The Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU), is a unit of the Italian Carabinieri, dedicated to the military missions abroad, including the military and civilian police tasks, peacekeeping operations, crowd and riot control.[1]
| Multinational Specialized Unit | |
|---|---|
 KFOR-MSU Coat of Arms, 2013. | |
| Active | 1998-present |
| Country |  Italy |
| Allegiance |  NATO |
| Branch |  Carabinieri |
| Type | Gendarmerie |
| Role | Military missions abroad |
| Size | Regiment various sizes |
| Part of | Carabinieri Mobile Units Division SFOR KFOR MNF-I |
| Nickname(s) | MSU |
| Motto(s) | Una vis (One strength) Nei Secoli Fedele (Faithful throughout the centuries) |
| Colors | Blue, red and black. |
| March | La Fedelissima (The Ever Faithful) by Luigi Cirenei |
| Anniversaries | 5 June, Carabinieri Day |
| Military operations | Operation Joint Endeavour; Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Operation Allied Harbour; Operation Ancient Babylon; Operation Joint Guardian; Operation Joint Enterprise |
| Website | Carabinieri.it |
| Commanders | |
| Commander of KFOR-MSU | Col. Stefano Fedele |
| Noteworthy commanders | Col. Ruggiero Capodivento |
After its creation in 1998, MSU units took part in many different NATO operations, in Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia Herzegovina and Iraq.
History
Initially it has employed members of the 7th Carabinieri Regiment "Trentino-Alto Adige", the 13th Carabinieri Regiment "Friuli-Venezia Giulia" and the 1st Parachute Carabinieri Regiment "Tuscania". During the next years it has employed members from all over Italy, from every other Carabinieri units.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The first mission where MSU was involved was the NATO-SFOR, in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars. MSU was composed by Italian Carabinieri and members of the Romanian Military Police, among soldiers of Austria, Hungary and Slovenia.[2]
Albania
After the tension in the Balkan area, during the Yugoslav Wars, in particular in the northern part of Kosovo a MSU detachment was deployed in Albania during Operation Allied Harbor, to aid the country in the refugees management. The mission was codenamed AFOR.[3]
Iraq
During the NATO Mission, inside the Multi-National Force – Iraq, MSU was deployed alongside other Italians units. The Italian Mission codename was Operation Ancient Babylon. MSU was composed by Italian Carabinieri, Italian Army liaison officers, members of Romanian Military Police and Portuguese National Republican Guard. During the mission MSU suffered heavy losses, in particular for the 2003 Nasiriyah bombing.[4]
MSU-IRAQ Commanders
- Col. Georg Di Pauli (June-november 2003)
- Col. Carmelo Burgio (november 2003-march 2004)
- Col. Luciano Zubani (2004)
- Col. Claudio D'Angelo (2004)
- Col. Paolo Nardone (2004-2005)
- Col. Sebastiano Comitini (2005-2006)
- ...
Kosovo
Since 1999, after the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, MSU has been deployed into Kosovo for peacekeeping operations within NATO-KFOR. After years it's still present in the theatre, contributing to maintain peace and stability in the country.[1]
From 1999 to 2013 the French National Gendarmerie, Estonian Military Police and Austrian Military Police were also part of the MSU. Since 2013 it is composed entirely of the Italian Carabinieri and its main mission is to patrol the entire city of Mitrovica 24/7, in particular the Ibar Bridge.[5]
Since 2022 a unit of Army of the Czech Republic Military Police is part of the MSU regiment.
The KFOR-MSU Regiment is commanded by Italian Carabinieri brigadier general Ruggiero Capodivento.[6][7][8]
KFOR-MSU Commanders
| Precedence | Commander | Portrait | Start of tenure | End of tenure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Col. Vincenzo Coppola, ITA | July 22, 1999 | July 18, 2000 | |
| 2 | Col. Leonardo Leso, ITA | July 19, 2000 | April 23, 2001 | |
| 3 | Col. Emanuele Garelli, ITA | April 24, 2001 | May 3, 2002 | |
| 4 | Col. Georg Di Pauli, ITA | May 4, 2002 | June 9, 2003 | |
| 5 | Col. Claudio Cordella, ITA | June 10, 2003 | July 22, 2004 | |
| 6 | Col. Giuseppe Lanzillotti, ITA | July 23, 2004 | July 28, 2005 | |
| 7 | Col. Flavio Garello, ITA | July 29, 2005 | August 23, 2006 | |
| 8 | Col. Domenico Libertini, ITA | August 24, 2006 | August 26, 2007 | |
| 9 | Col. Andrea Guglielmi, ITA | August 27, 2007 | September 10, 2008 | |
| 10 | Col. Angelo De Quarto, ITA | September 11, 2008 | September 8, 2009 | |
| 11 | Col. Gianni Massimo Cuneo, ITA | September 9, 2009 | September 8, 2010 | |
| 12 | Col. Eduardo Russo, ITA | September 9, 2010 | September 8, 2011 | |
| 13 | Col. Mauro Isidori, ITA | September 9, 2011 | December 1, 2012 | |
| 14 | Col. Mario Di Iulio, ITA | December 2, 2012 | December 7, 2013 | |
| 15 | Col. Gregorio De Marco, ITA | December 8, 2013 | February 11, 2015 | |
| 16 | Col. Francesco Maria Chiaravallotti, ITA | February 12, 2015 | October 13, 2015 | |
| 17 | Col. Paolo Coletta, ITA | October 14, 2015 | October 13, 2016 | |
| 18 | Col. Fabio Cagnazzo, ITA | October 14, 2016 | September 11, 2017 | |
| 19 | Col. Marco DI Stefano, ITA | September 12, 2017 | September 14, 2018 | |
| 20 | Col. Ruggiero Capodivento, ITA |  | September 15, 2018 | October 16, 2019 |
| 21 | Col. Paolo Pelosi, ITA | October 17, 2019 | ... | |
| 22 | Col. Enio Simone, ITA | ... | ... | |
| 23 | Col. Stefano Fedele, ITA | February 02, 2021 | January 27, 2022[9] | |
| 24 | Col. Maurizio Mele, ITA | January 28, 2022 | January 26, 2023 | |
| 25 | Col. Massimo Cucchini, ITA | January 26, 2023 | February 7, 2023 | |
| 26 | Gen. B. Ruggiero Capodivento, ITA |  | February 8, 2022 | present |
KFOR-MSU Vehicles
- Land Rover Defender 90
- Land Rover Defender 110
- Land Rover Defender Ambulance
- Fiat Ducato Ambulance
- Land Rover Discovery series II and IV
- Mitsubishi Pajero
- Iveco ACM 80/90
- Iveco C-17
- Iveco Daily
- VM90P
- Iveco RG-12
- Iveco LMV
See also
References
External links
