Tag Archives: UNIFIL

Centauro on the Med

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UNIFIL peacekeepers from Italy, Ghana, and Malaysia jointly carried out a live firing exercise with the Lebanese Armed Forces (almost humorously abbreviated as, LAF) in an area about one kilometer south of the UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura in March

“The 27 March exercise, codenamed Centauro 2019, sought to enhance interoperability among UNIFIL troops operating under the Mission’s Sector West command and with LAF,” noted the UN.

The “Centauro” portion of the live fire ex’s title likely comes from the fact that the Italian troops were equipped with Fiat/OTO Melara B1 Centauro 8×8 vehicles armed with a 105 mm/52 cal rifled low-recoil gun.

UNIFIL peacekeepers from Italy carried out a live firing exercise the Lebanese Armed Forces LAF April 2019 Oto Melera Centauro 120mm 8x8 MGS mobile gun system tank destroyer

Photos: Staff Sergeant Luca Filardo & Staff Sergeant Franco Graziano / UNIFIL

The Centauro carries 14 ready rounds for the 105mm gun in the turret and another 26 rounds in the hull, giving it the capability, with sabots, to zoink most main battle tanks (especially aging T-55s/72s often found in Third World countries) it is able to get the drop on.

However, the armor on its welded hull is only rated to withstand 14.5 mm bullets and shell fragments, which means RPGs and even well-armed AFVs are hazardous to its health.

UNIFIL currently has some 10,000 UN peacekeepers from something like 45 countries, with Italy providing a reinforced battalion-sized unit. Other than a French contingent with a company of 13 Leclerc heavy tanks, the Italians are the most heavily armed.

Fijians leave Lebanon, but stay busy

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The Fiji Infantry Regiment dates back to at least the 1920s when the (then colony) fell under the influence of New Zealand and it was established as a local defense force– akin to territorials. By WWII, the unit was seeing service in a real shooting war, with Fijians making a name for themselves throughout the Pacific.

Fast forward to 1978 and, once the island nation became a self-governing and independent republic inside the British Commonwealth (with a short break after a military coup), the FIRgt became the cornerstone of the 3,500-man Republic of Fiji Military Forces.

A Fijian honor guard unit in their traditional uniforms at an event in 2018. Note the old-school M16A1s. The RFMF’s ethos is “Na Dina, Dodonu, Savasava,” which translates to Truth, Integrity, Purity

Unique in its structure, the three (active) battalion regiment typically has two of its battalions permanently deployed with the UN while the third remains at home for actual defense (a rarity) and training. The Fiji Regiment also has three reserve battalions should things get crazy.

Now, it seems they have a free company.

The UN recently bade farewell to 134 Fijian peacekeepers with the UNIFIL force in Lebanon. The country deployed to Beirut initially in 1978– the Republic’s first overseas mission– and has remained there off and on since then.

The job has been dangerous and no less than 35 Fijians lost their lives on the mission over the past 40 years.

“We shall keep in mind our fallen comrades in arms, who represent an example of unwavering commitment to UNIFIL and to this country,” said UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col of Italy.

Don’t worry though, the Fijians still have forces deployed on UN missions in Syria (a battalion-sized unit), Iraq, Sudan, Jerusalem, and the Siani (another battalion)— meaning about a quarter of their entire force (and two-thirds of their infantry) is currently wearing the blue beret.

A second-hand M1, 40 years later

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In March 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon or UNIFIL was authorized and one of the first “blue berets” on the ground in the DMZ were French with Warrant Officer François-Xavier Roch, a military photographer, arriving at Beirut airport before the French contingent deplaned to capture the moment for history. As the area was not exactly secure (over 300 UN peacekeepers have been killed as part of UNIFIL, not counting the horrendous casualties by the U.S. Marines and French paratroopers in 1983), Roch picked up a M1 steel pot he found kicking around and painted it blue, later applying a “Presse” placard to the front like the newsmen of old.

Now, with the “interim” UNIFIL still very much a thing (comprised of 10,500 peacekeepers from 41 countries), Roch presented the helmet to the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, during his visit to Lebanon last week.

Roch retired from the French Army after 20 years at the rank of Captain.