Since the 1975 army reform Italian army aviation units are named for celestial objects: regiments, are numbered with a single digit and named for stars in the 88 modern constellationss. Accordingly, an army aviation regiment's coat of arms highlights the name-giving star within its constellation. Squadron groups were numbered with two digits and named for constellations, or planets of the Solar System. The 3rd Special Operations Helicopter Regiment "Aldebaran" received its name and war flag from the disbanded 3rd Army Aviation Regiment "Aldebaran", which was named for Aldebaran the brightest star in the Taurus constellation.
Overview
The regiment was formed on 10 November 2014 at Viterbo Airport by elevating the existing 26th Special Operations Helicopter Unit "Giove". The regiment received the name and war flag from the 3rd Army Aviation Regiment "Aldebaran", which was based at Bresso Airfield near Milan and active from 15 December 1993 until 1 September 1998 as the aviation unit of the 3rd Army Corps with the 23rd Reconnaissance Helicopters Squadrons Group "Eridano" and 53rd Multirole Helicopters Squadrons Group "Cassiopea". The 26th Special Operations Helicopter Unit "Giove" had been formed on 4 November 2002 by merging the 39th Squadrons Group "Drago" based at Alghero Airport and the 51st Squadrons Group "Leone" of the 1st Army Aviation Regiment "Antares" based at Viterbo Airport. The new unit then received the name of the disbanded 26th Squadrons Group "Giove" based at Pisa Air Base and joined the 1st Antares regiment. The 3rd Aldebaran regiment was formed as result of a study carried out by the Army General Staff, related to the reform of the Special Forces sector. The regiment, which is nowadays validated by NATO as a Special Operations Air Task Group, fields three types of helicopters: CH-47F ER, AB-412A and NH90A. The 26th Giove, the operational unit of the regiment, whose motto is "Numquam Periculum Sine Periculo Vincitur", can perform several tasks, detaching Special Operations Air Task Units to conduct operations in support of other Italian Special Operations Forces units. The SOATUs are capable to conduct operational missions on short notice, in multiple environments, at day/night, in most weather conditions, opting for discreet, covert, or low prominence flight modes, with a time-on-target within +/- 1 minute.
Current Structure
As of 2019 the 3rd Special Operations Helicopter Regiment "Aldebaran" consists of:
3rd Special Operations Helicopter Regiment "Aldebaran"", at Viterbo Airport
Selection and training is very rigorous and is tailored according to the basic Italian Special Forces training syllabus. There is first a selection phase divided into two steps and then a training phase. The first part of the selection phase is based on several psychological and fitness tests. The second part of the selection process lasts two weeks and puts the trainees under physical and psychological stress. Those who pass the selection process move to the basic training phase, which puts the trainees in a series of training environments. All trainees must attend and graduate specific courses in, among others, close quarter combat, explosives, land navigation, etc.. Trainees who graduated from this basic special force training syllabus are assigned to their final destination unit and will receive further advanced training in specific fields related to the tactical tasks of their unit.
Operational deployments
The 3rd Aldebaran has been deployed repeatedly abroad; the best-known deployments have been:
