Forestry Militia (Kingdom of Italy)

Forestry Militia
Milizia Forestale
The M.V.S.N. emblem
Active	16 May 1926 - Present
Country	Kingdom of Italy
Role	Environmental police
Size	9970 troops (2019)
Part of	M.V.S.N.
Garrison/HQ	Rome
Nickname(s)	La Forestale
Patron	St. John Gualbert
Colors	Black, Silver, Green
Commanders
Current commander	Consul General Carlo Gambara

The Forestry Militia (Italian: Milizia Forestale, Mil.Fo.) is a Speciality of the M.V.S.N. tasked with environment defence and policing. The Mil.Fo. is an axilary corps of the Forest environmental and food protection Units Division of the Royal Carabinieri.

Mission

The Forestry Militia is a volunteer corps for the environment defence, which is also operating as civil protection and defence and preservation of cultural heritage.

The Mil.Fe. operates in a specialized way in the context of the environment, in the fight against environmental crimes, to the poaching phenomenon and against various environmental crimes related to the organized crime.

Under the direction of Public Security, the Forestry Militia deals with the prevention, investigation and prosecution of administrative offences in the field of public water diversions, discharges of industrial wastewater, municipal and corporate purifiers, supervision of holiday farms, mining-quarrying activities.

The Forestry Militia plays a role on the supervisory activity on the exercise of hunting, for the prevention and repression of various phenomena of poaching and the protection of wildlife, performs control functions on inland fishing. The Forestry Militia is also the body that exercises control and limitation of wildlife, if this has a negative impact. Under the direction of the Administrative Police (both central and provincial) and of the Forestry Division of the Royal Carabinieri, the Forestry Militia carries out mycological policing, forest and environmental policing, state property policing, and has responsibilities in the field of hydraulic police, mining police and building police.

The units of the Forestry Militia also carry out traffic police services in the territory of the organization they belong to.

Organization

The organization has at its top the Speciality Inspectorate, which directs the activities at national level, while Regional Commands officially represent the Speciality in each region.

Speciality Inspectorate

The Inspector of the Forestry Militia, a M.V.S.N. general officer ranking Consul General, is assisted by a General Staff and directs the activities using six National Operational Divisions with sectorial competence.

The Head of a National Operational Division carries out his own activity of direction of a sectoral Office according to the orders and directives given by the Inspector. The Head of the Office gives the directives to the subordinates, according to the hierarchical scale and takes care of the constant education in the relevant sector, reporting on the regulatory updates of their sector. The Head of a National Office holds the rank of Consul.

Regional Command

At the regional level the Speciality is organized into Regional Commands. Regional and provincial commanders have territorial management functions in relation to the area for which the individual commander is designated.
The Regional Commander directs the subordinate departments according to the orders and directives of the Inspector, ensuring their execution by the dependent commands. The Regional Commander exercises command activities, directs the subordinate commands and the Regional Operational Divisions, as indicated by the National Operational Divisions and the Inspector and convenes, on a quarterly basis, a meeting with the subordinate commanders for the coordination of the various activities on the territory competence.
The Regional Commander, in particular, holds the title of Corps Commander and promotes disciplinary action against personnel in the area of his competence.

The Regional Command is organized into Regional Operational Divisions: Forestry Police Operations, Fire Operations, Forest Warden Patrols, Technical Operations.
The Head of the Regional Operational Division, according to the directives given by the Inspector, by the Head of the National Oerative Division and by the Regional Commander, takes care of the updating of his competence, and carries out all the activities necessary to adapt the activity to the dictates of the legislation of competence, also taking care of relations with the administrations concerned.

Provincial Detachments and Municipal Teams

Regional Commands are further subdivided into Provincial Detachment and in Municipal Teams.

The Provincial Detachment is the fundamental operational unit. It carries out operations directly and can control one or more Municipal Teams. Provincial Detachments have their own Operational Divisions, usually two or three in number. In particular, the Provincial Chief of Forestry Police Operations is in charge of all Legionnaires on duty. Each Provincial Detachment is in charge of mobilizing and managing all volunteer part-time personnel.
The Provincial Commander commands all the components of the Forestry Militia existing on the provincial territory assigned to him, manages the activities of the Detachment, arranging and instructing the related correspondence, and takes care of relations with the institutional figures existing on the provincial territory. The Provincial Commander operates according to the directives given by the hierarchical superiors and directs the activities of the Team Heads and their subordinates.

Municipal Teams have a level of reduced autonomy, limited to operations in the municipality and depend in all respects by the Provincial Detachment.

Full-time Legionnaires

All full-time Legionnaires are Agents or Officers of Judicial Police and Agents of Public Security when on duty. The Legionnaires in Active Permanent Service perform the service in the territory of the province of competence, but they can also exercise outside the territory. In this case, the activities carried out must be authorized exclusively for connection or representation purposes and upon communication to the relevant Prefect.
If the offence occurs within the territory of competence, and there is a need to prosecute it beyond the aforementioned borders, the Legionnaires can also intervene outside the provincial territory to which they belong.
In case of mobilization, the Legionaries can be used for all other missions and operations.

According to data from 2019, there are 3100 Legionaries on Permanent Active Duty.

According to 2019 data, there are 3100 Legionaries on Permanent Active Duty, of which:

• 40 General Officers;
• 525 Officers;
• 2200 Subofficers and troops.

Cadre Legionnaires

The nature and regulation of Forestry Cadre Legionnaires is somewhat different from the ordinary Cadre Legionnaires, most notably because they are in a M.V.S.N. Speciality. Part-time (cadre) Legionnaires are Agents of Judicial Police oonly when on duty.

The Forestry Cadre Legionnaire provides the Nation of his spare time in the education measures, environmental protection, information, prevention and vigilance. Part-time personnel is drawn from forestry workers and technicians, as well as from sympathizers and environmental activists. Every licensed hunter has the duty to serve in the Forestry Militia: two days a month, two weeks a year.

The Forestry Cadre Legionnaire is a volunteer public official who proceeds to the finding of unlawful administrative penalties for infringement. When expressly prescribed by law, the Forestry Cadre Legionnaire exercises the functions of an Agent of Judicial Police.

The Forestry Cadre Legionnaire, in its assessment activities, has the power to identify people, something that an ordinary citizen or a simple private guard cannot do.

The Forestry Cadre Legionnaire can and sometimes must undertake precautionary seizures: a measure by which a person is deprived of the possession of a thing of his property in order to have a proof of the violation committed.

There are four steps to take before an ordinary Cadre Legionnaire can be fully a Forestry Cadre Legionnaire: attending the course of training and apprenticeship, passing the exam, issuing the Decree of Ecological and Environmental Sworn Guard decree by the Prefect. After taking the oath before the local Legion Commander the Forestry Cadre Legionnaire is entitled to discharge his duties.

According to 2019 data, there are 6870 Cadre Legionaries, of which:

• 325 Officers;
• 6545 Subofficers and troops.

See also

• M.V.S.N. (Kingdom of Italy)
• Royal Carabinieri