Armed Forces of Malta infantrymen from 1 Regiment’s “C” (Special Duties) Company have recently just completed a successful training attachment with Italian Alpine troops of the 6th Alpini Regiment. A platoon of 30 soldiers, including one female AFM member, conducted their training in the Alto Adige region around Brunico in Italy.

The 1 Regiment’s spokesman, Captain Joseph Pisani, said that between the 18 November and 16 December, the AFM personnel were exposed to operating in a mountainous terrain and its cold weather environment. Temperatures during this overseas attachment period even reached as low as minus six degrees Celsius. This does not take into account the wind factor, which drastically affects the ambient temperature.

The Maltese infantry platoon of 30 soldiers was made up of one Officer, seven NCOs and 22 Gunners. The training was set in a peace-support scenario and the C Company soldiers gathered valuable knowledge and experience from their Italians counterparts, as they shared their experiences in similar operations around the globe.

The Maltese platoon’s training activities included the vehicle check point procedures and drills, observation post management, patrolling of urban areas, convoy escort duties, and foot-marches across mountains among many other military topics of tuition.