The Air Parachute Commando No. 10 (CPA 10), is a French

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of the

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the French Air F ...

and is attached to the Special Operations Command. It is currently headquartered in Air Base 123. The unit specialises in

Counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

, Unorthodox warfare,

Special Reconnaissance Special reconnaissance (SR) is conducted by small units, such as a recon team, made up of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units and/or military intelligence organizations. Special reconnaissance teams operate behind ...

Combat Search and Rescue Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling ta ...

and Aerial guidance ( JTACs).

History

In 1935, the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

carried out the first parachute drops with their equipment and support materials and France, interested by this mode of deployment, sent three officers for training in the Soviet Union in order to familiarize themselves with the parachuting techniques and equipment used by the USSR. The CPA 10 was officially established on June 1, 1956, and upon its formation, took part in the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. On January 1, 1994, the CPA 10 was integrated into France's Special Operations Command. CPA took part in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

with one of its most notable operations being "Operation Blacksmith Hammer". Since early 2013 (January), the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

including CPA 10 have been active in the

Mali War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Mali War , width = 35% , partof = the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel and the War on terror , image = MaliWar.svg , image_size = 300 , caption ...

with operations "Serval" and "Barkhane". A notable battle in this conflict was the battle of Timetrine, where CPA 10 commandos alongside other units engaged and took out an

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (, ), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it was then engaged in an insurgency ...

commander "Mohamed Lemine Ould El-Hassen".Jean-Christophe Notin, La guerre de la France au Mali, p. 448-451. During the

2018 Ouagadougou attacks On 2 March 2018, at least eight heavily armed militants launched an assault on key locations throughout Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. Targets included the French embassy and the headquarters of Military of Burkina Faso, Burkina F ...

the CPA 10 ensured the protection of both the French embassy in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

and the Burkinabe Armed Forces General Staff.

Gallery

File:DEFILECPA10REGHAIA.JPG, CPA10 on parade at REGHAIA File:PGM Ultima Ratio.jpg, CPA10 Sniper

References

{{Reflist Military counterterrorist organizations Military units and formations of the French Air and Space Force Special forces of France Military units and formations established in 1956 1956 establishments in France

History

Gallery

See also

References