The Para-Commando Brigade was an elite force in the BelgianLand Component, consisting of two paracommando battalions, the Special Forces Group and a support unit of the Communication & Information Systems Group (CIS). In 2003, its name was changed to the Light Brigade. On 3 July 2018, the Light Brigade was renamed and transformed into the Special Operations Regiment.
During the Second World War, parachutist and commando units were founded in Great Britain. In 1942, the first Belgian commandos started training to serve in the No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Also that year, some Belgian soldiers underwent parachute training. These paras served in the Belgian 5th Special Air Service which was under the command of the famous Eddy Blondeel. Both units executed numerous raids and important missions.
In 2018, the Light Brigade was transformed into the Special Operations Regiment. The regiment consists of the two remaining Para-Commando battalions (3Para, 2Commando), the Special Forces Group (Belgium), a support unit of the Communication & Information Systems Group, the training centre for Parachutists and the training centre for Commandos. The 12/13th Battalion of the Line was transferred to the Motorized Brigade (Belgium).
The regiment saw repeated action during the Congo Crisis of the 1960s. In July 1960, 3,000 para-commandos and five independent reserve companies intervened in a number of Congolese cities to facilitate the evacuation of Europeans and the disarmament of Armee Nationale Congolaise mutineers.
Paracommando's of the 1st Parachute Battalion in action during Operation Dragon Rouge
The Simba Rebellion began in 1964 in the Kivu and Orientale regions of the Congo. In August 1964, Congolese government forces were making general headway against the rebels. Sensing defeat, rebel forces took hostages from the local white population. Several hundred were taken to Stanleyville and closely guarded in the Victoria Hotel. Congolese authorities turned to the Belgian and the United States governments for assistance. After failed negotiations, the Belgians responded by sending a task-force led by Colonel Charles Laurent, airlifted by five C-130s provided by the U.S. 322nd Airlift Division.[3]
On 24 November 1964, with the operation Dragon Rouge, five US Air Force C-130 transports dropped 350 paratroopers of the Para-Commando Regiment onto the airfield at Stanleyville. Once the paratroopers had secured the airfield and cleared the runway, they made their way to the Victoria Hotel. The Simbas were prevented from killing all but some 80 of the hostages. Over the next two days over 1,800 American and Europeans, and 400 Congolese were evacuated.[4]
The regiment later saw action at Kolwezi during Shaba II in 1978, where they evacuated about 2,000 expats and took part in the Battle of Kolwezi to liberate the city from rebels. They also evacuated European citizens during Operation Blue Beam in September 1991, and during Operation Green Stream in March 1997.
From 1992 to 1993, all three battalions were deployed to Somalia as part of UNITAF (1st Battalion), UNOSOM I (2nd Battalion) and UNOSOM II (3rd Battalion).
Other operations
In late November, 1985, around 1,000 Paracommandos comprising six companies of the 2nd Commando and 3rd Parachute Battalions[5] were deployed to man static and mobile security posts around government buildings in Brussels, amidst a then-ongoing terrorist campaign by the Far-left Communist Combatant Cells (this being during a relatively violent period of militant and criminal activity in Belgian history; Les Années de plomb). The group had raided a Belgian Army barracks and stolen battle rifles, wounded a soldier, killed two firemen and wounded 13 civilians in a series of attacks. Concerns also arose due to an upcoming visit by US President Ronald Reagan.[6]
Elements of the 3rd Para Battalion were deployed to Iran in 1991 to help Kurdish refugees fleeing from Iraq following the Gulf War.
Elements of the Brigade have also been deployed to Kosovo as part of KFOR (since 1999) and to Afghanistan as part of ISAF (since 2002).
Reformation 2003
Paracommandos of 2nd Commando Battalion, during an airborne operation at Trident Juncture 2015
Previously known as Paracommando Brigade, the Light Brigade had grouped all personnel into three airborne infantry battalions, except for the independent support units that are typically part of a brigade structure. These support units were re-attached to regular battalions, but retained some airborne capacity. The Light Brigade had its headquarters in Heverlee. The three remaining airborne infantry battalions were located as follows:
1 Paratroop Battalion in Diest (disbanded on 1 July 2011 and its two companies distributed between the other two battalions)
The 2nd and 3rd battalion currently exist within the Light Brigade. Although these battalions refer to themselves as either commando or paratroopers, recruits have received the same training and perform the same duties. Individual battalion traditions cause units to have different designators, beret colours and insignia. 2nd Commando Battalion wear green berets in reference to their connection to the 4th (Belgian) Troop of No.10 Commando.[7] 3rd Parachute Battalion wear maroon berets.
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne forces. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World War II for troop distribution and transportation. Paratroopers are often used in surprise attacks, to seize strategic objectives such as airfields or bridges.
A parachutist badge is a military badge awarded by the armed forces of many states to soldiers who have received parachute training and completed the required number of jumps. It is difficult to assess which country was the first to introduce such an award.
The 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment is the only airborne regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is one of the four infantry regiments of the 11th Parachute Brigade and part of the spearhead of the French rapid reaction force.
The 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment or 1er RPIMa is a unit of the French Army Special Forces Command, therefore part of the Special Operations Command.
The maroon beret in a military configuration has been an international symbol of airborne forces since the Second World War. It was first officially introduced by the British Army in 1942, at the direction of Major-General Frederick "Boy" Browning, commander of the British 1st Airborne Division. It was first worn by the Parachute Regiment in action in North Africa during November 1942.
The Regimento de Paraquedistas, based in Tancos, Portugal, is a unit of the Portuguese Army and serves as the instruction center for recruitment and training of the Portuguese paratroopers. This unit includes an entire battalion, acting as support and reserve for airborne units which contains for example, military war dogs and airborne pathfinders and an instruction battalion responsible for the forming of new paratroopers.
The 11th Parachute Brigade is a one of the French Army's airborne forces brigade, predominantly light infantry, part of the French paratrooper units and specialized in air assault, airborne operations, combined arms, and commando style raids. The brigade's primary vocation is to project in emergency in order to contribute a first response to a situational crisis. An elite unit of the French Army, the brigade is commanded by a général de brigade with headquarters in Balma near Toulouse. The brigade's soldiers and airborne Marines wear the red beret (amaranth) except for the Legionnaires of the 2ème REP who wear the green beret.
Para Commandos may refer to:
The Special Forces Group is the special forces unit in the Land Component of the Belgian Armed Forces.
The Special Operations Regiment is a special operations force of the Land Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Its headquarters is located in Heverlee. It was known as the Light Brigade until 3 July 2018 when it was renamed and transformed into its current form.
The 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, is a battalion sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and is a subordinate unit within 16 Air Assault Brigade.
The Battle of Kolwezi was an airborne operation by French and Belgian airborne forces that took place in May 1978 in Zaire during the Shaba II invasion of Zaire by the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FLNC). It aimed at rescuing European and Zairean hostages held by FLNC rebels after they conquered the city of Kolwezi. The operation succeeded with the liberation of the hostages and light military casualties.
The 1st Paratroopers Battalion or 1 PARA was a military formation of the Belgian Army and part of the Para-Commando Brigade from 1946 to 2011. Its regimental traditions, including its badge and motto, were heavily influenced by the experience of many of its personnel in British SAS during the Second World War. The battalion was disbanded on 1 July 2011.
The 2nd Commando Battalion is a military formation of the Belgian Armed Forces and part of the 'Special Operations Regiment'. Its regimental traditions, including the name "Commando" and the green beret, were adopted from the Belgian soldiers who served in No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando during the Second World War.
The 3rd Parachute Battalion is a military formation of the Belgian Land Component and part of the Special Operations Regiment. It carries on the regimental traditions of the Belgian Korean War volunteers.
The 4th Commando Battalion was a Belgian military formation and part of the Paracommando Regiment, based in the Belgian colonies of Congo and Rwanda-Urundi between 1959 until its disbandment in 1962, following the independence of Belgium's last African colony. In the 1970s, the unit was revived as 4th (Reserve) Commando Battalion before it was finally disbanded in 1979.
The Para-commando Anti-Tank Company, usually shortened to ATk Company was a formation of the Belgian Army and part of the Para-commando Regiment. In 1994, it was merged with the 3rd Lancers Squadron to form the 3rd Parachute Lancers Regiment.
The 2nd Parachute Chasseur Regiment or 2e RCP, is one of the most decorated French units of the Second World War, the only land unit awarded the red fourragère in that war, including six citations at the orders of the armed forces. The French Navy 1500-ton class submarine Casabianca also accumulated six citations at the orders of the armed forces and therefore its crewmen were entitled to wear the same fourragère.
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