Italian Paratroopers and Alpine Brigade on Military Exercise in Hungary

The Italian “Brigata Alpina Julia” (alpine brigade) and the “Brigata Paracadutisti Folgore” (paratroop brigade) exchanged their ranks in a ceremony at the Veszprém Jutaspuszta – Újmajor camp in western Hungary on 9 August. Lieutenant Colonel Massimiliano Careddu, outgoing commander of the Italian NATO Enhanced Vigilance Activity Battle Group (eVA BG), the international military battalion deployed in Hungary, handed over the baton to Lieutenant Colonel Salvatore Sotgiu reports Honvédelem.hu.

The event was attended by General Nicola Lanza de Cristoforis, Deputy Commander of the Italian Armed Forces, Roberto Taraddei, Deputy Head of the Italian Consulate in Budapest, Brigadier General Franco del Favero, Commander of the Alpine Brigade, and Brigadier General Roberto Vergori, Commander of the Paratroopers. The Hungarian Defense Forces were represented by Brigadier General Gábor Lőrincz, Commander of the Land Command, and the commanders of the US and Croatian contingents of the eVA BG were also present.

The Brigata Alpina Julia started its service in February 2023 at the western Hungarian base. During this time, more than a hundred training and live-fire combat exercises have been carried out in close cooperation with American, Croatian and Hungarian forces.

In addition to the contingent, the logistical support of the Italian National Support Element, providing the daily living support for the 260 soldiers of the Italian contingent, and maintaining nearly 100 Italian-registered combat vehicles, played a crucial role. In the future, the paratroopers of the Brigata Paracadutisti Folgore will represent the Italian forces in the NATO operation to provide deterrence and protection on the Eastern flank of the Alliance.

In December 2021, NATO decided to strengthen its military presence on the eastern flank of the alliance to counter Russian military activity, and asked Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary to establish forward battle groups, similar to the previously established forward deployment.

The Hungarian Defense Forces set up a reinforced battle group organized on a national basis, reaching NATO-accepted readiness by 23 February, 2022. The Russian-Ukrainian war led to the addition of foreign partners to the national capability in March, transforming the battle group into a multi-national unit.

As part of the NATO Enhanced Vigilance Activity Battle Group (eVA BG HUN), American, Croatian, Italian and Montenegrin soldiers arrived in Hungary last summer to begin working together with designated forces of the Hungarian Defense Forces.

This July, an international delegation of the NATO Allied Land Command visited the Hungarian and international (Italian, Croatian and American) forces of the eVA BG HUN.

The delegation, led by Colonel Konstantinos Pappas (NATO LANDCOM, Capabilities and Force Integration Directorate General), received a general briefing on the current situation, location, activities, training events conducted and planned, host nation support and supply and future plans of the battle group. At the end of the visit, the head of the delegation praised the current state of the multi-national task force.

Featured photo via Honvédelem.hu/ eVA BG olasz kontingens