oll a peacekeeping mission to Mozambique. Al/ these mounlain men were proud to wear the UN blue cap. l arn honourecl of whal "those g uys with the f èather '' boldly dici cluring that mission un der UN-aegis. An d since l had tIle privilege to deploy on th esame mission myse(f,' f cun deiighted lo share the initiative the ''Rivista Militare" promoted lo celebrare the anniverSCIIJ' through lhis specia/ issue un der the title ''Mozambique l 993-1994 ". This means recalling a specia/ momenl in hisLOIJ' anc/ f ocussing on the role our Alpini have had as they engaged in a peacekeeping operation in t/wl distant Counli y. Th e articies are writlen by the rea/ protagonists on the jield - i. e.. cliplomats, missionaries, j ournalists. and soldiers - aneli vi!! guide us through the events. !t is a leap bacl\lvard in one of the./ìrsl missions the !talicm Army took pari 10 . But il is a/so a .focus on our lime, as the 861" National Alpini Convention celebrateci the anniversw:y in Piacenza o n March l 0111 through 12"'· These pages recognise how and how much our Alpini s· credibility became intemalionally renown as they pursued peace in an area plagued by years ofwat: The media ofthe lime recorclecl. ancl reported that the e.fjì.ciency ofour units was ve1y high. That mission has given greater momentum to ali the changes in the Army that folLo wed. It has stimulated even further a new national sensitivity towarcls greater responsibilities in the intemational arena. !t was the prelude to a stronger integration ofthe Army with its ailied counterparts during the international commitments thatfollowecl. As a result, the Army has acquired a signifìcant expeditionat·y capability today, even thousands ofmiles away .fi"om its homeland.

Th e many commendations received.fi·om fi'iendly an d allied Countries a nel the gratitude expressecl by the foca! communities our miLitwy has interacted with speak o.f sensilivity, humanity and respect. They con.firmed how much successful a nel appreciated were the approach a nel the behaviout; in fa c f a mode/ that would be known in the .following international activities as ''the Italian way ". This is a sign that th e Ita/ian Flag - which lane/ed abroad during the severa! Army missions undertaken in geographically a nel culturally distani locations - has become a symbol o.f human solidarity and hope for many populations and has won their hearts and mine/s. AJier more than two centuries, it is stili a symbol ofthe unity and indepenclence ofthe Motherland. Since it was establishecl in Reggio Emilia on Januat y 7111, 1797, the National Flag has a/ways been a key poin t of ref erence ./òr our Army and for the Nation as a whole. Al the end ofthis briefforeworc/, /et me devote my hearffe lt thoughts lo al/ those who ha ve served anel fought uncler the National Flag wearing lh e un[f'orm of the Jtalian Army, cmcl sacrifìced their own lives to resto re human dignity in populations devastateci by wars, oppression cm d injustice. They deser ve the eterna! gratitucle of the Army a nel of the IVhole Nation.

Claudio Graziano, Lieutenant Generai Chief of the Generai Staff

wenty years have passed since our troops landed overseas to oin one o.f the most sign(fìcant operations abroad. They earned he trust ofthose troubled populations and brought our values of human solidarity and a prospective of unity. The unifòrms the readers 1-vill observe in the pictures are the result ofd~fferent studies on camoujlage. Over the years, however, the spirit o.fltalian soldiers has not changed: it is stili inspired by the highest ideals and is willing to help those populations that strive for unity, peace, and civil coexistence while respecting human rights. Winning the hearts of those people plagtted by years of civil wars, .famine and drought was not an easy task. Our 'black feathers·( 1J ha ve been ca/led to support the dijjìcult peace process in the first piace. The militmy component, ofwhich the ITALFOR-Albatros was part to, had to monitor the ceasefire, the redeployment of.foreign milita1y jòrces outside the borders, the demobilisation ofillegal armed groups, and secure the activities undertaken by the United Nations, especially .fi'ee movements between the sea and the countJ-y. For nearly two years, our men - in jàct conscripts - have performed admirably as requested. They have shown ve1y strong cohesion thanks to the ability of the commanders of the lime, who managed t o in spire them, an d convey the spirit ofsacrifìce as required by the situation. With the free efections held in late October 1994, the commitment based on the UN mandate came to an end, and our soldiers returned home. They knew they had fuljìlled the expectations.

in the.following pages, the readers wi/1 have an opportunity lo li ve those moments aga in in the words o.f the rea! protagonists of that peace mission, feel the same emotions they felt, and share the hopes and.fears typical of any military operation.

Felice De Leo, Colone/ Director, Rivista Militare

(l) Mounrain rroops, former~v and Fla.!!. offìcers>the {eather

OPERAT.IONEAHUtT.ROS:

PEACEBUILDERS Figures, stories and emotions in the history of the 'Aibatros' contingent ONUMOZ. A shining example for the entire Italian Army; a mission that has contributed to bring peace to a land torn by years of fratricida! and bloody wars, farnine, and droug ht. The world of 'Albatros' is the corridor of Beira, in fact a two hundred by three kilomctres strip, a piece of land the ltalian so ldiers have guardcd for twcnty-one months. Mozambique is a former Portugucsc co lony, a land plagued by a 5loody c ivil war, fratricida ( strife, fam in e, a nd drought. A land thal needed practical ficlp to cope with many emcrgcncies. The two warring parties - FRELIMO (the Liberation Front of Mozambique) and RENAMO (the Mozambican National Resistance) - began to ta lk aftc r many years und cr the ltalian auspices, in particular the Roman Community of Saint Egidio. On October 4th, 1992, they signed a significa nt peace agreement in Rome with a view to cherishing a new hope for the !ife of that Shtc. lt was indeed a real peace treaty, which included provisions for the cessation of hostiJi ties between the two ri va l gr oups; the surre nd er of all weapons to the United Nations; the demobilization of miJitias; the reconstruction of a unified national army; free elections, education, and recognition of politica! parties. Following thcse agree me nts, on October 13th, 1992, the Security Cou nciJ adoptcd Resolution 782, which was pivotal to the deployment of the military mission. The UN, with its blue helmets, would have monitorcd the compliance with those 'Roman' ag-reements. As a res ult, the UN Secretary Ge nerai had appointcd a Specia l Rcpresentativc for Mozambique- Mr. Aldo Ajello of ltaly - and even sent some military observers to establish an immediate international presence and pian the deployment of a force su itable to se rve thc purposes of Lhc Agreement and tb e resolution. On Dcccmber lQ Lh, 1992, the ltaHan Parliament ordered the pa;Âˇticipalion of llaly to the UN mission 1

in Mozambique based on a request by the UN Secretary Generai to the then Prime Minister. Six days later, the UN Security Council approved Rcsolution 797 to authorise the deploJ.ment of Operation 'ONUMOZ (the Unìted Nntiolls Operntio11 in Mozambiqlle), whose military implementation began on December 23rd through the issue of the first fragmentary arder. The UN mandate was clear and concise. Through a set of politica!, military and humanitari a n re lief activit ies, 'ONUMOZ's hou Id support thc peace process and free elections.

Consequently, the military component of the mission received the following mandate: • monitor the ceasefire, the separation and concentration of forces, their demobilisation and the collection, storage and dcstruction of wcapons; • monitor the comp le te withdrawal of foreign forces; • authorise security arrangements far vita! infrastructures and services; • providc sccurity far Unitcd Nati ons and o the r .i nte rn atio na l o rganisat ions in s upp o rt of the peace process, with specia l refe-

rence to the corr id o rs bctween the sea and the country borders. The days passed fast and everything was ready. In Februarr,, ltaIy deploycd an Advanced Mtlitary Party to Mozambique to provide far tl1 e logistics of the e n t l re contingent. After only one wcek, s hip 'Engle Arcade' docked at the port of Beil·a. The ultimate, true and deep mcaning and purpose of the mission the military personnel were going to fulfil emerged as soon as thc white vehic lcs and containers of the Ita lian Army disembarked. White is the co lour of neutrality, hope, and lig ht. And thjs is exactly what those soldiers were about to deliver to that land. On March 2nd, 1993, the Ministry of Defence formally a u thorised the deployment of the [talian contingent under the nicknamc 'Albatros'. A t the end of Mar c b, the ship 'Killtn111po' reached Be ira witl1 all the matcrials and equipmcnt far the mission. Seven civilian aircraft established an air bridge between ltaly and Mozambique to transport our soldiers and vehicles and to deliver hope to that troubled land eight thou sand kilometres away. Not much lalcr, one thousand and thirty mcn set foot on the ground. The signs of war were evcrywhere; the citics were poor and in ruins; the blue sea clashcd with the red of the arid lands, due the long droughl. The popu lat ion - whid1 e ndurcd stifling hca t a nd humid ity- was suffering a hig h rate of infant morta-

Rivista Militare

PERATION:rAI!8ATRO

Jity; despite sucb mise ry, it wa s raring to sprout anew. Milky wbite eyes s tood out on thc coa l black fa ces of 'fourth world' c hildren. Their smiles grew wider by simply looking at spinning helicopter rotors ancf the creaking noise of tracked vehlcles that was bringing a new hope. Their curly hair was so dense and ruffled that almost seemed a second skin. Bright and co lourf ul clothes cove rea th e ir s kins black as ebony, the ir bare fee t covered ĂŹn the red African dust that rose from the ground. Tbis is th e picture that our soldi ers of the 'Taurinense' Mounta in Brigade saw as they se t foot in that Southern Afri can country on the Indian Ocean . The Africa we knew through books had just materialised. lt was now at hand, and pens and cameras could record it, together with hea rts a nd minds. TI1e ITALFOR-Albatr os co ntin ge nt had arrived to suppo rt thc reoirth of Mozambique. lta ly had deployc d th e 'Taur in e n se' Brigade, which thc 'Julia' Bri gade r cl1 cved. Th e r eg im e nta l un1t compr ised

Speqal Mozambique

mountain troops battalions, one logistic batta lion, one Army Aviation battalion and one airborne medica i d e tachm e nt. On Aprii 14th, 1993, the oper a tio n s in the ' Beira corrid or' took off under the authority of the Fo rce Commander. The contro! of the corrido r between Machipanda (on the border with Zimbabwe) and Beira was assigncd to the Italian contingent. Tn particular, ITALFOR had to sec ure rail transports be tween Beira a nd Machipa nda through a rmed security de tac hme nts; moni tor ta rget arcas, cspecially the o il pipeline pumping stations between Beira and Maforga; s uppor t th e transport of food a nd humanitarian a id ; escort convoys from other contingents during their movement within the a rea of responsibi lity of ITALFOR; transpor t and sec urc UN equipment tra nsports cvcn o utside the Centra i Region; check some roads; e ns ure occasionai prcsence nea r th e gathering a rcas .f or d emobili sed forces; protcct - should the need a ri se- UN pcrsonnel present in

such areas; previde armed escorts to the arms s urrend ered by demobilised forces during the transfer to r egiona l co llection centres; secure the coll ection centres loca ted in proximitr, of main ONUMOZ bases; contnbute to the logistical resupply of the aforementioned areas whenever thls exceed the capacity of civil organizations of the United Nations; and previde health care services to the local populations. The coming a nd go mg a lo ng the corridor, a long the s unburned asp halt r oad, was co nstant, reg ular, and reass uring for 21 m o nths. Patrolling that road was crucial to the lĂŹfe of thc country: the main line of communication between Zimbabwe and the sea was served by one road, one railway line, and one pipeline. The Italian contingent soon became the military force of refcrence. Between October a nd Nove mbc r 1993, thc 'Ta urin e nse' Brigadc ha nd cd ove r to the 'JuU a' Brigade. Mca nwhil e, thc !ife in the Co untry had continu ed, aJso thanks Lo thc supe rvision of the 1talian con tin-

gent embedded in the 6,000-strong UN force. The success of a peacekeeping force is in i_nverse p.roportion to the number of shots fired; success is achleved when everyone performs its task si le ntl y and at best. The Italian and UN flags continu ed to fly high between tfte tents, whicb had 1:5ecome bom es, and hospitals H needed. lnside them, the s tories of saviours and saved people, of hea led m en, women, and childre n, crossed into

~~::::::~====::liiiiiiij~=:i~each

other. On May p t, 1994, the

ltali an Parliamen t decided to redeploy part of the con tin gent. Sin ce May 2nd, 1994, after the majority of units bad redeployed, the 230-stTong co ntin gent based on a Field Hosp ita l ancf a Support Unit redeployed to Beira under the name of 'Alba h·os 2' . lts task w as to previde medical support to UN personnel deployed across the Centra i Reg ion, and to the local populations. Th e climax of the mission coincided with the election days on 28-29 October 1994, th at is, when the first free e lections in Mozambique too k piace. On December 5th, 1994, tbe A lbatres' contingent re turned to ltaly, and the operation was officially closed on necember 17th. The figures and the results obtained in the 21 months of operations are s tìll telling the success of 'ONUMOZ'. Tbe efforts on the ground achieved significant objectives, name ly the cease-fire in the Country, where no further episodes of permanent confUct and violence were r ecorded; the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of more than a hw1dred thousand soldiers into the Mozambican soc iety; the delivery of hu manitarian assistance, thus avoiding a like ly disaster; the natio nal reintegration of the iso la ted areas govemed by REN AMO; the return of tbree mil lion displaced pe rsons and one million refugees to their homes; the election of th e President through free, democratic and unbiased eTections in the Country for the first tinte, witb a participation of aJmost 90% of those en titled to vote. T h e in ternat iona l debt was cancelled in 1999 and the Country's econ om y began to revive s lowly. Act ua l ly, Oper atio n 'Albatt·os lasted unlil U1ere was a train to be escorted, and food to be protected against tTtéll'auders or perhaps s imply hungry people. SavLng a11d supportin g a coun try and leading to its rebirth required a sense of hum anity mixed with firm hand and operationa l capabilities. In fact, the operation in Mozambiq ue stilJ represents a brilliant and outstanding example for the Jtalia:n Army as a whole. Today, as ever, the soldiers of peace ar e something we are ready to bet on for the future . Francesca Cannataro Valentina Cosco Rivista Militare

O'PERATION:AL8ATROS

ss poHtica estera

EAS

0 la Repubblica

mercoledl3 marzo 1993

BEJRA - Dofo Je lnÈ certezz.e de giorni SCOI"'I, ~partita l'n. peruione "Albatroa" che prevede l' Invio dJ truppe llallaaeperllmantenlmento della pace In Mozambico. Due. cento alplnl della brigata Taurlnenae arriYel'allDo out a BeIra a bordo dJ un Boelng 747 amttato dalle Nazioni Unite, p~r unirsi al23 umclab furieri dlaUo~atamento d und nella cltti portuale 1122 febbraio. Afloro anivo 1h alpini saranno accolti da autori" locali, dal capo dell'orcantzxntone deU' OnulnMozamblcoOnumoz,l'ltallanoAldo Ajello. Compito Immediato del 200 alpini

partita roperazione "Albatros"

,.rl dJ aovrlnten-

dere allo scarico del mercantlle Areade Ea•le, iJunto Ieri nella cltti portuale con a bordo ~e del matertalJ • del veicoli neceaarl alla adulone Italiana. Un tecondo mercantile ba luclato La Spezl.a l'altro Ieri e dovrebbe raal~~re Betra tra un palodiMtUmane. Le~.....onl di scarico dell'Arcade Eqje richiederanno due o tre ~ornJ, dopoclJc:JM l mate. rtall saranno trasferiti nel .ette a~ mentlcheformaaoleguattroareedl.c:Jile. ramento de•U alpini run1o Il corridoio dJ Be Ira.

Oggi in Moounbico i primi 200 alpini

Partiti da Caselle i mil

Corriere della Sera Giovedì l l Marzo l 993

l oldati italiani ono pronti a partire. Proteggeranno il «corridoio di Beira»

Gara tra gli alpini per andare in Mozambico <<Per servire I'Onu prolungheremo la naja>> 0\1 :'1!)--ntu

""\l'O

TORINO -

Da il!rt l o bandl~ra azzurrn d('II"O· nu sventola sop r11 U trtco lon! n f'l cortal ~ d('lla case rma .. M o nteg rappn , cuore della brigata alpi na • Taurtnense• E ' stnt.a tuàta d uranti' la c••nrno· n1a ~ la partl'n7.a drl conuna,.nt.. •Aibatros• JW:t le o.,.,-azlon l d i pac~ tn Mm ambk o . certmonta cui hanno partf!d pat.o Il mlnln r o dP.IIa l>afr.sn, 8alvo Andb, ,. Il capo d i 8 t.at.o N aaclo r .. df'li' F.• llol!fd\o ~ Cam ano Il m oml'nto p lu a lt o d"'Da certmonlf• 1'. atat o Il c:onrrrtrll4!nto delltl"'&dl di c apo r a1,. d a p a r t e d i Andò .n àlplno Rob4ln o r omena Chi! ha rtn uu dat o all<av lc lnanlrttl•l an. ftunlatl ln quan\0 nIlio dl madrn vedova aKìr andar ln lA f'onK'!

na ha

ann t laur n

Special

mbique

d o In Scll!n7.c poUtlche. abata a B orgo San D almazzo <Cuneo). d ove h a sede 11 b at taglione •Saluzzo•. cuJ stava per esse- r~ trnsrer ito Polche d Ovrt"b be conged arsi In m ogsto. Fomeris p rolun gheru anche la sua nals p e r c h é g li avvi cen damenU avver r anno ogni quntt.ro mesi e la panen za e p revista Intorno al 15 marzo Questa propensione al votontariato oltN' li con· l!lt'do (' molto dlmasa. Secon do Fom erls. una dozz m a d i s u oi compagni pro luna herà lo n aia di qulllch<" mese. n n eo·t'O· porall! h a aggiun to c h<" poch la8lm l al sono rlnu tali d i punir <! Ando hn romito nnrh<' 1 dau motlvn:r.tu nl n 115 p •·r l"t'nto d!'Kll ttlplni vuol e andnrl' In Afrtt•ll JK'f anlldllrtt'Là U 35 prr ct'nto pcr chf C'~rc· a un11

d''""

nuova espPrlenzn e Il 15 p<!r motivi vari t r a cui quelli econo mici. Alla c e ri m onta hanno p r esen?.lato c irca cl!nto ramlllarl d egli alpini In partenza n con lln grnte ltalluno , comandaLo dal gl!nl!r ale Lulgf Fo ntan a. com pr('nde anche la Co mpagnia a lpin i p a rac adu llst.l • M o nti' Cerv1 no· di Bol.l.ano. olt r e ollr Compagnlt> 34a e 35n drl ·Susa-. Il miglior b uuagllo nr alp tno in qunnto con unuamt>n tl' nddrnrnto In t>Sf'r cii.nzlnnl ni connnl di'II'Europn orclden tu le Dispone Inoltri' di 20 uu toblincl o portutrup p t.• FIUL• ! Vf'I'O Otl l l per I l •SU!IU•. di clnqur t"IICOL ll'rl A n :!05 l' trt• CII 17 Chlnook· l' d i t rl' lll' rtl phml blpwllo 11 drt>olln rorllulmo SM 10111 tn l(JIIIIr Il t'OnthU'Ill !' Al botrn t• rormutn du l O'lO ,,..~ " "'' di c·ua l fl

La Taurin OggiinMoza

CRONACA DI TORINO

!EntrO il 26 marzo gli alpini della Taurinense raggiungeranno 11\frica

Lo sbarco dei mille in Mozambico Ma COli spirito di u11UJnltà e solidarietà Il ministro Andò alla caserma Monte Grappa

Sorw:glicranno

un corridoio lungo 250 chilometri

CRONACA DI TORINO ri del «Susa>> tra lacrime e molta commozione

1nse prende il volo -r

23 Febbraio 1993

Corriere della Sera

Entro maggio atteso tutto il contingente Onu

tbico le prime 200 penne nere I primi Caschi blu italiani

nel Mozambico pacificato Li seguiranno 1.300 alpini BF.IRA Con riUT1vo Itri mattina a DI'tra di un quadrirl'lliOrt' noltg(!la to daii'Onu t provenltn~ da Torino con a bOrdO 23 umclnll ItAliani. ~ comln· claUI ropera7.tonl' •Alba· troa•. thl' prevede l'Invio di un conUnrentl' di aol· dAli ltallnnl nell'ambito dtU'ImptJI'IO delle Nazlo· n1 Unite di lnv1al"l' 7 000

mbooo •

•raw· olla101>11 """"nel

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IJ!one.Al

oconliD-

."".,... rrtmJ•I

nLI.IIi>d.

.. banno .... la dJ.

aaoc.orta

·c:aschl blu• per aorve· attore l'oaservanza degli accordi di pace tro Il ro· vemo del Mozambico e la Renamo. 011 umcloll hanno l'In· carico di tocaUz7.are e or· gonlzzore le oree In cui saronno schierati l 1.300 olplnl dello bripta Tou· rlncnse che dovranno pattuRilnre n corridoio di Bclra. 1 ·caschi blu• lto· lioni partiranno tlll'lnlzlo dello prosaln1a settimo·

no.

1 23 urrt cl nll ltnll onl rappresentano le cinque componenti dello Tnur1· nensc: Il bottngllonfl Su· M, Il reparto servizi ov1o· trasportnblll, Il reparto supporti tattici, Il gru ppo

dJ avtazlone u~nena 1811 alpini aVTanno eUco~terl e aertl) e Il ba~tagilone IQIIJtlCO 011 utnclall al· 1onermno In un primo uompo a Oondo. 30 chilo· m!'tri a nord dJ Betra. p r euo Il campo della Cmb, un'lmpreaa dJ CO· atruzlone modeneae cb e deve etrettuare u naddop· piO d ell 'acquedotto di Betra. Oli alpini aat1lr&nO l prl· mi od arrivare e faranno parte del con Ungente Onu di 7.000 CIUIChl blu che aorvegllerè l'attua· zlone degli accordi dJ pa· ce rontuntl a Romo tna n govern o del pr esidente Joaqulm Chlasano e l r1· belli dena Renamo dJ Al· fonso Ohlnlc.wno, n.rmotl In ottobre dopo 16 annl di guerra clvUe. Altri sol· doti saranno fomiti da Bonglodesh, Botswana. Uruguo,y e Zambia. n tra· sferlmento del soldati l~tlllnnl dovrebbe eMere completato e ntro metà marzo. mentr e l' Intero contingente Onu sarà In Mozambico a maggio.

Con un c:en\.rc) dJ ntzzazlone lo11 1 ~ 1~ BeJra e un altro la.~ .. ~ a

sani~ado

a Chlrrloto--...:o.

chllometr1 a ovea~, • 20o città portuaje, la ~ taurlneme &art

e;;,_,._

temente au~~ OU aJptnt, tutu ~ C1a paga~ dJ Id ~ meae). allogger~ ~ tende e avranno --~ di potabllbzuto~ l'acqua, doc:ce da. ~ cucine, lavandene . pl elettrogeni, telefo.u ~ telllta.d. L'llCQua ~ le arriverà per nave l2lret. tamente <1aU'ttaua. plano aUmentare la 8~ gata sarè autonotn. Ptr 40 giorni. dopo 111 Cb4t 1\~ fomlmentl venanno • vtatl dall'orgaruz~ deU'Onu 1n M~atnbleo (Onumoz), 111 CUI • ~ aponsebne, In rap~ tanza del segretan0 nerale deD'Onu BoutfQa O h all. l'Italiano Ales A)eUo. Tutti l rtrorn~~ne 0 ti saranno comunque 11· slcuratl da navt che: r1lnl10 lo spalo con 11~ uno volta al mese.

ae:

Rivista Militare

ORERAT.tON~kBAXROS

MYGUYS OF 'ALBATROS' LIEUTENANT GENERAL CLAUDIO GRAZIANO, CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, RECALLS HIS PARTICIPATION AS COMMANDING OFFICER 'SUSA' BATTALION TO THE MISSION KNOWN AS 'ALBATROS' It was almost the Christmas of

1992. The Officers of thc 'Susa' Ai rportable Tactical Group and I werc in Heidelberg, Germany, to attend the NATO Allied Mobile Force (AMF) traininp planning mectings. t he 'Susa Battal io n a nd thc 'Cuneense' con tingent were uscd to taking parl to exercises in Norway, Turkcy, and Dcnmark once a ycar. On that year, thc 'Susa' was p la nn ed to dcp loy to De nm ar k . Howevcr, peremp tory and unexpccted orders dictated a chanae of plans. The Army Staff ordered' our immed iate redcploymcnt to ltaly. Ru mor s h a d t ha t w e w ere to deploy on a mission to a land far away shortly. The whereabouts being unknown, we ali thought to Somalia . Upon returning to Jtaly, we searc h ed for news a nd info rmation about the Horn of Africa just at the airport. But it was nol Somalia. Our dcstination was southwards, in deed much so u th wards . It was Mozambique where wc were planned to deploy as parl of the United Nntio11s Operntion in Moznml1ique (ONUMOZ). The 'Susa' BattaJ io n was trained to cope w ith pa rti cul ar ly harsh e nvi ronments, such as in Norway, whcre tem.r,cratures were often around -40 C. That was not the iss uc, though. lf you a re tra ined for thc Arctic, ;,:ou can a lso perforrn wcll at +50 C in Southcrn Africa. lt was during Chrislmas time thal pr·c-deploymcnt training and planning took momcntum, a nd many lhought we had lo leave soon. Vehicles had been painted in white, Army and Air Force light a rm ourcd veh icles known as '66 14' reachcd o ur base in Pinerolo aboa rd large lrai lc rs. We conducted live training wilh APJLAS anti-tank wcapons, a piece of 1O

Soe~l Mozambique

equipment we had never used befare. Th e battalion - indeed a la rge one - was ready fo r deployment. Then the arder came that participation to the mission was on a voluntary basis. Maybe we had to expcct it com in g. Knowins that we had to dismember disc1plined and traincd units to form new oncs w itb volunteers caused so n1e rcgrc t, but wc stili ga thercd the pcrsonnel to ta l k to fhe conscrip ts and ask for volunteers. As soon as the arder to break ranks was givcn, we realised we ha d c no us h GP lhcn - bu t no on e doubtcd •t wou ld be so. Almos t unconsciously, we werc wil nessing and epoch-making evcnt: our A rmy was de Jnclo no longcr based o n conscripts. Tt was becoming the prototype of a profcssional a r my . Those con seri pts w e re truc 'pioneers' who, thanks to their voluntary

commitment to the mission in Mozambiqu e, wo uld b ave been the pro tagon ists of a p eace keepin g mission that is s tiU cons idered onc of the most successful. In my tenure as the then Commanding Officcr of the 'Susa' batta lion and now C hief of the Genera i Staff, l ho ld s ucb me mories in my hea rt. Likewise, 1 feel obli ged to share and commend the initiative lo celebrate the twcntieth a nni versa.ry of that unfor gettabl e mi ssio n w ithin the 86th National Alpin i Convention in Piacenza.

THE 'ALBATROS' M1SS ION Albatros is lhe name the ltalian armcd forccs assigned to ONUMOZ, a mission originated by the genera i Peace Ag reem e nts s ig n ed in Ro me betwccn the Govcrnn1ent of Mozambiquc and thc Mozambican National Resistance Movement

(RENAMO), through the mediation of the Communi ty of Saint Egidio and the ltalian Governn1en t. TF1e purpose of the agreements was to put a11 end to the long and devastating civil war that p lagued Mozambique after its Lndipendence f:rom Portuga l was achieved in 1975. Consistently with the agreements, the deployment of iJ1ternational forces as part of ONUMOZ should have followed based on a United Nations Sec urity Coun cil Resolution, with the mandate to ensure the ceasefire, monitor tbe disarmam.ent, demobilisation and rein tegration of combatants and fadlita te democratic elections . Jt was a chaUengino- task as we were operating in a JifHcult environment which was absolu te ly new to mountain troops. Thanks to its extraordinary operational and logistic efficiency, the Italian contin gent bad soon become the force of reference to previde lo.s_is_tic a n d medicai support to a li UN forc es in the region. Th e A lpini, Army Aviatio n and Signals personne1 d eplo yed on mission Albatros' were assi gned tb e r esponsibility over centrai Mozambique, i.e. the area of g reatest strategie im portance in the Cow1try. TT1ey had to ensure the disarmament of combatants, train tbe local regulru· armed forces, secw·e convoys, dish·i bute hum anitarian aid and, most importantly, con tro ! what is known as the 'Con:idor of Beira'. Tbe Corridor connects the pol't of Beira wi th Z i mbabwe, through plains, moun tains and the city of C himoio, where the base camp of our contingent wou ld bave been. The corr id or hosted three impo rta n t services, al i of which were vita! to con nect Zimbabwe to the sea, namely a paved road, a n arrow gauge rail way and an p ipefu1e to transport oi l !rom the port of Beira to Zimbabwe through the inter m ed iate station in Maforga . Tbe Jtalian Alpini were assigned the opera ti o n a l responsibiJJty of such a 500 me ters to a few kilomeh·es wi de strip of land . Today, every commander on the fie ld would con sider these tasks normal. Back in 1993, however, exce pt for the sisnificant experience gained in Lebanon in 1982 and ù1 Iraql Kurdistan in 1991, we were s till at the dawn of internationa l operatlons. The Western annies, induding Italy's, were s tili train ed, prepared and equipped for a

Cold War scenario, i.e. a conventiona l con flict between forces with symme t rical charac te ris ti cs and capabilities, that is to say ATmies against ATmies. On ce the d epl oyment of the ltalian contingent based o n th e 'Ta tu inense' Brigade w ithin the UN Force to Mozambique had been decided, the movements of uoops began in March 1993. That was indeed t he ha rdest period in the whole missio n. T wil l a lways remember spendin g lo ng nig h ts awake a t the port docks, s leeping on the grou nd in unhea ltl1 y areas tormented by mosquitoes. O nce we landed in Beira at nlne in the morning, the g iare of burning light over tfie runway left room to

scenes of a bsol u te poverty : overgrown sl ums aroUl,-d the city and yet the onJy shelter for the refugees fleeing from the waT; children on the street, rough roads, palm trees, huts in ponds and swamps: and a scorching h eat. However, as soon as we left the degradation of Beira, Africa appeared in all its thrilling beau ty . Hills w bere all around, blinding li ghts, bright col ours: hut villages embedaed iJ1. luxuriant hills. As the evenlng came, we reached Chimoio: there was n othing there but a few tents wbere our base was to be built, a few kilometres away from the city . As we sat on the ground to eat from our combat rations, drums could be h eard in the distance . The night came s u ddenly, a dark and imp enetrab le night.Unlike the sunse ts on our Alps, dark comes quickly, almost without prior notice. The n:lOnths that followed were filled with m oveme n ts a nd tr a nsports alon g the corrid OJ' to secure n ot o nl y freight, b ut a lso the population. The units of the 'Su sa' Battalion and the ail·bome Alpini Company - which reinforced the very battal ion - fulfi ll ed severa! tasks, a m ong w hi c h , escor ting trai11s by detaching secmity teams on boaTd and following the train by road with motorised patrols; s urv eill ance of possible targe ts, particularly the oil re fin ery in Beira and the pumping s tation in Maforga (the formeT was located in an unheal th y a nd marshy soit while the latter among bea utiful fores ts of eucalypt us). Humanitarian convoys protec tion, checkRivista Militare

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points, mobile patrols, distributi o n of buman itaria n aid, advanced patro ls resuppl y v ia helico pter, preventative occ up a ti o n of areas by air transport, and air patrols, surveillance and prevention activities added to the picture. In s hort, o ur brave mounta in troops had no time to get bored. l sho u ld not forgcl the logisti ca l support units. First of ali, tne logistic support Battalion commanded by thc then Lieutenant Colone! Porrazzo, now a three-star Ge nera i, a great fri c nd of mine since then. In my opinion, pizzas wcre dishÂˇibutcd w1thin his camp more often than in mine, but he always said the opposite was true. I have already mentioned the Army Aviatio n he licopter pilots: we would not have ach ievcd th e sa mc s uccess without th c m . Last, but not least, thc Contingcnt HQ with Generai Fontana and fhcn Generai Mazzaroli as Commanding Officcrs. Colone! Baudissard of Lhc Ta LI rin c nsc Brigadc Cl n d Co lo ne! Zambcll i for the ju lia Brigade reported to them. From day to day, as our pat rols wcrc operating non-stop, we rcalized that the number of people on the street was s lowly increas in g and the fields were raked and eu f-. tiva ted again. But ou r success no t only depended on preventing assaults to convoys, saving miTitiamen from being lynched or foiling a robbcry . The real s uccess was seeing thc smile on thc faces of ordinary people as wc passed. Perh aps those people did not even know why white light armoured vehicles and soldiers with a blue helme t a nd a feather were around. How cver, they pe rceived that after our deployment they could definitcly hope for somethins bettcr. As wc returned to Italy aboard a piane of the Mozambican airlines

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we a li had a lump in our throats. Recalling the excitin g ni g hts in thc southern hemisphcre, w ith starry nights and a sky so close you cou ld a lm ost touch it, made us sa d. Wc werc ali awa rc, as l bave a lread y sa id on many o ther occas ions, wc w e r e su ff c ri ng from mnl d'Afrique. Even in that circumstance and as usual , the Alpini of the 'Taurinense' and 'Julia' Brigades who took pa rt to 'A ibatros' fulf ill ed their ma ndate in a n e xe mplary manner. They h ave been faithful to the motto of glorious battalion where I served: A Brusn sutn ' l Susa . (Piedmontese for "the s ituation is cr iti ca i, deploy the Susa"). They were able to interpret perfect ly the spirit of what was born as an uncertain mission, and yet planned and ca rri ed o ut with me tic ulous expertise, with the te nac ity and determination of th ose wonderful conscripts w ho, through their work, helped to restare nope for an entire nation.

THE AL PINI NEVER STOP The Alpini who served on operation Alba tros' witnessed the rebirth of a Cou ntry that was taking th e first s teps toward a !ife of peace a nd democracy befo rc their eyes - l s hould say proudly beforc our eyes. Bul labe lling thosc guys as mcre witnesses is definitely an understatement. U nders tanding the territory a n d the peop le throug h daily contacts had transformed o ur Alpini. Fr om simple witnesses the y had become protagonists involved in the creation of hop e and expectations in th e popu lation, eve n e motionall y. The Alpini c ban ged Mo za mbique an d a t the sa me ti me Mozambique had Jeft someth ing in each and every of them. lt is this 'some thin g in s ide' and the typi ca l desire o f th e ' b lack feathcrs' to do more than they a re asked for that supported the Alpini of 'Albatros' (and other volunteers) as they returned to Mozambique on the tcnt h anniv e r sa r y of the mi ss io n. They ki c k s ta r ted so me reco ns tru ction projccts in Lalaua, o ne of the provinces under ltal ian responsibility during the operation. As the works wc re finis hed, th e A lp ini d o na ted a boarding sc hoo l fo r g irls, a nutrition a ncf s h e lt er centr e for undernourishcd ch ild ren, and a centre for women literacy and promotion to thc Mozambican a uth orities . Of co urse, s uch initi a tivcs brin g prcstigc to th e N a t.ion a l Alpini Associat ion and to lta ly as a wholc.

LET'S MEET IN PIACENZA Today, due to a strange twist of fate and simi larly to what happened twenty yea rs ago in Africa, the A lpini of Lhe 'Ju li a' Brigade are fina li s ing th e ir dep loy me nt to Afg:ha ni s lan an d re i iev m g their co lleagues of the 'Taurinense' Bxigadc. The mission in Mozambiquc has c lea rly s how n that lla lian soldiers are bettcr a ble t h a n ot hers to adapt effcctivc ly and timely to new tasks. Thcy are able to interpret thcir rolc in an exemplary manner on lhc diverse operational scenarios where they deploy, just as they exploit the main factors of success in a peace mission synergistically, i.e., diplomatic, military, humanitarian and those related to reconstruction. 'Albatros' has brought ltaly prestige and international visibility, somethlng that could not emerge due to the strict logic imposed by th e Co ld War. In conclusion, the mission has represented o ne of the most significant mom e nts in my career and earned m e a wealth of knowledge, which has proven essentia l to successfully ad d ress the fo llowin g challenges. Jn te rms of humanity,

there is no doubt that this cxpcrience h as left me a legacy of stro ng ties with the men r sha rcd those inte nse months on opcration w ith. Thosc bonds cannot be broken: they were forgcd as we were dolng so me thing in'lpo rta nt in a coun try as bea uLiful as unfortunate. And then 111nl ri'Afrique ca mc. lt is a subtle regre t that e m c rges as you remember those days, o r la lk of the time to co llcagues who s hared the experi ence with you. The large white fie lds, the bright light in the savannah, thc shc ltcr at the end of the patrol duty. Those who have never seen an invasion of locusts may have a hard time understanding. The Mozambican children found them delicious. We did not, as they were everywhere. Someone put iguanas in the tents, for they ea t locusts. But then the invasion of locusts passed, and the iguanas remained. They were awtul, and yet ni ce animals. Africa! You s hould have v isited it at lea st once to un derstand. O nly then those perfumes and images w ill stay in your heart forever. For these reasons, l co mme nd the initiative to celebrate the tw entieth anniversary of tha t successfu l

operation during our Nat ional Convention in Piacenza, as we also remember and commemorate Lt. Fabio Montagna and Staff Sergea nl Sa lvato re Stabili, who died on Novcmber 2SLh, 1993, in the sky of Mozambique. In addition to the ex hi bition of med ia, matcr ia ls and photographs of the miss ion, l have particularly appreciaLcd thc idea of watchlng a block named 'Aibatros' on parade o n May 12th. On that occasion, thc Alpini wbo took part in the miss io n wil l wa lk together with the Commanding Officers of the tĂŹme. l wi ll be there with them. lt will be an immense pleasure forme to meet those 'young Alpini' l bave seen growing into men. Now, twenty years later. I will meet those 'grown men', although llike to think they are and will remain forever 'my guys ... the Alpini of Albatros'. Claudio Graziano,

Lieutennnt Genera/, Chief of tlle Genernl Stnff

Artide published in " L' Alpino", no. 4/2013.

Rivista Militare

O.'P.ERAJIONrAL BA T.RO

FIRST TIME ABROAD The Army Calendar 2013 commemorateci 30 years of missions of the Italian Army in the world. Mauro GaJligani brinas us back to the first mission abroa~ of the lta lìan Alpini (except fora smaJJ participation in the mission in Lebanon i.n 1982) thanks to his evocative photographs. Tt was exactly twenty years ago. Mozambique was the a rea of opeTations, some eight thousand kilom.eh·es away from Italy. fn December 1992, the Ita lian Parliament accepted the UN inv itation to send an Italian military contingent in southern A&-ica. Ln those busy days of December, severa! things happened: the UN

cles, trailers, containers, and aircraft. On February 21st, 1993, an Advance Party co mposed of 23 Officers left Turi n to sco ut the Beira corridor, i.e. the connecting s t1·ip in Mozambigue between Zirn baiJwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) and the sea. They were tasked with solving logistic problems, of which the first concerned finding locations for the camps. It took several flights from the aixporl oF Tu rin (Caselle) from March 2nd through 30th to deploy the personnel. Ali in a li, l think Mozambique deserves a few introductory words: formerly a Portuguese colony unti l the fall of the Safazar and Caetano

Securi ty Counci.l p asse d Reso l u tion 797 authorising operation ONUMOZ (Uni ted Nntions Operntion in Mozn111bìque) a nd soon the spotlights moved from Rome or New York towards the mo untains of Piedmont. There were the Alpini facin~ hard training in tbe barracks of Pme1·ol o, Rivoli, and Turin where hyperdrive was applied to the preparation of the ITtaterials and vehicles. Ali vehicles had to be painted in white a nd bear UN Lnsignia. The first ship to sail from Genoa towards Beira was the 'A rcade Ea~le' witb its cargo of vehi-

regime, it became a n independent coun try in 1975 together w i t h Angola. As ÌJì the case o.f the Jatter1 i.ndependence sparked a bloody civil war that Jasted for seventeen yeaxs and caused more than a nullion dead, a million and seven hw1dred thousand refugees, and fo ur mi llion displaced persons in the loca l cou ntryside. The conflict took piace in the mnto, the savannah a nd the parks· - e.g. Gorongosa Park - between FREUMO (tfte Mozambique Liberation Front) - whkh was "fraterna lly" financed and armed by

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the USSR and Cuba - and RENAMO (the Mozambican National Resistance Movement) supported by the West through South Africa. Something resembling tbe Cold War was fought for seventeen years on the African soil as from the m iddle of the Seventi es, a period filled w ith id eology . However, w hat is important is tfiat the ex haus ted factions agreed to talk, also under tbe strong pressure from the Church. lt took twentyseven months of talks between the FRELIMO government and the rebels of tbe RENAMO to sign the Peace Agreements at the headquarters of th e Commu nity of Sa int Egidio in Rome on October 4 Lh, 1992. The agreements relied on the UN to ensu re the proper imp lementation of the Treaty, which the ·u N transformed into r ules of engagement for the ONUMOZ contmgent, tha t is, for the Alpini. The story of 'Alba tros l' is the story of the Italian Contingent: 600 days and nishts. From March to Oc tober 1993, the 'Taurinense' Brigade was in charge, and later the 'J ulia' Brigade until April1994. When the maJority of the contingent made of Alpini from Piedm on t and Friuli went back home, some two hundred Alpini of the 'Alba tros 2' medicai detachment remained a t the airport in Beira. The 'Taurinense' Brigade - which had gone through years of tTaining and operations in Norway and Turkey as part of the NATO Allied Mobile Force - served as a probe. The contingen t was made of Uttle more than a thousand men, 500 vehides and trucks, 25 Iight arm oured vehicles, 8 helicopters a nd 3 ligh t a ircraft. The axea assigned to the Alpini was in the middTe of Mozambiq ue, in fact a 300 km corridor between the lndian Ocean and the bm·der with Zimbabwe, i.e. the former Rhodesia. The two corridors of Beira and Tete and the Nationa l Road l to Maputo were part of the area. As soon as the camps were set up, the 'Ta urinense' Brigade s tarted the operation s to ensu re freedom of movement (i.e., escortiJ1g road convoys and caxgo trains); secure installations ana target a reas such

as the local pipeline; and organise gathering areas to receive tne former combatan ts. The ' Julia' Brigarle took aver the delicate tasks of collecting, transporting, a nd s toring the weapons su rrendered by demobi lised factio ns, as wcll as of ensuring the first free e lcctions. The protagonists of these s tories stili consìder Mozambiq ue as a unique and unrepeatable experience. What is more, in 1993-1994 ltaly was also involved o n operations in Soma lia and Alban ia.

Indeed, the Army was prcparing for the futu re. The idea \·vasto establish quickly a core of Brigades and Regiments mad e of professional soliliers to deploy in response to any external request. Mozambique, however, was somcthing orig inai and uniquc. Thcre is no other way to define the cmployment of ma inly regionally recruited conscrirts abroad. Genera Claudio Graziano, w ho is now a t the top of the ltal ian Army, was the Commanding Officer, Susa

Battalion. In a memory book called 'Soldati Blu' (Blue Soldiers), he wrote that the operation had been 'the perfect peacekeeping operation'. Seventeen years of war had exhausted the forces of the two contenders; the popu!ation was draincd; a nd there was that overarching a nd clea r UN mandate. These are a lso thc reasons for success. The A lpini bave happily realised that lta ly's securi ty cou Id be ob ta ined cv c n thousands of mil es away. There has been no othei· Al ba t rosi contingent. Conscription is suspendcd and there are no more conscripts to deploy overseas. Today those who were deployed in mission A lbatros' are husbands and fathers. They are fully integrated into the ltalian society, but maintain strong bonds made of memories cven nostalgie ones. During the lational Alpini Convention in Piacenza, there will be tirne to remember the twenty years since that deployment to Mozambique. 1

Gian Franco Bianco

Artide published in "L'Alpino", no. 3/2013.

Rivista Militare

THE 'SUSA' BATTALION IN MOZAMBIQUE lt was about eight in the morning o n May 11th, 2013. L was walking towards the group of vetera ns of 'Operation Albatros', jus t before th cy marc hed on paradc duri11g thc Nationa l Alpini Convention in Piacenza. There was no way l wou ld have missed the appointment that year. lt was twenty years since me a nd the company under my comma nd deployed to Mozambique as part of the 'Susa' Battalion. The id ea that l could mcct again the peop lc l had not heard fro m for a lo ng ti me prevai/ed aver any coromitm ent. As l wa lke d thro ug h th e g ro up, ma ny of those weanng thc Alpini hat were ha iling me. Severa! limes I heard the refrain "Look! ls11'1 thnt Cnptain Risi?" One of them in particular approach ed me with his open arms and shouted "Captain{ Captain!" His hug soon became tighter and tiahter. l flave been ?ooking for you Jor twenty years! Wllere have you been?", he a da ed. l was pu zz led and so mewhat e mbarrassed. The big man was c ru s hing a Colone ! of the m o untai n troops, asking something l could hardly decipl1er, as l struggled to figure out who the h eli the 'crusher' was. As soo n as he let me go, I saw joyful eyes full of tears staring at me. "Don't you remember me? he added. l'm Marco CenÂˇato! l've been IJOU r trattsi t syecialist for ten mont71s, of whiclt jour i11 Clti111oio, Moznmbique." 1-l o nestly - and witll much embarrassmentl co uld hardiy es tabl ish a link between that face and practica l s itu ations. On ly after we exc ba nged more details and unfolded sto ries l was flooded with mcmories and the related emotion, something I thought l had forgotten. That fleeting e n counter, wh ich brought me back to a past whose scope on ly today l u nd e rsta nd, was followed by inte nse mo mcnts during and after the paradc; it a lso served as the basis for ma ny rcflcc ti ons, which ir1spired thi s arti de as well.

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Marco Cerrato had been my right hand for ten mo nths between 1992 and 1993. By that time we Iived in sy mbiosis. l was in charge of plan ning the r edcp loy ment of the HQ Co mpany of thc 'S usa' Ba ttalion from Pinero lo, lta ly, to Chimo io, Mozambique. He checked the expiration of the wor thiness certificates of ali vehicles. I prepared movement plans and he organised the convoys. l or&aniscd the Driving Courscs as tn structed by a ver,y zea lo us Battalion HQ and he ass tgn ed the atte nd ees . Today l und er s ta nd that his fortu ne, a nd

mine, resulted from his generosity a nd active dedication. Tt took him ve ry little time to w in the trust of his co ll eagues a nd s uperio rs in tbe HQ Company. Marco was burst in g with e ne rgy, an a ll -sm il e, c hecrfu l person with extraordinary memory. He knew ali thc plate numbers of medium and fight trucks in the company by heart, together with the full names of lhc respcctivc drivers. Computers werc sti li in the Stone Age, but if l had to develop a fleet management app lication fora company, l wo uld stili stick to what Corpora!

Marco Cerra to co uld do a lo ne . Marco, however, did so well because he knew his fe llow drivers o ne by one. For each and every of them, he knew the place of ba·t11, the ty pe of military driving license and, of co Ul·se, their r ecruitment echelon. He had coffee with them; he di.d s hooting training with them. They attended physica l training together all morn ings and evenings, and s hare d cigarettes under the Mozambican sky . No software would do what he did. This heritage would be lost. These considerations of mine should not lead to any conclusion. They are just thoughts. In Piacenza, Marco introduced me to o ther guys (we are all in our 40s today, so l should perhaps say men) with whom I sh ared memories which resisted during the last 20 years. One of the mos t powerful memories was - of course - pre-departure tenseness. Frenziness in tbose

months was second only to the speed wlth which mission conditwns changed. Even the area of opera tions ha d changed in the first few months . In fact, Somalia had been the first choice for deployment. The more detailed information we received about Mozambique, the Beira corridor and Chimoio, the more the equipment, w eapo ns and vehicles changed. And before Janua ry 1992, th ose names w ere unknown to ali of us . At first, un certainty a rose abou t the possibiUty of voluntary partidpation, wbich was more than a pa in in the neck for me. ln fact, a lot of shades ex is te d b e tw ee n 'You're in the Ar111y, you deploy an opem/'ion' versus ' You cnn volunteer to go on operntion or not'. One could be at one end OJ: the other, depe nding o n the level of respon sibility. And voluntary parti cipa tion was perhaps the idea shared a t the politica! leve l. The closer to the tactical leve], the more we interpreted the issue in a compelling man ner w ith a view to preserving unit cohesjon. I remember the s taff me t around Christmas: at that tim e, Company Commanders were told each conscript could choose to vol unteer far the mission or n ot based on personal considerations. However, d uring the informai mee ting that followed, our Commanding Officer delivered a very subtle message: our lea d e r s hip would be judge d by the lev e] of voluntary parttcipation of personnel under our command . l slept very little tbat night. Today l can say tl1at was a powerful lesson. Paradoxically, 15 years

la ter I fa c ed a similar situation as l was in command of a regiment. In 2008, the 2nd Alpinj Regiment was enjoying pos t-opera tion recovery from a aevastating tour in Afgha nistan . Six soldiers had d ied in three terrible a ttacks. The unit' s morale was down the drain and I had the same feeling of fifteen years earlier: were we about to deploy a haphazard collection of poorly blended a nd less co h e r ent personnel? At that time, the scary part was the lack of information o n the actua l si tuation of loca l sec urity which spanned from proper gu errilla to humanitarian intervention. No one in the 'Susa' Ba ttalio n had ever been engaged in a rea! operanon before. Of COUI'Se, we had gained g:reat e ~p eri e n ce ~h~nks to the excellent tmlitary trammg as pru·t of the NATO Allied Mobil e Force. However, no one co uld reall y say what a rea! mil itary operation meant. Uncertainty turned into extraord inar y motivation thanks to the cadres of the 'Susa' Battalion, and we aU approached the new adventu.re wHh unjque enthusias m and courage. I r ealized later how important the good understanding had been, and the n eed to tackle the issue with the pe op le w i th whom we had a good time and sh ared training and climbing activities . I mus t be grateful to the NCOs of the HQ Company who establìshed a wùque environment. Warrru1t Officer Lorenzo Magliocca was born in the region of Campania but had been living in ViJiru· Perosa (Turin) for years. A resourceful an d cbeerfu r person, h e exRìvìsta Militare

-P-ERATlONJIIt8A1.RO

ploited the fricndly relationships he had within the regiment - cspecially w ith thc cobbfer - to invent new jung le-suited prototypes of boots, or to modify the tents to make them suitable to the new climate. He knew how to reach consensus, and the soldiers strugglcd to work with him; Warrant OHicer Sandra Zucca, the extremely protective c hi ef of the mec han ica l workshop w ho asked so m uch from his men, without making them sad or faligued. In Mozambique, he would l1ave worked day and night to achieve alway s afmost 90% of vehicle ef.ficiency; the young Sergcanls, wi th Sergcant Pao lo Bon from Friuli as a case in po int, werc a Lru c examp le. T hcy knew tbey were the closest link to conscripts and had to combine expertise, enthusiasm, and energy. l n a nutshell, during the seve1Âˇal gatherings to count the heads, Lhe ca li to tne conscripts ended in a scries of yeas or "l waut to joiu!" a lso lh anks to the people l recailed. The daily life on operations wa s 18

Specia! Mozambique

another pain in the neck that turned into a bcautiful memory, also thanks to t be memo ri es s h ared with the personnel of the company. During training, we focus on special events, sucn as defending from enemy fire while executing r~connaissance patrols and cscortmg convoys. However, we were ba1Âˇdly preparcd to face evcryday rou ti ne. On opcrations, ro u ti ne represen ts the ma in danger in Afghanistan or Lebanon today as much as ycsterday. Defending thc base camp, responding to arerts, doing continuous fieldworks to improve security, or rehabilitating unhealthy arcas to enl argc the camp bccamc daily tasks ror the HQ Company, th us mak i n~ a da ily routine made of logist1c commitments less repetitive. We ali knew this would lead to lower moral standards and discipline w ithin the unit. We did a lot of sport. l musl confess l have a lways becn mad about spo rts and a strong su pp0rter of the morning run : always and al i togcthcr. lt took ali the diplomatic ski lls of thc

Battalion Commanding Officer to quel! thc large degree of perplexity about the effec tiveness of this trai ning. Eventually, a li perplexities vanished when the CO joined us. And l clearly remember the veiled hint about preventing that running may become a breal<neck speed racc. I succccdcd, however, in using sports as an instrument of co hes ion - which l continucd to do in the fo ll owing years. Undoubtedly, tug-of-war training has been the most enjoyable experience. Since a friend in need is a friend indeed, l capitalised on the friendship with an Officia l of tbe World Food Program, yct a former Petty Officer of fhe Briti sh SAS. He camc to thank me far son1e Lar iam capsules l had found for him, which would havc savcd the life of one of its operators. In front of a becr, l confessed l kncw nothing about training a tug-of-war team. l recalled that British platoons were unbcatable during the AMF excrciscs. l p luckcd up my couragc and asked for ad vice. J le openccf his cyes w i-

de and provided some prelirninaxy informatio n. Practice was the n ext step. Training consisted in towing a truck on tl1e sand. The tow in g tec bniqu e cons isted in applying a sin gle force, taki n g the imtiative over the oppo nent and, above a li, pulling t he rope usin g the strongest of limbs, i.e. the legs, and resist w ith the weakes t, i.. e. the arms. And then there was the relationship with the team leader, the only person authorised to look at the opponent. The sold iers had a lot of fun a11d T am sti li conv inced that they learned how to work as a team on tha.t very occasion. I must say that this experien ce, of which the gam es represent the highest point, was part of the awaTeness I took from the then Battalion Command er. l s til i b e lieve that sports are a funda mental factm for teams that need to be successful during crises where stress, fatigue, an d even dan.ger ca n p u t a li our lives a t stake. The adj ustment and h·ansfer of responsibilities between t h e Zimbabwean and the UN contingents in the first phase ga ve room to unforgettable mom e nts . For the 28year officer who 1 was, this represented a huge cnrichm ent of my professional backgro und. I am re• ferring to t h e sec uri ty detachments for the convoys that picked up the equ ipment to establish refugee camps tn Maputo. To go from Chimoio to Maputo the convoy had to travel for 12 days, during which persoDnel experienced botl1 self-sufficiency and a close encounter with Africa . O n two occasions in Aug ust a n d September 1993, two genuin el y multinational Task Forces h ave car ri ed tents, b lankets, cookin g utensils and medica i supp lies to s upport the demobilisation of REN AMO and FRELlMO sold iers. Thirty Ita lian Alpini, 40 Ur ug u ayan soldiers, a n d a bou t 20 Indians drove fo r 2,500 km through the savan n ah and the tropical fo r est, and lived a comn1o n experi en ce that marked, 1 bel ieve, all o ur lives. The very same experience put o ur certa inties and perspectives to the test, w hich we compared with those of the Uru guayan a nd In dian soldiers, and the Mozambican popula tion who we h ave met along tl1e "high road ." However, we have become aware that we were doing someth ing extraordinary thanl<s to a journalist with

w h o m we s ha red that won derful experience. l am referring to G ianfraJKO Bianco, who kept a diary with observations a nd con sider ations, which would oth e rwise be l ost. G ia nfra nco, un li k e most of the journalists who T me t Ja ter on operatio ns, had no t come to Mozamb iqu e to prove a point. He cou ld have written abo ut the effectiveness of UN operations, the ability of the Italia n Army, or the sound ness of the peace agreem ent we wer e protecting. Ra ther, he wan ted to tell indi vidua] stories, and how these stories cha11ged us, thus expanding o ur sense of citizensh ip as we returned bome. He was the o ne who m ad e us appreciate breath-taking scen er y : the

clashed with the unbridled consumerisn"' that produced thousands of begging ch ildren on the sh·eets or the m arkets where hi-fi equ ipment and t-shirts made in Tha iland were so ld side by sìd e w ith rnonkey paws or liza rd tails . If l were to take stock of those seven a nd a ha lf months, I would say they have bce n beautiful and significan t. l a m stili very attached to those colleagues w ìth whom I shared time and experience. We all ag1·ee that i.t was probably the most intense a nd richest experience, especially for the new events. Upon returning to ftaLy, it took me some months to app1·eciate again m y TOie as Company commancfer. I w is h ed l could go back to Africa. I felt like l was mo-

Rio Save, the white beaches of XaiXai, Vilancu laos. And thanks to his knowledge and understanding of tbe Latin-Am e ri ca n c ulture he opened us the windows onto the U ru guayan p latoon . For th e first time, we had a g limpse of a professional army, w here soldiers were in thcir thirties and had a fanuly waiting for theìr return in Montevideo or Paysandù. G ianfranco wo uld b ave spent about 14 weeks in Africa, durinowhich he s ha red every thi ng wit~ us. Tlu·ough his unique snvo1r fai re, he also took us to appreciate those asp ec ts of the mission we would o therwise bave escap ed . I remember h e to ld the story o f La uren co Marquez before we entered Maputo . He referred to the decolonisation due to communism ru1d how it

re useful there than in the barracks in Pinerolo. From that moment on, our pro.fession would h ave no longer been the sam e. Exercises a nd training were not perceived as something per se anym01·e. We would a lways see them in the lig ht of a possible employment abroad . And above aJI, what cha11ged was the con1mand style. We had abandoned o u r role as educato rs of yo unger people who were about to take an active role in life to become more an d 1nore pl'ofessional soldiers . Leaving aside the mere teac h er-s tud en t re lation ship, we s ta rted coll aborating and sharing with these so ldiers, even if ro les were different. M ich ele Risi,

Brigndier Generai Rivista Militare

O'BERATION~ALÂˇBATROS

October 31St, 2013 marked the 20th anni versary since l set foot on the runway of the International Airport in Beira, Mozambique, under a bright s un . My soldicrs- the Alpini - and l went down t he piane sta irs with our UN blue bcret o n. After a fli g ht tha t las ted 10 ho urs, thc 16lhCompany of thc 'Civ id a le' Alpin i Battalion, a lso kn ow n as "La Bel la" (the Beau tiful), was now parl of lhe national contin gen t of the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ). Il was thc fast of the companies of the 'Ju1ia' Brigade to deploy to the thealre. O n the fo l l ow~ng day, the Commanding Officer of the 'Susa' A lpini Battal io n, Lt.Col. Maco r, was to hand over co mmand to thc Commandi ng Officcr of thc 'Tolmezzo' Alpin i Battalion, Lt.Col. Finocchio, at tbe base in C himo io Tabacco factory. The company was assigned the supervision over wha t is known as the 'Corridor of Beira', a major 300 krn line of co mmunication that compriscd one railway line, one of the few asphalte d roads that crosses severa! rlvers a long ra the r s ignifica nt bridges, and one oil pipeline. ft is an umbilical card vita! for the nca rby Zimbabwe (forme rl y Rhodesia), which has n o acccss to sea . G iven the cons tructi ve relations between the two opposing parties, i.e. FRE LIMQ(l) and RENAM0(2), and the overall respect of the peace agreements signed in Rome on December 16lh, 1992, mines were in fact th c main threat to security . T he e ntire co untry was infestcd with n1ines, esp eciall y along the ma in lines of commu nica tio n. Loca! problen"'s re lated to the proccss of dcmobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration of the fighters of both sides were also part of the picture. Aftcr the head count and the recollection of weapons, we reached somc wh ite helicopters. Surprisingly, thosc Sov ict Mi-8 helicoptc rs fiad bccn pa intcd in white w ith a fla t brush, a nd tufts a nd dcep ma rks we rc stil i visib le on the th ick layer o f paint as a s ig n of a n unc lca n brush (which of course was a big

SpeciaLMozambique

brush bu t no t a brush of grea t valuc{3)). The pilots showed up in sandals, shorts, and a large, brightly-coloured shirt while Ftolding a bottlc of vodka. Once inside the cabin, they locked the door. Twenty years later, l had a dejà-v11 whcn l observed almost the same scene in Afghanistan recently. Luckily on that occasion, there were on ly s uppl ies o n board. Despite the no t very rcassuring conditions, the flight was qui te calm and gave us the opportunity to get a f1rst impression of the area of operations. We landed in Chimoio, where the HQ, 15th Alpini Regiment and thc support units were stationed. Jt was late at night when we reached the camp of tne Battalion HQ - i.e. the operational unit of the Ttalian contingcnt- after a short transfer by road. Upon arrivai, thc Commanding Officer of the 'Susa' battalion

briefed us. l could't sleep that night: on the one hand, everything was new. On the other, the electric generator 30 feet away from my tent was producing a strident, mechanical, and clattering noise. As the days passed, however, it became an endurable background noise, perhaps due t~e fact that I was ready to drop at rught. The next day was aedicated to the transfer of a u thori ty between the two battalions, and of course between my company and that of the 'Susa' Battalion - perhaps the 34thof which one team remained on the field far a short time to guide us across the area, the routes and the procedures so that we could get Ìl1to the flow of OP,erations along the "Beira Corridor' sea ml essly. Another reinforce ment platoon was provided by th e Airborne Alpini Company of the 4th Mountain Tro-

ops Corps in Bolzano. Patrolling of the road between thc city of Uutare, Zimbabwe, and thc Moza mbican port of Beira; escorting trains a long the same route; an d the su rveillance of the va lves of the pipeline that provides cnergy supply to Zimbabwe were among the most common activities. Escorting trains was a fairly adventurous activity. The platoon assigned to the mission often travcllea to Beira the day before and slept at the detachment were the co mpany in charge or guarding the pipeline terminar- i.e. the 6th Company of the 'Tolmezzo' Battalion was stationed. Once at the train station and afterjroper details had been arrange with the railway operators, one dose protection team travelled aboard the train, while the rest of the platoon followed on wheeled vehic les along th e 'cor·ridor' and reached the severa) stations and leve! c.rossings along the line ahead of the train. Changes in schedules were norma!, and sometimes the train stopped in a village in the middle of nowhere far the night. While the driver could find hospitalily in a fr icndly hut, our soldiers remaincd aboard to watch over the train and its car9o. On other occasions, we couldn t grasp the logic behind the stops pian. Guarding the valves of the pipeline was nota very exciting task, apart from the r isks posed by mines, but gave usa se.nse of how significant thc 'C01·ridor or Beira' wc were guarding was. In fact, unti! an agreement was reached that ended the long civil war and opcned the door to the deployment of UN peacekeepers, the 'Corridor' had been guarded by the Army of Zimbabwe. The defensive positions dug in the vicinity of the large access hatches to the valves regu lating the flow of oil were a clea r evidence of that, together with the presence of machine-gun belts and bullet casings. Routine tasks alternated with camp guard shifts; shooting practice; episodic pah·olling alon~ secondary routes; air reconna1ssance aboard the 'SIAI1019' Army A viation aircraft; and the rehearsals of the severa! contingency plans which often required using helicopters to respond to unexpccted contingencies as well as to more predktable emergencies. The latter Rivista Militare

OPERATION1tALÂˇ8ATRO$J

included a stro nger contro! a lo ng the route between Chimoio and the border with Zimbabwe in Manica in case the domes tic si tua tion in Mozambique degenerateci beyond contro l. Life in tbe ca mp, a part from th e quarterly or ha lf-yearly towÂˇ of duty, was not very different from the one we trained for during the summer excursions, or the au tu mn and winter routine activities in ltaly. Also the organ isation of the Company HQ was thc sa me as in a ny ou tdoor trai nin g activity. We livcd

rad io sta tion, which required our relatives to leam the fundamentals of radio communications, such as using "Over" to tell the radio operators to switch the signa! between the radio and the land line. Thanks to AM rad ios, our company co uld exchange a few words w ith o ur Regiment located in Chiusaforte, especially in the evenings, and make us feel less distant. During the rainy season, we learned that the wa ter draining cul verts wc wcre used to digging aro und tents o n our mounta ins were perfectly use-

an attraction. Field mice - which were hou sed at the rocky hill on the south side of the camp - were regular visitors. We also met large blue-hipped lizards, and a python that used to resting within the barbed wire holl ows to avo id the atten ti o ns of the curiou s A lpini. l n addition to tbe resular guests, we had seasonal v1sitors, among which swa rms of termitcs and of small black sti nk bugs, indeed very similar to their ltalian rclatives, including fo r the nauseating s me lli !et a lo ne quite aggressive sp iders

in modular tents equipp ed with camp beds. The mosquito protection screen was a must, and heating - indeed a welcomed feature o n the Alps- was of co urse not nccessary . F ie ld kitchens providcd for victualing and practica l di sposable trays replaced the meta] tins. The avaiJable cqu ipment was of little comfort: jus t a field shower equipped with a d iesel burner to produce hot water, hemp roof and wood flooring, chemica] toilets, a volleyball co urt, and a few ho memad e gy m cq uipm e nt. Wc cou ld cali home o nce a week far a few minutes. Sometimes ca ll s we re routed through the "RH600" AM

less: we needed an excavator to do the job. fn arder to drain the huge amount of water tbe African sl<y could pour very quickly on a s mall area we had to w iden the cu lvcrts and transform th em into g uttc rs an d bui ld ovcrpasses. Somcti m es, s h owe rs hit patrols a nd m adc them wet as a d rowned rat, whi le other patrol s a few hundred yards away could be completely dry. The touch of Africa was evidcnt on some occasions. Whenever the population of the neal'by vill agc celebrateci an cvcnt the rhythm of mus ic reac hed o ur ca mp a nd las led for hou rs. Mor eove r, encountc rs with the loca1 fauna were a lmost

and, occasionaUy, snakes. Of note, the locals considered the termites a delicious snack, just as fried mice. As per thc snakes, meeting a puff adder was one of the most interestin g experiences . Wc captured one spccJmc n near the g ua rd post in the vcry ccntre of thc ca mp. Ju st as intcrestins was th e mamba , a quite aggressiVe snake the patrols have sometimes found along roads. Long range patrolling down the so utl-1, i.c. down to the bordcr of the a rca of respons ibil ity w hcre a modern bridge a long Na tio na l Road 1 crosscd the Rio Save, was lcss common. Such activilies lasted at

SoeclatMozambiQue

least 48 hours . lt took more than 6 hours to almost two do~en vehicles to d1Âˇive along more than 300 km of what was- in theory - a paved road. ln p r actical terms, at least twenty years of no maintenance and persistent mine obstacles had tl1e road riddled with l1oles. As the HQ Platoon and a dose security team set up the base camp in Nova Golega as on lr mountain troops can cfo, tactica . teams reached the bridge over the Rio Save. Sometimes they continued to the west of Nova Golega to link with a UN de-

tachment consi.st in g of half a dozen observers who were setting up a demobilisation camp for the FRELIMO Fighters nea r Chibabava. We were generally back to base late at nignt. We us uall y slept in tvvo-man tents after a huge meal based on pin eapp le, which the commanding offi.cer obtained by local cbildxen in exchange of canned tw1a and meat. The next day, after dis mantling the base and cleaning up the a.rea, we travelled back to Chimoio, where we usually arrived late in the afternoon. The early GPS navigators had proved very useful in a li these activities: the available maps were often for Rivista Militare

air navigation, or thc scale was too

large, thus being absolutely unsuitable for driving. Whilc quite bulky for thc today's standards, we used thc d ig its o n th c display as geographic coordina tcs in arder lo fincf the exact station point on the air navigation maps available. And there was no Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projected coordinates or kilometric grids. At al i! l remember the excnange of new way points or the upcfate of the existing ones among patrol commanders as one of the activities that kindled the most interest. As soon as the end of mission approached, it turned out that demobilisation camps were causing troubles. In fact, in addition to being located in places difficult to reach by ground, they suffered from obv ious organisational difficulties due to bofh the vast territory and - above alJ -a new-born State. In exchange for their demobilisation, i.e. the surrendering of weapons and of the scarce military equipment they had, the ex-combatants s ho uld Teceive back pay, a small discharge allowance, and a 'farmer kit' consisting of some farming tools, blankets, and seeds. Unfortunately, the governmentsponsored camps for the demobi lisation of FRELlMO fightcrs suffcred delays caused by the poor organisation of the State. The situanon caused frustration and anxicty which, in some cases, resulted in riots a nd violencc aga in st UN camp managers. For those of RENAMO, the problem was in the unrealistic promiscs made by thc 24

Spec191 Mozamblque

Commanders to their men to maintain contro\ as the funds from foreign donors werc over and living at the expense of the population was no longer possible. Once thc UN unvciled the !ics, there havc been cases in wbich frustration ended in riots and in Lhc kidnapping of UN staff, as in the camp near the Serra de Gorongosa, about 100 km north of the Corridor. Becausc of this incident, added to many other situations, I was required to do severa! hours of air observation aboard a "1019" aircraft and report any development on the ground via radi o. ln deed, a rea! fun as l su.ffer from airsickness! Sometimes we had to bring help to the wounded after serious road accidents. l still remember when a huge hÂˇuck transporting many passengers in rear dump body rolled aver near Chlbabava. On other occasions, we had to clear parts of the road where mines had been reported, especially aftcr accidents had occurrcd. Among landmines, the most dangerous wcre those of Sov iet production with wood casing: of course, because they cou ld not be detected by meta! detectors. As time passed, the pressure platc degradcd and much less pressure was Tequircd to set off the mine. Although origina lly about 200 kg were required, a dcgraded mine could explode even if a person stepped on it, with the consequences w e ca n a 11 fathom. Even then, the rolc of cngineers, and on particular of EOD (Explosive Ordnancc Disposal) teams, was absolutely irreplaceable.

My memories are those of a CaptaJn, thus csscntially rclated to operations and to thc daily life in Company. Back tben, l had littJc time - and luckily, r might add- to reflect on the more doc trinal, and politica! and rnilitaTy aspects of thc mission. Thc peace agrcemcnts signed in Rome in 1992 and UNSCR 797 were light years away from the daily operations in a Cornpany, a twilight zone for a distant and blurred horizon. Every day, the problems we faced concerned the assigned tasks and services, notably the maintenance of weapo ns, equipment and, most importantly, radios to keep the pcrsonnel safe; pl'eserve training levels for those not engaged in operational activities; preserve the condition of ammunition stocks; and implement ali possiblc improvements to the living standards of the Alpini under my command. In fact, l have found simiJar conditions again only 20 years later in Bala Morghab, Afghanistan. As Company Commanaers, we wcrc required a very high leve! of care and attcntion. Tha t was a specific requirement from Battalion Commanders so that we had to achicve optimal operational standards and ensure our personne l was comple tely safe. Do n ot forget wc wcre command ing conscripts who had been cnlistea only fora fcw months and yet volunteered for the mission. Those in rny company, for examplc, had been rccru_ited in May. Ganison training had a lrcady been very c ha llenging. Thc 2nd tra ining cycle hacf just finished in

August with the typical 'evaluation drill.' This piatoon-training evcnl included a 48-hour cxcrcisc, in fact a final exarn for thc cnlisted personnel and thc ir platoon leaders, wbo were often Spec ial Entry Officers at the very beginning of theìr career. Theatrefocused training requ ire d two monlhs and incfuded left-hand driving (traffic rules in Mozambiquc are the same as in Grcat Britain); motorised patrol training; driving courses for the armoured vchicles borrowcd from tbc A i r Force; rifle teams traininB, as s uch teams were uscd to dnving l.ight tru cks rather than armou rea vehic lcs. Also, Portugucsc languagc courses were derivcrcd, togcther with cu lture-specific courses. Mine awareness, advanccd use of weapons from aboard vehicles, and a particularly complcx and comprehensive vaccination schedule against malaria compieteci the picture. As we prepared for dcparture, many a mong us were almost re lieved s ue h a d-e ntanding train ing was ovcr. How ever, I perceivcd so n·tc a nxiety for the complete ly new situation we were about to face. The Cold War had just ended and thc ccssation of hostilities between FREUMO and RENAMO was one of its fu·st and most striking effects on the African continent. "Further north, o ur fellow paratroopers, tankmen and cavalrymen were facinga vcry tense sltuation in SomaTia along the Imperia ! road which links Mogadishu to Ethiopia, i.e. another landlockcd coun-

try. The news about the gunfights and our dead colleagues did not contribute to raising tnc morale. Only a few years before, as a Lieutenant, I was patro!Hng the border with the then Federa i ""Republic of Yugoslavla in ful l gcar. The training rehearsals included staif and live exercises to simulate possible invasion scenarios. We have been educateci and trained to face a conventional attack from the East and now, after only two months of miss ion-specific training, we had been thrown into pcacc l<eeping with a blue beret on and tbe vebicles painted in a whitc livery with UN markings. But thc country, clim ate, terrain, popu lalion, nn d threat w ere totally unconventional. ln retrospect, there wcre reaso ns to be worried, indced. What took us out of trouble, in my opinìon, was thc fact that the peace agreements signed by the two warrìng parties seemed to hold. Moreover, well-established procedures and s tandardised Iogistics down to the lowcr levels, the habit of actin g in an ind e pend e nt and yet standardiscd manner on the mountains - whcrc improvisation does not bring rewa1·ds but often a punjshment- also contributed. In addition, being used to keeplng constant radio finks durìng everyday activities rcpresented an absolutely rewarding and key factor for success along with the SRT 178 AM radio station that eq uipped companies. A delayed reply to a call front. the radio network coOl·dinator would almost certainly earn a verbal warning upon returning

to base, if not an immediate one via radio. Even 20 years later, I can say t ha t mission was epoch-making, not to mention the feelings, memories and adventurous flavours such an experience leaves in 20-or 30-year olds. The Anned Forces regamed their functìon as an instrument available to decision-makcrs, just as Von Clausewitz thought, even if thcy never lost ìt. In doing so, thcy took the distance from thc thrcatening and sti li limited horizon of thc lron Cur lain. Irrespective of the po li tica! or military wil l, the intcrnational balance was changing and so d id the expectations of tbc Statcs and thc international community towa rd s the Armed Forces, especial ly those of tbe richest countrics. Andrea Piovera, Colo11el Alpini Corps

REMARKS (l) Frente de Libernçifo do Moznlllbi-

que, a moven1ent inspired to Marxism that had fought for independencc from Portugal. (2) Resisleucin Nncionnl do Moznlllbique. Supported mainly by Rhodesia and South Africa, FRELTMO was perceived as the natura! landing shore for clandestine anti-colontal and anti-apartheid movements. (3) Reference is cultural-specific. A commerciai about brushes bas been aired for yea rs in ltaly and this sentencc was the bottom 1ine of the advertising message (TN). Rivista Militare

'PERATIONrALBATROS

MOZAMBIQUE STAYS IN THE HEART THE ALPINI OF ONUMOZ MEET ON THE INTERNET Posts, photos, captions, an d v ignettes deliver a stream of memories. T h e Internet wins over time a nd space. It is the new ' hom e' to th ose w ho lived a memorable experien ce twen ty years ago. Africa and Mozambique stay in the heart. Indelible marks have bcen stronger than time. "After Moznmbique, nollling w ili be ns il wns before." We heard somcone saying th1s at the end of thc mission, ano nothing can be more true. Even today, the words a nd deeds of the sa me black feathers who took pa rt in ONUMOZ as young sold icrs confirm tha t the expericncc thcy livcd has been o·ucial to thc !ife of cach and every one of Lhcm. lt is 2013 and twcnty years have passed since the beginning of an exciting adventure in Africa for the Italian military. Communications in 1993 werc delivercd through radio links or by the words whispered in what today seem rudim entary telepho ne booths; thro ug h handwritten lette rs; or by mcssages written w ith tbc r eliable O li vetti ty ping macbin es. Somehow, we can stili hear the ticki:ng of metal levers on paper, as every I<eystroke left indel ibl e moments and emotions on white sheets of paper that would have taken their way home. Thc Internet, real-time chats, Skype ca lls, and social networks today are the new channels to tell stories made of s me l.ls, scents, fla vours, and influences from the other sid c of the world. Tbe tellin g co ntinuc s thJ'ough the voices and mcmories of those who lived that experience in first person. Their faces of young soldiers are today the faces of grown men. lt 1s an endless multimedia beat. Thc Alpini who deploycd on UN mission 'Albatros' - also known in ltaly as ITALFOR- are stili catching up to rccall an expericncc thcy ca nnot fo rget, a n experience thcy continu e to s ha re and th at mad c th c m diffcrent. Rccently, we stumbled upon a web26

Speciai-Mozambique

page o n the mosl popu lar socia l networ k toda y. T he colours in tbe palette aTe whitc and blue, the sa me as in the flag of n1ission 'A lbatros'. This is w hcrc thc memories of the then conscri pts, of the Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and their leaders become stron g and vivid. lt is just a Facebook group, a virtual piace to share memories. By reading the comments of the members, reflecting on their words, and Jooking at the ir!botos we feel as we are teleporte . back in time and space: al! we scc is objects, images, memories. Thcse are the s tories of people and their experience, of the anecdotes a nd events they lived along the Beira corridor. lt is the life in the neat mazes made of tents under the shadow of the ltalian and UN coloms on a flagpole. That commitment tFiey fulfilled willingly is part a choice made twenty yeaTs ago and never bctrayed. Today's v irtu a l marketp lace oozes witl1 stories that a re so lively, w hich no one cou ld have w iped out. The posts themselvcs revea l none of those soldiers has ever forgo tten wha t happened. One of the great advantages of soeia! networks is that they bring people together. Thanks to woras and images, thosc pcople rncet and make distance irrelevant, a lrnost nonexistent. Evc ryonc isso incred ibly dose through a simplc click. The faces o-f thosc 1,030 Alpini - indeed in lheir forli cs or so - s tili reveal the cxcitcmcnt of fee ling "privileged " peoplc for the rn a ny sunsets

and sunrises observed ovcr th ere fo r monlhs. These have bccn privilcged pcople, as they could witncss the Mozambican population slanding on Lheir feet and reacting to the dcvastation of war and to an aggressive, merciless nature. Thc faces of those young guys appca r o n Lhc www.nlpi lliiii OZnlllllico.it wcbsitc ns wcll as on Facebook. T h ose g uys, ma ny of w ho m wcrc conscri pts, had jt1st finishcd the secondary school. Inside them was a mix of ideals and pride for wcaring a uniform, which turned into commitment from the heart in helping others. Outside them, one could abserve the vigour of youth, the athletic bui lds as a result of months of training. Evcryone reading the stories of thc 'Ta urinense' and 'Julia' Brigades, of the mountain infanh·y an cf logistic battalions, of the Army Aviatio n Flight Group and the Airborne Medica i Detachment is overwhelmed and taken to far off places. Tt is on the wave of those memories that we want the Albatros to fly again, also through the words of the protagonists. Each one of the more than seven hundrcd mcmbers of the group, i.c. a big portion of the 1,030 parlicipants to the mission, is rev iv ing thc memorics. Some posted a p icture of relaxed moments; some othcrs w rote comments as they h·y to rccognise familiar faces. Everyone, however, is searching. They are searching for the former colleagues and superiors they shared a memorable experience wilh. Thcy wcrc friends, more than ju st mcrc fc ll ow soldiers, whosc lives ha ve t a kcn d i fferen t p a th s. O ne co rnm c nl stands aut thro ug h Lhc co unt lcss posts that makc th c s trings of our sou ls v ibrate: "Africn, lite 110 mn11 's /nl/(i. Wlterever yo11 nre, l

will miss you every dniJ o[ my /ife. l listeli to you, to your folfflll nnil melodious chnnts, your forgoìten frngrnnces, the scenls of ornnge. Al/ is Inr{etclred. Sometimes, l stili don'/ befieve l Jrnve bee11 tlrere. l miss lfOII. And IJOII, wnn11 n11d dry su11, l wì/1 nlwnys· remember how your wnmred my skr11 ùeyorrd befie{ And then the spectnculnr sunsets, wlriclt left me speecltless. l love you, Africa." This heartfelt and touching poem is echoed by thc ta le of two colleagues w ho have v ir tu a ll y e ng raved the me mo ri es of th e d c f a rture for ONUMOZ in thc digita pages. " In 1993, soldiers were nùout to lenve to Moznmbique for n wonde1j ul /ife experience t/tnt lltnde so lltnny of us grow up. r;,·ust wnnt to drop n line to ntr fi lOse w 10 were witlt me before, during, nnd nfter sue/t n grenl ndventure. /11 todny's world, I 1111nk SO/Ile people sltould see w/tnt poverty nn d wnr menn, bu t nlso the desire to stnrt ngnin." "On Mnrch 211tf, 1993 nnd 011 the following dnys the Alpini of the Tnurine11se Brignde stnrted /enving lo Moznmbique. I ltnd n senf reserved 011 n LAM jltglrt on Mnrch 22 1111. We took offfrom n co/d nirport in Caselle, Turi11, made a stop in Pnris, n11d then jlew en rou te to Mnputo. Ninetee11 venrs ltnve pnssed si11ce tlten, bui tlte thÌ'i/1 in seeing flte snowcnpped penk of Kilimnltjnro frollt tw thousn11d feel is stili strong. So is recnlling the 118 °F hent wnve tltnt hit us nt tlte pinne door." The me mo ries of Afri ca n nig hts ç'leserve a sepa ra le mcnlio n: "llwve ùeen nl Chi11toio Bnse jro11t Mny 31 5 ' to October 11"', 1993. Yo ur photos recn/1 indelible nostnlgic 1111!11/0ries. Duriug titose 11 igh fs 011 g un rd, 111 y eyes were /os i in n skt; full o[ stnrs so dose you cnn nlmosltÒnch il .'' Some others are grateful to those who crealed a meeting piace, even a vu·tual one: "Tllis group is, forme, n j11111p bnck ton pnst T lave lo remember. l glndly see many of tlw Tnuri11ense nre here. l found some of the 11101/lf w i t/1 w/rom I have shared my ninety 'days in Africa! A stro11g lnrg lo n/l the vetermrs of OperntiOit Albntross." Between the lines and the flow of memor ies, a picture shows of the convoy escort and l hc a rri vai of mail. The brief commcnts of the Alpini w ho starred as protagonlsts reveal a panoply of emotions reinforced bY. images. "Security Detnclunent fo r mtl frnnsport. Being nineteen: lww cool!"; "Beirn Airport. Awnifing mnìl." The a ttention to the posta l service confirms the importance o f maintai-

nlng a link to the homeland and the beloved ones. The white letters delivered family warm th eight thousand miles away. Today, it is thc Internet that a llows mcn and women in unlform to perfo rm thcir duties away from ho me and s tili have a w indow open o n their own world. Today as before, contacts becomc part of the h uman nature and a supportl ng force even in the ha rshest conditions. Among the ma ny diffe re nt s to ri cs and an ecdotes, o ne ph o to w ith a brief caption seems pa rticula rly interesting: "Me in n villnge nenr Citimoio. My brotlcer in nmrs nnd [ bouglif the ltouse ns n present fo r tlte guy fo right, w/10 was nbou t to mnrn; tlte giri tmtlt tlte red nnd wltite striped sltirt; to my left, the groom's pnre11 ts."

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and adventure. When asked "Sitould you pick one memory nnd onc only, wltat tltnf experience would lwve been ?" the answers were indeed much d iffe rent: "it mnde me see fire world witlt different eyes and i t is not n cl iché: it's true! After Jour montlrs in Africa, l wns a completely dijferent person; l tltink l ltave mntured n/1 of n sudden during tltat experience; llwve lenrlled to npprecinte t/cose momen fs of the dny tltnt non11nlly go unnoticed; Tltis experieuce mnde me grow up nnd ! didn't ever 110tice; And I /iternlly fell in love witlt Africa. Not n dny goes by witlwut dedtcnting n thought to this wonderf ul continent - We were privileg_ed. /t wns nn experience t/tnt ltns enriched us n/1 nnd thnt we wi/1 keep in our ltenrts in n lifetime - As the most importnnt tlting, l have lenmed to npprecinte

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.. So]jdarity w as so ex traordina ry that it was kep t under wraps, bul rewa rded with tbe joy tha t co mcs fro m helping people rea lly in need. Stepping into the reality of lhosc d ista nt bro thers a nd com pa ring it to ou r own, thlnking abou t lhe g irl friend at home, helped to create a strong and in separab le bond wi t h lhat lan d. The clear, effective, direct, and so much engaging words of Generai Marizza, flis cartoons- indeed a mix of wistful remembrance and sarcastic irony - mlrror the emotions percelved in that s un -scorched carth perfectly. On e thlng is certa in: no onc of thc 1,030 Alpini of lTALFOR Albatros has fo rgotten. O ne of the m posted the following: "ft's been n long time, but l will11ever fo rget tlte 111ission in Mozambique in1993." Mini-in terviews from fe llow soldier to fellow soldler ar e also a memorable testimony of the mjssio n, work,

wlm t /ife ltns given me; Twns so lucky l ltnd n si rong Jmnily to support 1111! wlten - on tlte contrnry- childw r ltnd to fend far themselves front tlte very beginning; l wns renlly p1ensed to find tlus group 011 Fncebook. 1f mnkes 111e Jeel reni/y gloomy. l remember two cltildrell in pnrficulnr, Pedro nnd Pmtlo." Among the ma ny memories and com men ts, a recali of the reveil/e and of those Sundays when a link to the homeland was so ugh t through a feeble rad io commentary of the soccer ga mes: "Medica/ Detaclrmenf in Chimoio. Mnrc/r 24111 to July 1s1, 1993. HURRA Y! Memories from the nig!tts spent in COIIIII11111icntion shelters. Rendy lo plny the reveille h-nck on tlte cassette for t/te e11 tire bnse. Olt dear, w/tnt n til/le!'' This is Mozambique, too. It is unch anged em otion even after twenty years. Valentina Cosco Francesca Cannataro Rivista Militare

OPERATION<AHJATROS:

THE PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN MOZAMBIQUE REFLECTIONS ON A SUCCESS ln October 1992, inmlediately after the signing of thc Peace Agreement between fhe Government of Mozambique and the armed rebel movement known as RENAMO (the Mozambican National Resistance) [ was offered to lead the peacekeeping miss ion ĂŹn cha rge of imp lcmenting the Agreement by the then Secretary Generai of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros Ghali. He did so as recognition of the crucial and successful role ltaly had played during the peace ncgotiations. The Sccretary Genera i was looking for a n Jtalian w ithin the United Nations system and with the appropriate rank. I am Italian and was the Director, External Affairs of the United Nations Program for Development witl1 the rank of Under-Secretary-GeneraJ. Also, my family name star ts with 'A', and is therefore fo und more easi ly in the staff directory. Unexpected ly, the greatest adventure of my fife had begun, and l was put at the helm of ONUMOZ. The agreement l had been required to implement was the resu lt of long and painstaking negotiatio ns that lasted for two yea rs in Rome. The ltal ian Governmen t and the Community of Saint Egidio - together with a group of international observers in a supporting role - acted as negotiators. Unlike other occasions, the representatives of the Govemment of Mozambique and RENAMO had a lso discussed a li the aspects of the peace agreement and looked for and proposed appropriate solutions to the severa! pending issues. They did not hide thc thorny issues that would inevitably sting during the implementation phase and generate tbe consequcnccs we can an imaginc. Clarity and comprehensiveness werc two of the positive characteristics of the Agrecmcnt. Bu t t h ere w ere 28

Special-f;1ozamblque

more. Some other innovative aspects made it an exemplary and highly innovati ve document. First and foremost, it was clearly stated that the rules governing its implementation prevailed on the existing legislation- including the Constitution - and that the two Parties were in fact peer partners. The latter aspecl was easy to define but very difficult to implemcn t. Du ring the negolia tions, eq ua lity was demonstrated by the fact that neithcr side had been able to win the war. Following the signing of the Agreement, suclì equality was crushed. On one side was the Govcrnment, with the whole state structure behind it. On the other was a guerrilla movement without resources and in nced of everything, from food to accommodation ana clothing. More in gen erai, they lacked thc financial resources required to transform a guenilla movement into a politicar pa1·ty. Once thc RENAMO realiscd its condition of infe1·iority, there was a real risk it would consider the agreement as an ambush and blocl< the peace process. Anyway, it was obvious that n ot a sing le so ldi e r would have been demooilised if ù1e problem had not been solved. Under the agreement, the govemment would have to meet the needs of RENAMO, but none of the two partners liked sucb a solution. The Government had difficulties in fi nancing his opponent, and the RENAMO considered depending on the government's "ch arity" a form of nunùHation. The intemational communlty had to act and for that to happen l had to be involved intima-

tely and directly, even if tlùs mcant be111g accused of bias. Luckily, the main Countries concerned, and Italy in particular, responded to my

ca li positively. Subs istence iss ucs were then so lved, and a 'Trust Fund' was established to support the transformation of RENAMO into a politica! party. Undoubtedly, that was on c of the most delicate and sensitive phases of the whole proccss. Without such support, the peacc process would have becn endless. And yet the Governm ent had perceived it as an act of bias, and the relationship between the Govemment and the ONUMOZ suffered from it. Despite the financial assistance provided to RENAMO by thc internatiana! commu nity was cxpressly sanctioned in the Agreement, th e form in wlùch it was organized and dispensed was absolutely originai, indeed som ething th e U nited Nations and the international community had never tried before. The work carried out in Maputo by the representatives of donor Counh·ies to persuade th e respec tive Capita! cities to contribute to the fw1d was key.

Rivista Militare

OPERATION:AL8ATROS

lions initially under the authorily of the first exploratory mission to be incrcased to five . Thei r task was to protect the five main lines of communication in the Country, which would otherwise have remained unguarded during the demobilisation process of both sides. Eventually, the United States - which had already expressed doubts for the costs to support three battalions - gave green light for five and this for two reasons, notably the failure of thc mission in Angola and the change of administration in Washington. Ambassador Bolton who l1eld the purse shÂˇings during the Republican administration was called to take thc finaJ decision aftcr the victory of thc Democrats and during thc transilion bctween thc Bush and Clinton administrations. /\t thc suggestion of thc Sccrctary-Ceneral, l mct Ambassador Bolton in Washington to explain the reasons bchind our rcquest. Aftcr a Secondly, the pcacc agreemcnt provided for the crealion of a strong politica) slructurc with the Unitea Nations in the driving seat. Unlikc Angola and other!eacekeeping missions, the Unite Nations were not simple observers in Mozambique, but rather the engine of the entlre peace proccss. The main managing body was the Sueervisory and Contro) Commission (SCC) - w hich T chaired - co mposed by the two parties and a group of international representatives from France, Germany, It aly, Portugal, United Kingdonl, the United States and the Organization of African Unity. The decisions were taken by consensus by both parties, with the partidpation of aii SCC members, mcluding inte rnationa l m e mbers. The SSC was assisted by a number of Subsidiary Commissions chaired by the UN, namely the Ceasefire Commiss ion (CFC); the Commission for the Reintegration of Demobilised Mi1itary Personnel (CO RE); and the joint Commission for the Formation of the Mozambican Defence Forces (CCFADM), and by the National :tlection Commission (CNE) chaired by a Mozambican autho rity chosen by mutuai consent between Parti es. Even the military structu re was particularly robust. After thc failurc of the mission in Angola a nd based on the assessment of the military attachĂŠs of the Member States of thc SCC, T requec;ted the threc batta30

SoecUII Mozambloue

long talk, he smiled, agreed to provide the five battalions and added a revealing comment: "You hnve been very COIIVillci11g Mr. A/'ello nnd the nexl Admi11istrnlio11 wil pntf the bill, nfter n/1." That is what l cali being in the right piace at the right time. The five battalions were made available by Bangladesh, Botswana, Tta ly, Uruguay and Zambia. Other countries such as Argentina, Brazil, ]ndia, and Portugal contributed some support units. The schedule of th e peace agreernent- in fact tbc weak point of the entirc process - proved to be totally unreaiistic from the very onset. None of the thrce Parties involved the Govcrnmcnt, th e RENAMO, and the Unitcd Nations - could have met it. The Government had failed to understand the full politica! and logistic impact of the arrivai of RENAMO in Maputo a nd in other provincia! capita ls, nor the politica! and logistic impact of a UN miJitary contingcnt much larger than initially expected. The issue of national sovereignty was raised in the Natio nal Assembly and the negotiati o ns about the "Stntus of Forces Agreeme11t" wen t on for seve ra! months before it was approvcd. RENAMO's pcrsonnel were too unprepared and limitcd in numbers to rnan age the comp lex sys te m of comnussio ns mentioned in the peace agreement. T hc sus pe ns ion of the work of the Commissions caused by the sudd en a nd unmotivated withdrawa l o f RENAMO from Maputo proved to be ins trume ntal to thc selcc tio n and preparation of the required cadres by the vcry RENAMO. Once again, my decis10n to leave RENAMO the time required to complete the prepa ratio n of its cadres and not to caU fora violation of the agreement caused some frictions between me and the Government, while the Jatter expected me to condemn such behaviour. Finally, the UN was not able to deploy five infantry battalions and the related administrative and logistic support within few weeks. The entire deployment took in fact about seve n months to comp le te. It is worth no ting tha t the fĂŹrst contingent to a rri ve in Maputo was the Italian Alpini battalion, which was immedia tely assigned to the protection of the COlTidor of Beira, i.e. the most sensitive line of co mmunication that connects the lndian Ocean to Zimbabwe and includes a road, a railway and a pipeline . The battaRivista Militare

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lion - in fact the backbone of the entire military force - was known as 'A lbatros' a nd composed by e lements from the 'Taurinense' and the 'Julia' Mountain Brigades. Afart from the exceptional quality o the m en involved, the ba ttalion had air reconnaissance capabilities - and therefore could keep an eye on the entire corridor of Beir·a - and an excellcnt field hospita l. The latter was insh·umental in establishing a positive relationship with the Mozambica ns. Once agam, l decided to change the s trict rules accord ing to whiclì the hospital cou ld on ly assist the UN staff and opcned i t to the civ ili a n pop ul a tion. l did the samc for the sccond fi cld hospita l provided by Argentina. No other hospitals in Mozambique had the same equipmenl as ours and the Mozambicans look great adva nta ge from both. Of cou rse, this translated into a work overload for the medicai staff, but even a situation beyond the rules was faced w ith p rofessionalism, dedication, and enthusiasm. My maLn goal was to make sure the civ ilian population saw ONUMOZ under a friendly and pos itive light rather than as an occupation force, which was its initial fear. The hospitals, together with other initiatives ins pu·ed by the same principle, have helped creating a positive eli-

mate that lasted tlu·oughout the entire peace process. Clearly, tbe first priority of the mission was to consolidate peace. This had two IXtajor imp lications: first and foremost, w1like Angola, elections would not take place if the demobilisation of RENAMO fighters had not been completed satisfactorily. Secondly, the politica! and economk capitai of both sides wou ld have to be lost in case they decided to retw·n to war. Peace would bave hold only if both Parties had perceived it as relevant to their interests. An d even in this opera ti o n, w e ha d to pay more attention to RENAMO - which had nothing to lose at the beginning of the peace process. Also in this case, I had to run the risk of being accused of bias. Today, H is clear tf1at the politica] growth of RENAMO has been pivotal to th e success of the operation, and created the condi tions for the continuanon of the post-election democratic process. The strategy to consolida te peace also meant the process had to follow at its OWll path and pace. Dead-

lines were extended eve1:y time one or bo th sides w ere una bJe to keep such a pace. In tbis respect, the forma ti on of RENAMO's cadres is a case in point. Conversely, when one Party used fili bustering tac ti es deliberately, persuasion efforts were required to put an end to such behaviour and to resume the peace process. Strong pressure has been exerted on RENAMO in late 1993 as President Dhlakama had to be convinced to start the demobilisation of its troops, in fact abandoning the military option and renouncing to its negotiating power. Of course, we had to previde assurance that his vita] and legitimate interests would be protected. Pressure was also used on the govermnent as the Armed Forces resisted to finalise the demobilisation process and to create a safe en vironment before the elections. fn both cases, ONU MOZ has experienced tensions wi th RENAMO at fi1·st, and w ith the Government later. The pressu:re over ONUMOZ was successfuJ on both occasions and the process achieved the intended steps ahead. With tlùs

in mind, support by the international community was of decisively importa n t. lt is generally accepted that the most successful operation of the entire mission was the demobilisation of the armed forces of both parties, and the creation of a new common Army . The so ld iers of governmental forces and RENAMO were gathered in vaTious sìtes. More than 80,000 of them had been demobilised and reintegrated into the civi l society, of w h:iéh 10,000 emolled to fonn up the new AJ·my. As per the latter, 30,000 former combatants bad to be seJec ted on a vollmta_ry basis, but no more than 10,000 could be found. Also in this case, an important and yet unconven tional innova tion was introduced to complete demobilisation successfully. The agreemen t provided that each demobilised soldier had to be given clo thing and agricul tura l tools, and paid six montf1s of sa lary. lt soon became deax that a six-montl't timespan would be insuHicient for the reintegration of demobilised soldiers into the civilian life. Also, at Rivista Militare

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lhe end of the sixth n1onth, the electoral campaign would have bcen at its climax, with dcmobilised soldiers without rcsources ali around, and capablc of using weapons. A longer timespan would have to be covered, and vocationa l courses provided for reintegra ti o n. Once again, I turned to the in ternational community, which es tablished an additional fund to cover the expenses for 18 more months of salary. This initiative was known as the 'Reintegrntion Support Sc11eme.' This very innovative and clearly untradìtional fund achieved two important resu lts. First, it pushed the former cornbatants themselves to give greater momentum to the demobiUsation process, as they saw no point in prolonging it; secondly, the fund prevented soldicrs from being kept as a reserve - as in the case of Ango la - for hidden so ldiers would not bave bcen entitled to wages. ln my op ini o n, three factors have been decisive for the success of the pcacekeeping mission in Mozambique. First and foremost, the great desire of the Mozambicans for peace, to which the will to make peace of the !oca! leade rship and especially of the common people shou ld be added . Jndeed, no o ne can hide the fact therc werc forces in Mozambique wi!Jing to continu e the war. Unfortunatcly, for some people war is a big dea!. However, given their limited numbcr, lhese forces were casi ly neutra lizcd. The second factor was the acli vc rolc played by the intcrnationa l community, cvcn beyond thc provisions of lhc pcace agrccmcnts; its unity; its

ability to speak with one voice; and the unlimitcd support providcd to the Special Rcpresentativc of the Secretary Generai during thc who le process of implementation of the peace agrecmcnt. Jt is thanks to this support that l was perceived by both part:ies, and especially by the Govemrncnt, as the representative of the international community as a whole, with greater authority being enjoyed by my role.

The support was the result of a long and demanding work. Frequent meetings were neld with the ambassadors who were members o f the Supervisory and Contro! Commlssion and s ubsidiary com missions; with the African Group; with the m e mb e r s of th e Europea n Union; with the Group of Nordic Countries; and in genera i with anyone interested. Through these meetings, the entire diplomatic commun ity in Mapu to was kept constantly informed about the developments in the peace process, so that the Capitai cities cou ld receive tirn ely, c lear and unambiguous messages. No major initiative was undertaken without the prior consent of thc international members of the Supcrvisory and Contro! Commission. Particularly lnteresting was a lso the innovative procedu re adopted whenever periodic reports wcrc delivered by thc Secretary Generai to the Security Council. The reports were draftcd in Maputo and scnt to New York. Contrary to norma! procedures, which mandated strict co nfidentiality on this matter, l look the decision to discuss the dJ·aft of the reports with the representatives of the member Countries within the Security Council present in Mapu-

to, witb a v iew to obtaining their prior consent. When the reports arri ved at the Securi ty Co unc il , n o observations were raised against their approva], and the ensui11g Resolu tio n reflected exactly what w e need ed. Such an ami.cable procedure sh ocked some of my colleagues in Ncw York, but no one coulc[ deny its effectiven ess. Th e Georgetown U nive.rsity wanted its students o.f the lnternational Relations P:rogram to study it and nicknam ed it the 'Shndow Security Council' . T he third factor concerned the great flex ib ili ty with which rules and procedures were adapted to reflect the s ituation on the ground rather than vice versa, w ith the latte r being unfortunately the case often. At the ti me l was appointed, accordin g to a w ell-established practice, New York was the d ecision- m aking centre for peacekeeping missions . Th e Special Represen tative of the Secretary General had to be a good official who dutifully performed as instructed. I took n1.e Little time to understand that s uch an approach did no t make sense. Not even the mos t brilliant mind thou-

sands of kilometres away from the thea h·e of operations could make the right decision at the right time. Only a Special Representative on th e ground could. However, this ca lled fo r the abi lity to perform politica! analyses, take dec is ions quickly and accept risks, together with the willingness to change the rules and to accept all the related responsibilities. Tlùs is hard ly consistent with the typìcal profile of a diligent a n d obedient se rvant, whose natura! instinct is to use piles of wr i tte n in s truc tions as a so und Liability insurance. A peace keeping mission is often a blanket too s ho1·t and too narrow to cover a very ta li person. Eith e r yo u ch a n ge the bla nket or yo u m ake the person shorte r. In Mozarnbique, l have decided to change the bla nket, even thou gh my decision has spurred complicati.o ns fr om time to time . All in a li , J am s till deeply gra teful to th e Secre tary Generai for letting me try su ch an approach, in fact for g iving m e cnrte bianche.

Aldo Ajello Rivista Militare

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1993-2013: THE 'FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROS', 20 YEARS LATER N ostalgia and memories have marked the celebrations of one of the most memorable operations of the ltalian Army d uring the annual convention of the National Alpini Association in Piacenza. The Chief of the Generai Staff, Lieutenant Generai Claudio G raziano, was also present.

Co uragc, fa ith, and passion; son gs, shou ldcred ropes and climbing boots, together with waving tricolour flags: ali this is cohesion, the overwhelming esprit de corps that spreads through the air ancl spea ks to souls and hea rts. The parade is an 1l-hou1· uninterrupted flow of black feathers that represents, in fact, a whole !ife. Thosc who joined thc Anny in the Alpini Corps know that. Such devotion is so strong that never Iets you down. The emotiona l impact of this year's convcntion in Piacenza has becn the same as always. lt is a t.raditional hcartfclt appoinbncnt between ci tizens and mountain troops, both in scrvice and retircd, and the cvidence of the strong feelings that bind p laces, the society, and the 1\rmed Forces together. llo nesty and Solidarity are thc keywords chosen for thc meeting. Thcy represcnt the values embodied by thc /\lpini, which are kept alive in the national and international conscicnce thanks to the participation to severa! Peace Operations. Honcsty and Sofida rity a re a seffevidenl truth that recalf " the flight of the AlbatTos." Albatros was the ltalian codenamc for n mìssìon carrìed out in Africn

together with other international forces to restore peace and order in Mozambique, in fact a conflict-torn land. And the "Albatros" is there, in Piacenza, twenty years later. There is stili a strong desire to meet again the colleagues, co mrad es, friends with whom events that ch anged the lives of ali black Feathers have been shared. And there is a long, so long row of blue shirts and caps bearing the UN lago, and black feathcrs pointed to the sky. The colou rs of African sunsets and warmth wcrc in the hearts of all. Ali starled from a letter, in fact an invitation, by Corrado Pcrona, the President of the National Alpini Association, as agreed with the Chief of the Cenerai Staff, Lieutenant Cenera i Claudio Graziano. Thc organisation startcd immediatcly thcreafter, and was supported by the warm hearts of thc Alpini in the 'Taurinense' and 'Julia' Brigades. Thcse are the men who took part in what in fact has been a grcat success of conscription a t the inte rnationa l level. For no reason they wou ld have missed such a sig nificant even t. Thosc you ng conscripts in the Alpini Corps of the time had been <W<lil;ah[(> to ht'lp the splendid

and dignificd African people. Once the ca lling was issued, they a li answered " l'm here!" That was indeed a specia l co nvention. Among the hundreds of thousands of black feathers who reached Piacenza, the UN light blue and white of pcace have painted the strcets of the city with colours. lt was a perfect parade formation. For months they have mel on thc social networks. They built a network through e-mails. They also organized the trip to Piacenza, U1e stay, and U1c parade. Again, they promoted charity events for Mozambique, the same Iand that had stoIen their sou l twenty years earlier. A sense of communion and joy pervaded all those who met after such a long time. Some are stili part of the great Armed Forces family. Some others lc.ft the service after the conscription, or a few years later. 'But none of them has ever forgotten the values, the spiri! of self-sacrifice, U1e abnegation and loyalty to the national colours and the Country. Behind the banner that celebrates the mission twenty years la tcr, the Chjef of the Generai Staff, Lieutenant Generai Claudio Grazia no, was a lso on pa1·ade. He has been the Commanding Officer of U1e 'Susa' Battalion. He wantcd to be there, greet the mcn who took part to the mission in Moza mbique, and remember a mission that even today is a mode! mission fo r the ltalia n Army as a whole. Hc was holding in his hands a light blue commemorative t-shirt proudly donated by the men of 'Albatros'. Then carne the salute a nd thc repeated flashbacks onto t·hc exci ting ndventure in Moza mbique. Evcntua lly, lhe two comrades who d ied during the mission were commemorateci, together with the memorics of ali the men who might look differenl but were indeed unchangcd in thci r hca rts a nd souls. Francesca Cannataro Valenti na Cosco

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MOZAMBICO 1993 • 94 TECHNE d L RUOLO TRAINANTE DELLA CULTURA MILITARE NELL'EVOLUZIONE TECNOLOGICA• (L ' età modema)

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ABBONAMENTO ALLA RMSTA MILITARE (ITALIA) ABBONAMENTO ALLA RMSTA MILITARE (ESTERO) DIR/m E DOVER/ DEL CAPPELLANO MILITARE PAESI DELLA SPONDA SUD DEL MEDITERRANEO E LA POUTICA EUROPEA SISTEMA DI SICUREZZA DE/ PAESI DEL GOLFO. RIFLESSI PER L 'OCCIDENTE ORGANIZZAZIONE E BUROCRAZIA QUINTO CENNI ARTISTA MILITARE INDIPENDENZA ED IMPARZJALITA DELLA PUBBLICA AMMINISTRAZIONE IL CLERO PALA TINO TRA DIO E CESARE GEOECONOMIA. NUOVA POLITICA ECONOMICA LA LEVA MILITARE E LA SOCIETÀ CIVILE LE OPERAZIONI DI SOSTEGNO DELLA PACE (1982-1997) PAROLE E PENSIERJ (RACCOLTA DI CURIOSITÀ UNGU/STICO-MIUTARQ UN UOMO ,.PAOLO CACCIA DOMINION/» (RISTAMPA) INDAGINE SULLE FORCHE CAUDINE. l'IMMUTABILITÀ DE/ PRINCIPI DELL'ARTE MILITAR& HERAT ARTEE CULTURA. l'L 'ESERCITO ITALIANO IN AFGHANISTAN»

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LE UNIFORMI DELL'ESERCITO ITALIANO SU/ FRONTI DELLA GRANDE GUERRA, VENTIDUE STAMPE DA COLLEZIONE (TIRATURA LIMITATA A 10000 COPIE) IN VOLO, MISSIONE DOPO MISSIONE 1980-2005 DALLA LEVA AL PROFESSIONISMO (L 'evoluzione dell'E.I. in 25 anni d'Immagini) GARIBALDI. 1807-2007 DUECENTO ANNI DI STORIA PATRIA GENERALE ANTOINE HENRY JOMINI (SOMMARIO DELL' ARTE DELLA GUERRA) LE UNIFORMI DELL' EPOPEA GARIBALDINA 1843-1916 (TIRATURA LIMITATA A 10000 COPIE) L'ACQUA «UNA RISORSA STRATEGICA UNA MINACCIA ALLA STABIUTA1 DUE MILLENNI D'ARTIGLIERI D'/TAUA (TIRATURA LIMITATA A 10000 COPIE} TECHNE ,.11 RUOLO TRAINANTE DELLA CULTtJRA MILITARE NELL 'EVOLUZIONE TECNOLOGICA» (L 'età classica) LA DIMENSIONE INTERNAZJONALE DELL'ESERCITO ITALIANO TECHNE dL RUOLO TRAINANTE DELLA CULTURA MILITARE NELL 'EVOWZJONE TECNOLOGICA• (L'efà m«<leva/e) CARA/TALI@ «DALLE MISSIONI ALL'ESTERO l NOSTRI SOLDATI RACCONTANO.t L'UNITA D'ITALIA. «RIVISTA MILITARE• RACCONTA LIBANO 1982-2012

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