Organization
Each GE or GEP was organized as a combat group (platoon-sized), consisting of an officer (commander of group), a sergeant (assistant) and 28 soldiers, organized into 3 sections, each consisting of two squads. Section leaders usually held the rank of corporal. The commander and sergeant from each group were typically military or former military personnel. The remaining fighters were local Africans. Usually four GEs or GEPs formed a company. A company headquarters element had the co-located assistance of two Alouette II helicopters loaned from the Portuguese Air Force or the Police, for transporting, medevac, target location and close air support during individual platoon or even section operations. A company would usually be led by a Portuguese major of the infantry or artillery with a captain as second-in-command, assisted by three lieutenants, four sergeant majors and eight sergeants looking after intelligence, operations, training and logistics, and cover an area of 100 square kilometres and population of 50,000. A platoon had two rifle sections armed with FN FAL and one 'heavy' section armed with 2 two-inch mortars and two M67 recoilless rifles. The two rifle sections each also had one FN MAG operator with another Rifleman carrying spare ammunition and barrels; and one Rifleman with a Rifle Grenade enabled FN FAL carrying three ENERGA anti-tank rifle grenades in the rifle grenade role. The heavy section was armed with FBP submachine guns with one lone rifleman armed with an FN FAL. From 1973 onwards, many of the heavy sections tended to discard their extra M67 recoilless rifle in favour of a single M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun, mounted on a jeep. Each Platoon was armed with two AN/MPQ-4 counter mortar Radars, with which the platoon leader could track the location of enemy mortars and call in artillery and air support. The headquarters platoon of the company also had a heavy section used a flying firefighting squad for all platoons, armed with 2 M2 Browning HMGs and 1 mounted on two jeeps and a single M40 recoilless rifle on a jeep, commanded by a sergeant. The heavy section could be deployed into operation by helicopters.
While the GEP were all grouped together under a single parent unit the Batalhão de Grupos Especiais Páraquedistas (Battalion of Special Groups Paratroopers), the GE were dispersed, operating under the command of several regular Army units and employed as their intervention sub-units.
The FN FAL is a battle rifle designed in Belgium in 1953 by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal.
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 20–50 troops, although specific platoons may range from 10 to 100 people. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer. The platoon leader is usually a junior officer—a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. The officer is usually assisted by a platoon sergeant.
In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while U.S. Army doctrine further defines a squad as a "small military unit typically containing two or more fire teams." In American usage, a squad consists of eight to fourteen soldiers, and may be further subdivided into fireteams.
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