The Regimento de Paraquedistas (formerly: Escola de Tropas Pára-Quedistas - Parachute Troops School), based in
Tancos
Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243,Portuguese Army and serves as the instruction center for recruitment and training of the
Portuguese paratroopers
The Portuguese Paratroopers ( pt, Tropas Paraquedistas) are an elite infantry assault force, representing the bulk of the airborne forces of Portugal. They were created in 1956 as part of the Portuguese Air Force, being transferred to the Port ...
. 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 ''RPára'' is part of the Rapid Reaction Brigade that includes other elite
units
Unit may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''
* Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation
Music
* Unit (album), ...
like the army commandos and Army Special Operations.
Like other Portuguese airborne units, the troops of the school are nicknamed "''Boinas Verdes''" (Green Berets) while recruits are nicknamed "''Catatuas''".
History
Origins
The Airborne Battalion
After the successful use of airborne forces in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
by
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and the Allies, other armed forces began to examine the possibility of forming parachute
troops
A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...
for special missions. In 1955, Portuguese Defense Ministry cabinet approved a request for funds for airborne paratroop training.
Two Army captains went to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
to take the French parachute course at the ''École de Troupes Aeroportèes''. After the Portuguese Air Force was created as an independent branch of the military, it was decided that the paratroopers would be part of the Air Force, much like the German organizational structure during the Second World War, but organized on NATO lines. The ''BCP - Batalhão de Caçadores Páraquedistas'' (Paratrooper Hunters Battalion) was formed in 1956. The paratroopers were issued unique
berets
A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre.
Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...
and
camo
Camo is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Santo Stefano Belbo in the Province of Cuneo, in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo.
The municipality of Camo was abolished on 31 De ...
uniforms similar to those of the French troops. Airborne forces initially jumped using the venerable German tri-motored Junkers Ju 52 aircraft. The unit was first deployed to
Tancos
Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243,series of guerrilla campaigns against Portuguese rule. Troops were required to fight in Africa, and the ''BCP'' became the RCP - the ''Regimento de Caçadores Pára-quedistas'' (Paratrooper Hunter, or Ranger
Regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
). By this time, the men were armed with the modern 7.62 mm
ArmaLite AR-10
The ArmaLite AR-10 is a 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifle designed by Eugene Stoner in the late 1950s and manufactured by ArmaLite (then a division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation). When first introduced in 1956, the AR-10 used an innovative c ...
infantry rifle, a weapon previously not seen in Western military forces.Afonso, Aniceto and Gomes, Carlos de Matos, ''Guerra Colonial'' (2000), pp. 183-184 The paratroopers liked the accuracy and mobility of the AR-10, but supplies were embargoed after initial deliveries were completed in 1960, and paratroopers were later issued the collapsible-stock variant of the m/961 ( G3) rifle. As time went on, more airborne units were created in Angola, Mozambique, and other areas outside Portugal to fight the various separatist guerrilla movements.
Due to Portuguese Air Force control over airborne units, the paratroops' battalion numbers reflected their subordination to local Air Force commands. The following battalions of the regiment were assigned to the following Air Force regions:
* 1st Air Region (Air Force command over North Atlantic territories and mainland Portugal)- 11th (Portugal) and 12th (Guinéa-Bissau) Paratrooper Hunter Battalions
* 2nd Air Region (Air Force command over South Atlantic territories) - 21st Paratrooper Hunter Battalion (Angola)
* 3rd Air Region (Air Force command over the Indian Ocean territories) - the 31st and 32nd Paratrooper Hunter Battalions (Mozambique)
Paratrooper casualties
* 12th Paratrooper Hunter Battalion: 56 dead (3
officers
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
, 6 sergeants and 47 soldiers).
* 21st Paratrooper Hunter Battalion: 47 dead (5 officers, 9 sergeants and 33 soldiers)
* 31st Paratrooper Hunter Battalion: 39 dead (2 officers, 6 sergeants and 31 soldiers)
* 32nd Paratrooper Hunter Battalion: 18 dead (2 sergeants and 16 soldiers)
A total of 160 Portuguese paratroopers were
KIA
Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
.
On April 25, 1974, a military coup led by members of the Portuguese Armed Forces ended the authoritarian government regime in Portugal, and the country moved towards fully democratic elections. Shortly afterwards, peace negotiations with the various African colonies resulted in an end to the African wars, followed by the independence of Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau. Military reforms were instituted in Portugal in 1975, resulting in a reorganization of airborne forces.
In November 2007, a paratrooper was killed in a vehicle accident in Afghanistan.
Modern airborne forces structure
Parachute Troops Base School
On July 5, 1975, the BETP (''Base Escola de Tropas Pára-Quedistas'' or Parachute Troops Base School) was established on the basis of the ''RCP'', which was disbanded and integrated into the CTP (''Corpo de Tropas Paraquedistas'', Parachute Troops Corps or PTC) of the Portuguese Air Force.
The CTP is responsible for changing the paratroopers from a
counter-guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla ( tr, Kontrgerilla) is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to ere ...
force to a conventional airborne force capable of fighting in a possible
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
vs
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
war, so a Light Paratrooper Brigade (BRIPARAS) was formed with three Paratrooper Battalions and a few support units. The Corps also raised several barracks across Portugal to garrison the new brigade, BOTP1 – ''Base Operacional de Tropas Pára-quedistas nº1'' (1st Paratrooper Operational Base) at
Monsanto
The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...
and BOTP2 at São Jacinto; some troops were also garrisoned in the BETP at Tancos. The BRIPARA structure included:
* Brigade HQ
* BOTP1: 11th Paratrooper Battalion, Anti-Tank Company, Signals Company
* BOTP2: 21st Paratrooper Battalion, Services and Support Operational Group, Heavy Mortar Company
* BETP: 31st Paratrooper Battalion, Aerospace and Ground Operational Group
Army integration
In 1993, further changes in the organization of airborne forces took place when the Defense Minister decided that the entire corps should leave the Portuguese Air Force and become part of the Portuguese Army. This meant also that the Commandos Regiment would be disbanded and the
commandos
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
that had taken the parachute course would be part of the new unit which was named ''BAI - Brigada Aerotransportada Independente'' (Independent Airborne Brigade).
The BETP then changed its name again to ''ETAT - Escola de Tropas Aerotransportadas'' (Airborne Troops School), the Paratrooper Corp changed to the ''Comando de Tropas Aerotransportas'' (Airborne Troops Command) and all three Paratrooper Battalions changed to Airborne Infantry Battalions (BIAT). This new Army Airborne Brigade was bigger and more powerful due to the previous Air Force Light Paratrooper Brigade; they had replaced heavy mortars with 105 mm artillery guns and were equipped with light armor vehicles.
In territorial terms the BOTP1 was closed and BOTP2 changed its name to the São Jacinto Military Area. The units of the brigade that were not at Tancos (Airborne Support Battalion) or São Jacinto (2nd BIAT) were now garrisoned at Army barracks (Regiments) like the 15th Infantry Regiment at
Tomar
Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a city and a municipality in the Santarém district of Portugal. The town proper has a population of about 20,000. The municipality population in 2011 was 40,677, in an a ...
(1st BIAT), 3rd Infantry Regiment at Beja (3rd BIAT), 4th Artillery Regiment at Leiria (''Grupo de Artilharia Aerotransportada'' – Airborne Artillery Group), 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Estremoz (''Esquadrão de Reconhecimento Aerotransportado'' – Airborne Recon Squadron) and others. The BAI structure was:
* 15th Infantry Regiment: 1st BIAT, Services and Support Battalion
* São Jacinto Military Area: 2nd BIAT, Anti-Tank Company
* 3rd Infantry Regiment: 3rd BIAT
* 4th Artillery Regiment: Field Artillery Group
* ETAT: Aeroterrestrial Support Battalion
* Tancos Airfield: Signals Company
* Engineering Practical School: Engineering Company
* 3rd Cavalry Regiment: Recon Squadron
* 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment: Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery
Elite Forces Brigade
The next reorganization of the Army though, changed the ''ETAT'' designation again to ''ETP – Escola de Tropas Páraquedistas'' (School of Parachute Troops) with the ''BAI'' being renamed and reorganized as ''BRR – Brigada de Reacção Rápida ''. The Airborne Troops Command was disbanded. Currently, airborne forces are under direct control of regular army commands, such as Land Forces Operational Command (operational units) or the Instruction Command (ETP – Paratrooper School).
The last reorganization of the Army changed ETP's name to the present Regimento de Paraquedistas (Paratroopers' Regiment), RPára.
The Elite Forces brigade is no longer a full deployable brigade, but rather an organizational structure that controls all the special trained army units.
The 3rd Airborne Infantry Battalion and Anti-Tank Company were disbanded and the other two BIAT were renamed Paratrooper Infantry Battalions (BIParas), the São Jacinto Military Area was renamed 10th Infantry Regiment, the Airborne Artillery Group and the Services and Support Battalion were transferred to the Intervention Brigade and their no longer Airborne capable and the Engineering Company and the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery were reduced to platoon size.
This new Rapid Reaction Brigade joined all remaining Paratrooper units together with Army Special Operations and the reborn battalion-size Army Comandos unit.
Finally a newly formed unit has joined BRR: UALE (Army Light Aviation Unit), which is waiting to be equipped with NH-90 TTH and a still-to-be-chosen light utility helicopter, possibly the Eurocopter EC-135 or the
AgustaWestland AW109
The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to ...
* Be a volunteer
* Be a Portuguese citizen
* Be at least 18 years old and 24 at the most for enlisted ranks
* Be psychophysically and physically fit
* Minimum height is 1.60m for males and 1.56m for females
* Clean criminal registry
* Minimum school grade required is the 9th for enlisted, 12th for NCOs and a college degree to officers
Admission tests
* Medical exams
* Sensorial exams
* Psychiatric and physical exams
* Biographic questionnaire
* Psychological interview
* Physical tests
Selection and training (parachute battalions)
Training to join one of the parachute battalions takes 30 weeks to complete. On completion, a successful candidate is expected to serve a minimum of two years.
This is broken down in the following stages:-
Basic training; This 5 weeks stage aims to provide the candidate with basic military training, with an introduction to military culture at this stage.
Additional training (stage 1); This 7 week stage aims to provide advanced military training, and combat technique is given at this stage.
Additional training (stage 2); This 5 week stage aims to provide the military with military leadership training, at this stage command and leadership modules are taught. This training is only for Officer, and Non-commissioned Officers.
Paratrooper course; This 11 week course enables the military to perform missions of a strategic, operational or tactical scope, with a high degree of independence and in conditions of great risk through a tactical parachute jump (air landing) or assault landing, of any type.
RPára courses
Formation courses
* Basic Instruction.
* Complementary Instruction.
** Pathfinder Auxiliary Course.
** Parachute Maintenance Course.
** Air Supply Operator Course.
** Trainer of Military dogs.
The ''RPára'' is made of the following units:
* Instruction Battalion: responsible for the forming of paratroopers. (Recruitment, Parachute course, Combat course, etc.)
* Aeroterrestrial Support Battalion:
** Airborne Equipment Company
** Airborne Supplying Company
** Pathfinders Company
** Airborne Activity Center
** War Dogs Center
**Engineers Platoon
**Anti-aircraft artillery Platoon
**Heavy Mortars Platoon
**Anti-Tank Platoon
* Selection of Parachute Troops Center