Murgia: “Roman salute at the parade on June 2nd. La Russa smiles a lot and makes the sign of victory”. Military sources deny

On Instagram Michelle Murgia post a video of the event on June 2 at the Fori Imperiali. “Enter the parade with the Roman salute”, the writing that appears superimposed on a short film launched by the writer on the occasion of the Republic Day. The reference is to the passage of the raiders of the Comsubin of the Navy: the specialists – green overalls and cap, faces distorted by a beige handkerchief – shout ‘Decima’ when they parade under the stage of the authorities. There the president of the Senate, Ignatius LaRussa, claps his hands enthusiastically and then makes the victory sign with his fingers. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto try to clarify: “It is not a Roman but a military greeting”. Meanwhile, however, the controversy on social media has already mounted despite the denial of some military sources.

Murgia’s post

“Under the impassive eyes of President Mattarella, this also happened. All normal, because the normalization process has been going on for years. If the meaning of the video is not clear, look for “X flotilla MAS” on Wikipedia. It will be clear to you immediately for La Russa to smile a lot and make the victory sign (but what else is needed to understand what is happening?)”, writes Murgia on Instagram in the post that accompanies the video that opens with the soldier with an outstretched arm then brought to his forehead for the greeting.

The ‘Decima’ Scream

During the march, then, the soldiers shout the word “Decima”, the reference would seem to the Decima Mas, assault department of the Regia Marina: after the armistice of 1943 the commander Junio ​​Valerio Borghese he deployed a part of it in the Social Republic against the Allies. But military sources deny: the cry ‘Decima’ is the motto of the Goi (Comsubin’s commando operative group) and “it has nothing to do with the ‘X Mas’ of the Social Republic but it is the Decima of the Navy of the Kingdom which operated until 1943 and which is the forerunner of the Navy raiders”. “Moreover, it is not a novelty this year, even in previous editions the company has marked the motto passing under the rostrum of the authorities”, explain military sources.

The video shows the president of the Senate Ignatius LaRussa smiling, clapping and making victory sign with fingers. The soldier at the head of the company raises his arm in the air before bringing it to his forehead to salute.

Crosetto: “Military salute”

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto does not intervene directly, but retweets a post by journalist Massimiliano Coccia who defines the accusation as “absurd”: “The greeting you see – notes Coccia – is not a Roman salute, it is a military marching salute, which consists in raising the arm right in a perpendicular way (in honor of the tricolor) and then let it descend on the temple for the salute. It is not a salute only of a Navy troop but of many army corps”. Even in previous parades, he adds, “the same salutes are performed in the same manner.”