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The 10th Squadron (Parachute), Royal Army Engineers Regiment (
Abbr. An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing perio ...
: 10 SQN RAER (Para); — ''10 Skn RAJD (Para)'') is a company-sized airborne
sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...
from the
Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army (; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ () as do the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysi ...
's Royal Army Engineers Regiment. 10 SQN RAER (Para) has been a part of the 10th Parachute Brigade since 10 October 1994 and is tasked with providing engineering support to the brigade. All members of 10 SQN RAER (Para), as a part of the
elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...
10th Parachute Brigade, must be airborne trained and complete the Basic Rapid Deployment Force Course (Malaysian Army version of the UK's P Company).


History


Formed as a Commando sapper

On 1 April 1980, the Malaysian Army established the 10th Commando Engineer Squadron, Engineer Regiment under the bill KP/TD/RANCANG/4668 to provide combat engineering support to the 1st Malaysian Special Service Regiment (now known as the 21st Special Service Group, or ''
Grup Gerak Khas The 21st Special Service Group (Abbreviation, Abbr.: 21 SSG, ), also known as the 21st Special Forces Group, serves as the Command (military formation), command for the Malaysian Army's special forces, the ''Gerak Khas (Malaysian Army unit), Ger ...
'' — GGK). The squadron's original mission was similar to that of the British Army's
24 Commando Royal Engineers 24 Commando Royal Engineers is a unit of the British Army's Royal Engineers supporting UK Commando Force. History The regiment, which was formed in April 2008, is one of two British Army units attached to 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, the ...
. During its initial formation, the squadron consisted of only three officers and ten sappers. The squadron eventually grew to 10 officers and 218 other ranks before being fully absorbed by the GGK on 1 December 1981. The squadron was renamed the 21st Engineering Squadron, Special Service Group, and was assigned to provide combat engineering support to all GGK units.


Downgraded to a conventional field engineer

The squadron was transferred from the GGK to the Malaysian Army's 3rd Division (3 DIV) on 1 October 1986. The squadron was renamed the 10th Engineering Squadron, Engineer Regiment. On 31 October 1989, the squadron was transferred again, this time to the Malaysian Army's 1st Division (1 DIV), and was relocated from the
Terendak Camp Terendak Camp is a Malaysian Army military base located in Sungai Udang, Central Melaka District, Melaka, Malaysia. It belonged to the Commonwealth of Nations before being handed over to the Malaysian Armed Forces in 1970. It is right next to th ...
in
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
to the Penrissen Camp in
Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...
.


Reconstruct for an airborne sapper role

The 10th Engineering Squadron was scheduled to be converted to an airborne sapper unit in the early 1990s. The squadron returned to Terendak Camp on 1 November 1992, along with other Malaysian Army existing and future airborne units. Under the bill KP/TD/JURUTERA/8416 Vol 1, the squadron was transferred to the 10th Strategic Brigade of the 11th Strategic Division (11 DIV STRA) and renamed the 10th Squadron (Parachute), Royal Army Engineers Regiment in January 1993.


Reassemble as the Rapid Deployment Force

After Exercise ''Halilintar'' in
Langkawi Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah (), is a duty-free island and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide in the Strait of Malacca) located some 30 km off the coast of northwe ...
on 10 October 1994, then-Prime Minister Dr
Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...
officially introduced the world to the new Malaysian Rapid Deployment Force, which included the 10 SQN RAER (Para) and other airborne units. The 10th Strategic Brigade was renamed the 10th Parachute Brigade on that day, and it became an independent military unit in the Malaysian Army, reporting directly to the Chief of the Army.


Role and responsibilities

The role and responsibilities of the 10 SQN RAER (Para) are similar to those of other squadrons in the Royal Army Engineers Regiment, but because they are airborne trained, they can conduct airborne and air assault operations. Their mission is similar to that of the British Army's
9 Parachute Squadron RE 9 Parachute Squadron RE (often abbreviated to '9 Sqn') is an Airborne forces, airborne squadron (army), squadron of the British Army's Corps of Royal Engineers. It is part of 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment based at RAF Woodbridge, Rock Barracks ...
. Aside from that, they were tasked with rescuing and retrieving members of the 10th Parachute Brigade who had landed on the sea during static or free fall parachute exercises. Together with the Pathfinder Company (Parachute), they must also supervise and maintain the 10th Parachute Brigade's shooting range.


In the media

Television featuring 10 SQN RAER (Para) * 2019: "", a TV series by
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...
starring
Janna Nick Nurul Jannah Muner (born 1 June 1995) known professionally as Janna Nick, is a Malaysian actress, singer, host, director and producer. Starting her career in entertainment, she is known for her roles in television films such as '' Syurga Nur'', ...
and about the youngest daughter of a retired army officer who wishes to carry on her father's legacy despite being prevented by her family. She eventually progressed to the position of engineering officer and airborne sapper in the 10 SQN RAER (Para). This series aired on 7 February 2019.


References

{{Malaysian Army Airborne Forces Malaysian Army