  the 9Âº reggimento d'assalto paracadutisti (9th parachutist assault regiment)  ("moschin pass") is a special forces unit of the current italian army â in part due to its distinguished history, but also due to the arduous training which members must undertake. training takes no less than two years for long-term members, and five months for short-term volunteers (with 1â2 years total military service). ==role== roughly equivalent in number, tasking and quality to the world-famous british army sas, the 9th â or  as it is known in italian military circles â is capable of operating in all environments. the roughly 150 members train in mountainous, wooded, desert, and amphibious terrain. the 9th's speciality is operating independently of outside support and far from friendly lines. from 2004, "" is integrated inside the  (c.o.f.s.), italy's special operations command. ==history== the origins of the 9th parachutist assault regiment can be found in the world war i. among its precursors is the ix reparto d'assalto ("9th assault section"), known as the arditi ('brave or bold / tough ones' - but the verb "ardire" or "to dare" suggests "the daring" as a more proper translation), who were often tasked with preempting infantry assaults on the italo-austrian front lines (which is currently the border between italy and slovenia). it was during this period that the 9th earned its reputation as a fierce fighting force. 'going over the top', followed by the launch of hand-grenades deep into enemy territory, was commonplace. the 9th was responsible for the capture of numerous austrian positions on monte grappa, including col moschin, and the col della b
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