Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori Teseo Tesei COMSUBIN ( " Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori Teseo Tesei " ) is the elite combat frogman force and one of the Italian special forces . Italy was the first nation to use frogmen and human torpedo es . The Italian Naval Assault Divisions are considered to be the precursors to modern Naval Special Forces . Their record can be traced back to World War I and the operation against the Austrian - Hungarian Battleship " Viribus Unitis " in Pola Harbour in 1918 . Other famous operations are Trieste , Suda Bay , Alexandria , Gibraltar , and Malta . Great Britain and Germany soon followed . Italy ' s frogman group originated in 1938 as the 1 Flottiglia Mezzi d ' Assalto ( 1st Flotilla Assault Vehicles ) , which was reformed in 1940 as the " Decima Flottiglia MAS " ( 10th Flotilla Assault Vehicles , " X MAS " ) . It is a matter of pride that Italy ' s Naval Special Forces pre - date both the U . S . Navy Underwater Demolition Teams , formed in 1943 and forerunners of the better - known U . S . Navy SEALs , and the British Royal Marines Special Boat Service formed as an offshoot of the Special Air Service in 1941 . Chronology . See Operations of X MAS for Italian wartime frogman operations . After World War II ended , the victors forbade Italy from maintaining special operations personnel . The Decima Flottiglia MAS was disbanded but the training experience gathered during the war was not lost , it was preserved in units scattered across the new Marina Militare . COMSUBIN is currently based in three detachments near the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of north - west Italy . In keeping with its traditions , the command has long been known for its acquisition and use of unconventional weapons and small arms , such as the Armalite AR - 10 . Some nations including Italy have continued to make and keep human torpedo es after 1945 . Components . Though technically referred to as a special operations force , COMSUBIN is somewhat different in that it considers itself a naval specialisation . Perhaps the most storied task of COMSUBIN is the destruction of enemy naval assets , particularly by sea . However , COMSUBIN ' s six principal components ( described below ) all perform markedly different tasks each as essential as the other . COMBUSIN GOI are largely drawn from the ranks of the Navy ' s San Marco Marine Regiment . The Operational Raider Group . The Operational Raider Group ( Gruppo Operativo Incursori ) is a unit of some 150 - 200 men and may be considered the force most closely associated with naval special operations by the popular imagination . The Raiders have four specific assignments that they are expected to complete ; including : COMBUSIN GOI wear an emerald green beret . The Operational Divers Group . The Operational Divers Group ( Gruppo Operativo Subacquei ) has 200 or so personnel specialised in free - diving with air to 60 m , oxygen to 12 m , nitrox to 54 m , heliox to 150 m , and to 300 m with a mini - submarine or a special suit . Their task after World War II was de - mining most of Italy ' s northern ports ravaged by years of war and full of magnetic mine s and dangerous explosives and sunken ships . This they largely accomplished by 1949 , letting Italy ' s economy get back on track relatively quickly . After WWII , they have performed de - mining operations across the world , especially in the Persian Gulf , the former Yugoslavia , and Albania . A detachment of them operates off an Italian Navy minesweeper . Also , they specialise in rescuing navy personnel from stricken submarine s and can assist the civil authorities in rescue operations . COMBUSIN GOS wear a medium blue beret . The Special Naval Group . The Special Naval Group ( " Gruppo Navale Speciale " ) supports and moves the Raiders and the Divers , with the aid of five specialist ships : the PROTEO , ANTEO , CAVEZZALE , MARINO , and PEDRETTI . The Study Centre Group . The Study Centre Group ( " Raggruppamento Centro Studi " ) keeps the entire unit up - to - date with the latest equipment and technological advances in specialist fields . It is divided into four major sections : Arms and Explosives , Materials and Raider Vehicles , Submarine Experimental Materials , and Submarine Human Physiology . All Italian Navy doctors specialise at the Submarine Human Physiology section ( in Naval submarine pathology ) . The centre has a hyperbaric chamber often used for decompression therapy by civilians needing this treatment . The School Group . The School Group ( Gruppo Scuole ) is the Diver School and the Raider School and trains all raiders and divers , and trains non - COMSUBIN personnel in special tasks such as Diver Obstacle Demolition for the San Marco Marines ( the Italian Navy ' s Marine Regiment ) , and divers for other Italian State bodies such as the Police and Firefighting forces . The Logistics Group . The crucial Logistics Group ( " Gruppo Logistico " ) is responsible for maintenance operations of all kinds and for the health and well - being of all COMSUBIN members . Operational capability . COMSUBIN ( Comando Subacquei Incursori ) is first and foremost a secret special operations unit . Its membership is a fairly well - guarded secret . Estimates put the number of active COMSUBIN men at around 700 . Raiders are composed of volunteer officers and non - commissioned officers with an average age of 29 who are capable of : - After a member has qualified as a Raider , he may take up a number of specialisations including : Former COMSUBIN Raiders may join other branches of the elite unit to continue serving the Navy or may join other parts of the military as instructors . Senior operators may transfer to the Italian Military Intelligence Agency " AISE " along with their other counterparts from the Army , Air Force and Carabinieri . Overseas Deployment . COMSUBIN Raiders have been deployed to these places : -