Portuguese Paratroopers
|
Tropas Páraquedistas Parachute Troops |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1956 – Present day |
| Country | Portugal |
| Branch | Portuguese Army |
| Type | Special Forces |
| Part of | Rapid Reaction Brigade |
| Nickname(s) |
Páras (Paras) Boinas Verdes (Green Berets) |
| Motto(s) |
Que nunca por vencidos se conheçam (That they never be known as defeated) |
The Portuguese Paratroopers (Portuguese: Tropas Páraquedistas) 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 Portuguese Army in 1993. Presently, most of the Paratroopers are part of the Portuguese Rapid Reaction Brigade which comprises all 3 special forces troops.
The Portuguese Paratroopers are usually nicknamed "Paras" or "Green Berets" (Boinas Verdes).
Until 2006, the Portuguese Paratroopers formed an autonomous command within the Army, the Airborne Troops Command (Comandos de Tropas Aerotransportadas) or CTA. All parachute units and most of the Paratroopers were under that command. The CTA was also responsible for the selection of the future Paratroopers and for their training. The main operational formation of the CTA was the Independent Airborne Brigade (Brigada Aerotransportada Independente) or BAI. The CTA was created in 1993, when the Paratroopers were transferred to the Army, succeeding the Parachute Troops Command (Comando de Tropas Páraquedistas), that had the same functions within the Air Force.
The CTA was extinct in the Army reorganization of 2006, at the same time the BAI being transformed in the Rapid Reaction Brigade or BrigRR. Since then, the Paratroopers do not form a collective corps, constituting only a specialty of the Army. They serve mainly in the following units of the BrigRR (that now also includes non-parachute units):
The first Portuguese Paratroopers were a group of 12 Timorese soldiers trained in Australia in 1942, to participate in the fight against the Japanese forces that were occupying Portuguese Timor. Some of them were launched in the rearguard of the Japanese forces.
After the successful use of airborne forces in the Second World War by Germany and the Allies, other armed forces began to examine the possibility of forming parachute Troops for special missions. In 1955, the Portuguese Defense Minister approved a request for funds for airborne paratroop training. Two Portuguese Army captains went to France to take the French parachute course at the École des Troupes Aéroportées.
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Wikipedia