Finance Soldiers sharpen expeditionary skills at local Carabinieri site

LONGARE, Italy — Vicenza-based finance Soldiers recently proved their readiness during a realistic three-day Financial Support Team situational training… LONGARE, Italy — Vicenza-based finance Soldiers recently proved their readiness during a realistic three-day Financial Support Team situational training exercise at Santa Tecla, a full-featured training site managed by the Carabinieri, Italy's national military police force. The Aug. 31-Sept. 2 STX placed 30 Soldiers from Bravo Company, 106th Finance Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, 21st TSC, in an environment designed to replicate the challenges of finance operations in complex settings, bridging classroom instruction with hands-on field application. Perched on a hilltop roughly seven miles south of Caserma Ederle, Santa Tecla features urban infrastructure mirroring small towns, villages, and division support areas.

For finance units—whose mission, as Zilhaver notes, centers on “using money as a weapon system” to enable tactical commanders and sustain operational endurance—the site fills a critical local gap and provides a high-value local resource for units stationed in Vicenza. “Within Vicenza, there are a limited number of training areas suitable for our needs,” Zilhaver noted. “One of the things I love about coming here is that you don’t have to drive one or two hours with a Carabinieri escort,” said 1st Sgt. Michael L. Lafuze, Bravo Company’s senior enlisted leader. “Here, we’re within 15 to 20 minutes of Ederle. If