Garibaldi Bersaglieri Brigade The " Garibaldi " Bersaglieri Brigade is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army , based in the south of the country . Its core units are the Bersaglieri , the elite infantry corps of the Italian Army . Formation . The brigade was activated during a major reorganization of the Italian Army : in 1975 the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed brigades , which combined units from different arms . On 1 November 1975 the " Garibaldi " Mechanized Brigade was activated one month after its sister brigades the " Manin " Armored Brigade and the " Mameli " Armored Brigade had been activated with the disbanded regiments of the " Ariete " Armored Division . The brigades headquarter was in the city of Pordenone . The brigades name was chosen to honor the Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi . The brigades sister brigades in the " Ariete " Armored Division , the " Manin " Armored Brigade and " Mameli " Armored Brigade , were named in honor of Daniele Manin and Goffredo Mameli , both heroes of the Italian unification . The " Ariete " was part of the 5th Army Corps based in North - Eastern Italy . The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Italian - Yugoslavian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact , or Yugoslavia or both . The " Ariete " Armored Division was based in the middle of the potential front . The brigade ' s authorized strength was 4 , 733 men ( 272 officers , 637 non - commissioned officers and 3 , 824 soldiers ) consisted of the following units : On July 1 , 1976 the brigade added the 11th Bersaglieri Battalion " Caprera " in Orcenico Superiore . With the abolition of the divisional level in the Italian Army on October 1 , 1986 the " Garibaldi " came under direct control of the 5th Army Corps . 1990s . With the end of the Cold War and the following massive reorganization of the Italian Army the brigade was transferred to the South of Italy . The brigade finished the move south to the city of Caserta and declared full operational capability on 1 July 1991 . Along with the move the brigade changed its name to 8th Bersaglieri Brigade " Garibaldi " to reflect the changed composition of its subordinated units : Following the move the brigade became the first brigade in Italy to fully professionalize . From 1992 onwards all soldiers of the brigade were professional soldiers or long term volunteers . During the later 1990s the brigades composition changed slightly as a result of the massive reduction of forces after the Cold War and the Armys desire to preserve the names of the most decorated units of the Army . Therefore most units changed names , although garrison and composition of the units did not change . The brigade itself shed the number from its name 1 on September 1994 . The changes to the brigades units over the coming years follow below : Today . Today the Garibaldi Bersaglieri Brigade is one of two brigades of the Italian Army equipped with tracked vehicles . It has been employed in Karbala Iraq during the Iraq War and in Herat in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force . Currently its structure is : All regiment s are battalion sized . Equipment . The tank regiment is equipped with Ariete main battle tank s , the cavalry regiment with Centauro tank destroyer s and Puma 4x4 wheeled armored personnel carriers . The Bersaglieri regiments field a mix of Dardo infantry fighting vehicle s and Lince light multirole vehicles . The artillery regiment is equipped with PzH 2000 self - propelled howitzers .