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Polish Special Operations Forces train with U.S. Army Special Operations Forces at Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 15-23.
Генеральний штаб ЗСУ / General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Facebook) ЗАКОХАНА В "ГІАЦИНТИ" ЛЮБОВ Колишня викладачка історії Любов Плаксюк пов’язала своє життя зі Збройними Силами України у 2016 році. Військова кар’єра йшла "за звичним сценарієм", крок за кроком – від радіотелефоніста до командира відділення управління. Але все докорінно змінилося в житті житомирянки, коли вона побачила "роботу" важких 152-мм самохідних артилерійських установок. – Коли я побачила "Гіацинт" і вперше проїхалася на машині, від гуркоту якої перехоплює дух, зрозуміла – це моє! – зізнається Любов Плаксюк. – Відтоді весь вільний час придивлялася до роботи номерів розрахунку, читала книжки з артилерійської справи, вивчала конструкцію САУ, а у 2019-му зробила дебютний постріл з гармати на полігоні. Також, за цей час колишня "... View original post via t.me/UkraineArmyForce/112473 #russia #russian #army #military #ukraine #ukrainian #war #worldwar #ww3 #ww #ucraina #russland #russia #militare #guerra #krieg #війни #война #guerre #ukraine #украина #ucrania #україна #Rusia #Росія #Россия #Russie #ukrainearmy
Norwegian Special Forces during anti-piracy Ship Boarding exercise on the HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen – December 2013
7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) soldiers move toward a doorway to conduct a breech on Eglin AFB, FL., Feb 08, 2012. 7th SFG (A) Green Berets practiced dry runs before switching to live rounds during breach training into simulated rooms.(U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. Steven Young/Released)
Free France and its Free French Forces (French: France Libre and Forces françaises libres) were the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle during the Second World War and its military forces that continued to fight against the Axis powers as one of the Allies after the fall of France. It was set up in London in June 1940 and also organised and supported the Resistance in occupied France.
Charles de Gaulle, a French government minister who rejected the armistice concluded by Marshal Philippe Pétain and who had escaped to Britain, exhorted the French to resist in his BBC broadcast "Appeal of 18 June" (Appel du 18 juin), which had a stirring effect on morale throughout France and its colonies, although initially relatively few French forces responded to de Gaulle's call.
On 27 October 1940, the Empire Defense Council (Conseil de défense de l'Empire) was constituted to organise the rule of the territories in central Africa, Asia and Oceania that had heeded the 18 June call. It was replaced on 24 September 1941 by the French National Committee (Comité national français or CNF). On 13 July 1942, "Free France" was officially renamed France combattante ("Fighting France"), to mark that the struggle against the Axis was conducted both externally by the FFF and internally by the French Forces of the Interior (FFI). After the reconquest of North Africa, this was in turn formally merged with de Gaulle's rival general Henri Giraud's command in Algiers to form the French Committee of National Liberation (Comité français de Libération nationale or CFNL). Exile officially ended with the capture of Paris by the 2nd Armoured Free French Division and Resistance forces on 25 August 1944, ushering in the Provisional Government of the French Republic (gouvernement provisoire de la République française or GPRF). It ruled France until the end of the war and afterwards to 1946, when the Fourth Republic was established, thus ending the series of interim regimes that had succeeded the Third Republic after its fall in 1940.
The Free French fought Axis and Vichy regime troops and served on battlefronts everywhere from the Middle East to Indochina and North Africa. The Free French Navy operated as an auxiliary force to the Royal Navy and, in the North Atlantic, to the Royal Canadian Navy.[1] Free French units also served in the Royal Air Force, Soviet Air Force, and British SAS, before larger commands were established directly under the control of the government-in-exile.
From colonial outposts in Africa, India, and the Pacific, Free France steadily took over more and more Vichy possessions, until after the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) in November 1942 Vichy only ruled over the zone libre in southern France and a few possessions in the West Indies (and nominally over Japanese-occupied French Indochina). The French Army of Africa switched allegiance to Free France, and this caused the Axis to occupy Vichy in reaction.
On 1 August 1943, L'Armée d'Afrique was formally united with the Free French Forces to form L'Armée française de la Liberation. By mid-1944, the forces of this army numbered more than 400,000, and they participated in the Normandy landings and the invasion of southern France, eventually leading the drive on Paris. Soon they were fighting in Alsace, the Alps and Brittany, and by the end of the war in Europe, they were 1,300,000 strong – the fourth-largest Allied army in Europe – and took part in the Allied advance through France and invasion of Germany. The Free French government re-established a provisional republic after the liberation, preparing the ground for the Fourth Republic in 1946.
Breaking Light.
Thorndon South, Essex.
August 2010.
Polaroid SX-70 Alpha (ii)
Polaroid Edgecut 600 film, 3-stop ND filter on lens.
[All photographs © Toby Marsh. Please do not re-use without permission.
Do not post to Tumblr, Blogspot etc without permision.]
PolaroidSX70ii_01_EdgeCut600_01_04_edit_web copy
Greek F-16 joining forces with the "Knights of the Orange Tail" squadron
Photo by: Hagar Amibar
F-16 יווני באימון משותף עם טייסת "אבירי הזנב
הכתום"
צילום: הגר עמיבר
Croatian Zapovjedništvo Specialjalnih Snaga (ZSS) and members of U.S. Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Europe (NSWTU-E) conduct maritime Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) training in Split, Croatia, April 14, 2022.
For the Croatian ZSS, Joint Combined Exchange Training, or JCET with partner nations is not uncommon.
The ZSS were founded in 2000 as the Special Operations Battalion and since then, its operators have participated in multiple operations, including stints in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Patrik Orcutt
Colonel Yuli Mamchor (R), commander of the Ukrainian military garrison at the Belbek airbase, speaks to troops under Russian command occupying the Belbek airbase in Crimea on March 4, 2014 in Lubimovka, Ukraine. The Ukrainians are stationed at their garrison nearby, and after spending a tense night anticipating a Russian attack following the expiration of a Russian deadline to surrender, in which family members of troops spent the night at the garrison gate in support of the soldiers, Mamchor announced his bold plan this morning to retake the airfield by confronting the Russian-lead soldiers unarmed. The Russian-lead troops fired their weapons into the air but then granted Mamchor the beginning of negotiations with their commander. Russian-lead troops have blockaded a number of Ukrainian military bases across Crimea.
An Armed Forces veteran is pictured on parade during an Armed Forces Day flag raising ceremony at The Guildhall, City of London.
In line with the established precedent of the City supporting the Armed Forces, and to help raise awareness of the contribution made to our country by those who have served and are currently serving, the City of London Corporation hosted a flag-raising ceremony in Guildhall Yard this afternoon (Tuesday 24th June).
Serving and retired military personnel, cadets, Aldermen, City residents who are veterans, Masters and Clerks of Livery Companies, school children from the City’s Schools, and members of the general public were invited to attend. The Band of the RAF played as the Coldstream Guards, the London Regiment, sailors from HMS President, and airmen from RAF Northolt paraded in Guildhall Square.
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© Crown Copyright 2014
Photographer: Corporal Mark Larner RY
Image 45157784.jpg from www.defenceimages.mod.uk
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Mali Losinj, 150312.
Vojna uvala Kovcanje.
Ministar obrane Ante Kotromnovic sa suradnicima posjetio je danas vojarnu Kovcanje gdje je prezentiran novi strateski pregled obrane i prikazane vjezbovne sposobnosti Bojne za specijalna djelovanja.
Foto: Davor Pongracic / CROPIX
Armed Forces Day National Event Held in Cleethorpes - Sat 25 Jun 2016
Image shows: The RAF Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows.
Celebrations took place to mark the eighth annual Armed Forces Day, honouring the work and dedication of our brave Servicemen and women deployed around the world. More than 250 events including parades, military displays and community fetes are took place right across the country to say thank you to the Armed Forces community, including Regulars, Reserves, their families and veterans past and present. From fighting Daesh in the Middle East to training troops in Nigeria and supporting NATO exercises, the UK’s Armed Forces are on duty 24/7. Armed Forces Day is a chance for Britain to acknowledge their hard work and sacrifice. The National Event was held in the seaside town Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, attended by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent representing the Queen and the Royal Family. Other guests included the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, The Rt Hon Earl Howe, the Commander of Joint Forces Command, General Sir Chris Deverell KCB MBE ADC and the Worshipful Mayor of North East Lincolnshire Christina McGilligan-Fell. The National Event began with a spectacular display from the Red Arrows, an amphibious display on the beach from the Royal Marines and a parachute drop from the RAF Falcons. A parade of Service personnel, veterans and cadets then marched down Cleethorpes seafront, from the North Promenade to the Boating Lake, followed by a motorcade of motorcyclists from the Armed Forces Bikers and the Royal British Legion bikers. The Duke of Kent took the salute from the parade on behalf of The Queen and Royal Family. Afternoon celebrations in Cleethorpes continued across the seafront with a variety of military displays including the White Helmets Motorcycle Display Team. Overhead the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a Chinook and the Royal Navy Black Cats Helicopters entertained the crowds.
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© Crown Copyright 2014
Photographer: Sgt Ross Tilly RAF
Image 45159898.jpg from www.defenceimages.mod.uk
This image is available for high resolution download at www.defenceimagery.mod.uk subject to the terms and conditions of the Open Government License at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/. Search for image number 45159898.jpg
For latest news visit www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence
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Quando si va sulla cima del vulcano Teide, a Tenerife, si superano i 3.700 m sul livello dell'oceano, che si può ammirare in tutte le direzioni. Ma la sensazione più grandiosa è quella di immaginare una spaccatura sotto al mare dal quale inizia a fuoriuscire materiale incandescente e lava che, anno dopo anno, per millenni, si accumula sul fondo del mare e piano piano arriva alla superficie, dopo aver percorso quasi 4000 m. Ma non si ferma qui. Prosegue, strato dopo strato, e si alza per quasi altri quattro chilometri, fino a incontrare le nuvole del cielo.
L'intero vulcano arriva a 7500 metri dal fondo del mare fino alla sommità.
Foto dal mio album ricordi
#teide #canarie #vulcano #lava #height #deep #mare #oceano #eruption #canary #island #forces
This is a wharf in Scots Bay after post tropical storm Arthur hit the maritimes. The link is a video that someone shot during the storm www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDuc7zVWOfY
Lithuanian Special Forces undergo timed range evaluations during a bilateral exercise with U.S. Special Forces, held in Kaunas, Lithuania, March 10, 2022.
A Lithuanian Special Forces member rapidly fires during a timed range evaluation as part of a bilateral exercise with U.S. Special Forces, held in Kaunas, Lithuania, March 10, 2022.
These joint range day evaluations are used to exchange tactics, enhance mission readiness and maintain advanced combat marksmanship skills while promoting a strong partnership with allied forces.
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Alisha Grezlik
Norwegian Special Forces during an anti-terrorist training exercise Gemini 2012 and was the first major anti-terror exercise after the terrorist attack on Norway on 22 last July
Doing my bit for TRANS Atlantic relations by reclining on a GI's gun. After a good oiling, it was working rather well.
....thought (or wished!) they'd be no more paper boats?
....well, they have multiplied and joined their forces on a baker's twine in order to form a galrland or a rather long mobile, depending on the way they'll will be hung.
Yiap!...that's what they'll do...kind of like them too much to say the truth, but these ones are heading to the room of a very special little prince, who happens to be the son of my beloved best girlfriend in Greece.
Details of the decor on the mini shelf, in the picture of the comments section, at your disposal if you may :)
U.S. Air Force Security Forces Chevrolet Suburban assined to the 4th Security Forces Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB.
2005 Chevrolet Suburban. 5,967 cc 6 liters V 8 front engine with 101.6 mm bore, 92 mm stroke, 9.4 compression ratio, overhead valve and two valves per cylinder LQ4 ; Auxiliary oil cooler ; Multi-point injection fuel system ; 37 gallon main fuel tank
A Canadian Forces soldier and captain discuss some tactics under the cover of some camo netting...
A vig I built a while back for fun. The camo netting was really fun to build and I fell in love with it. I also really like the Amazing Armory vest.
Special Forces disembarking behind enemy lines
Location: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mindful%20Cove/199/174/27
Helicopter: French army Helicopter mesh box
Boat: Seals storm boat mesh box
Beret: Box beret commandos marine fr
Face paint: Inked kitty
Vest: [WAZ] Tactical Micro Chest Rig
Street fight fashions AK-47 Automatic weapon with Aimpoint scope
The Cross of Sacrifice in the Veteran Field of Honor glimpsed from the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Forces (Section 103) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Forsvarets spesialkommando, Marinejegerkommandoen og Beredskapstroppen trener på kontraterror i Rena leir, som en oppkjøring til øvelse Gemini 2014
An Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) from 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) waits onboard a C-130 from the Royal Air Force to ascend the altitude of 12,500 feet to conduct a high altitude low opening (HALO) parachute jump with members of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment and Para-Rescue Airmen from the Air forces Special Operations Command Hurlburt Field, Fl., April. 25, 2013. Special operations members from coalition forces participated in Halo jumps during Exercise Emerald Warrior, Emerald Warrior is an exercise designed to provide irregular training at the tactical and operational levels. The exercise involved all branches of the U.S. military and special operations members from allied countries. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Steven Young)
Teamwork is always important in the military, never more so than with the elite members of the Estonian Special Forces.
US-Forces in Germany
The little "souvenir" sign caught my attention. At first I thought it was a modified Norwegian plate, but a friend gave me the clue to the old plates of the US Forces in Germany.
Norwegian Armed Forces Personnel from the Air Mobile Protection Team from NORTADII Guard a Norwegian C-130J Hercules aircraft in Gao, Mali as part of the UN Operation MINUSMA - 2019-06-24
Photo: Torbjørn Kjosvold / Forsvaret
Constant repetition of movements with weapons ensures that operators can act without hesitation in a real world situation.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The roots of the GDR's air forces laid in the time even before the founding of the National People's Army. The aim was to provide a structural basis and a basis for building the expertise needed to deploy and operate air forces. For this purpose, in 1951, initially under the lead of the Ministry of the Interior and under the influence of Soviet advisors, the so-called Kasernierte Volkspolizei (People's Police (Air) Quartered in Barracks (= on constant duty), KVP) with staff from the People's Police Air (VP-Luft) was set up in Berlin-Johannisthal. It was not a true air force, but rather a training unit that prepared the foundation of a true military power.
However, the KVP led to the GDR's 1st Air Division with three regiments. Training was carried out from 1953 onwards on various Soviet types, including the An-2, MiG-15, La-9 (only for training on the ground), Yak-18 and Yak-11 aircraft. All equipment was provided by the Soviet Union. However, from the beginning of 1952, the training of the future ground crew and the pilots in the so-called X course began secretly, and at the same time the GDR tried to build and test aeronautic engineering competences.
For this purpose, a military unit was established at the VEB Flugzeugwerke Dresden (FWD), an institution which was also the workplace of Brunolf Baade, the designer of the Baade 152 airliner which was built and tested between 1956 and 1961. The GDR's newly formed Air Division was keen on an ingenious fighter aircraft, despite the modern MiG-15 having become available from the USSR. The primary subject was a re-build of the WWII Messerschmitt Me 262, but the lack of plans and especially of suitable engines soon led to an end of this project, even though contacts with Avia in Czechoslovakia were made where a small number of Me 262 had been produced as S-92 fighters and trainers.
Since many senior pilots in GDR service had experience with the WWII Bf 109, and there had been a considerable number of more or less finished airframes after the Soviet occupation of Eastern Germany, FWD proposed a modernization program for the still existing material, much like the Avia S-199 program in Czechoslovakia.
The project received the code number "53" (for the year of its initiation) and structural basis for the not-so-new fighter for the GDR's nascent air force were primarily late Bf 109G and some Bf 109K airframes, reflected by an "A" and "B" suffix. Unlike the Czechoslovakian Avia S-199, which was re-engined with a rather sluggish Junkers Jumo 211 F, the FWD-53 fighter from Dresden was to be powered by a supercharged Mikulin AM-35 engine. This was a considerable reduction in output, since the late Bf 109 engines produced up to 2.000 hp, while the AM-35 just provided 1.400 hp. With some tuning and local modifications, however, the engine for the service aircraft was pushed to yield 1.100 kW (1,500 hp), and the fact that it was smaller and lighter than the original engine somewhat compensated for the lack of power.
Another feature that differed from the S-199 was the radiator system: the original Bf 109 underwing coolers were retained, even though the internal systems were replaced with new and more efficient heat exchangers and a new plumbing.
In order to save weight, the FWD-53's armament was relatively light. It consisted of a pair of heavy 12.7 mm Berezin UBS machine guns and a single 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannon. These three weapons were mounted above the engine, synchronized to fire through the propeller disc. This standard armament could be augmented with a further pair of NS-23 cannon, carried in pods under the outer wings (instead of a pair of bombs of up to 250 kg caliber). Alternatively, a ventral hardpoint allowed the carriage of a single 500 kg (1.100 lb) bomb or a 300l drop tank.
In the course of 1952 and 1953, a total of 39 Bf 109 airframes from GDR and also Czech and Polish origin were converted or re-built from existing components at Dresden. At the end of November 1953, the KVP's reorganization was carried out as a staff of the administration of the units initially called Aero clubs in Cottbus and the change of subordination by the MoI directly under the Deputy Minister and head of the Kasernierten People's Police. The air regiments were restructured into Aeroklubs 1 (Cottbus), 2 (Drewitz) and 3 (Bautzen), which in turn were divided into two sections. From 1954 onwards, the FWD-53 fleet joined these training units and were primarily tasked with advanced weapons training and dissimilar aerial combat.
On March 1, 1956, the GDR's air forces were officially formed as part of the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA, National People's Army). First of all the management of the aeroclubs, according to the Soviet model, gave rise to the Administrations Air Force (LSK) in Cottbus and Air Defense (LV) in Strausberg (Eggersdorf). The initial plans were to found three Jagdfliegerdivisionen (fighter squadrons), a Schlachtfliegerdivision (attack squadron) and a Flak (AA gunnery) division, but only the 1st and 3rd Air Division and the 1st Flak Division were eventually set up. On June 1, 1957, a merger of both administrations in Strausberg (Eggersdorf) resulted in another renaming, and the Air Force/Air Defense Command (detachment LSK/LV) was born.
From this point on, almost all operational front line units were equipped with the Soviet MiG-15. The FWD-53s were quickly, together with other piston engine types, relegated to second line units and used in training and liaison roles. The last FWD-53 was retired in 1959.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 9.07 m (29 ft 8 1/2 in)
Wingspan: 9.925 m (32 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.60 m (8 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 16.05 m² (173.3 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,247 kg (5,893 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,148 kg (6,940 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 3,400 kg (7,495 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Mikulin AM-35A(D) liquid-cooled V12 engine with 1,080 kW (1,500 hp),
driving a three-bladed light-alloy propeller with 3.2m (10 ft 4 ½ in) diameter
Performance:
Maximum speed: 640 km/h (398 mph) at 6,300 m (20,669 ft)
Cruise speed: 590 km/h (365 mph) at 6,000 m (19,680 ft)
Range: 850 km (528 mi) 1,000 km (621 mi) with drop tank
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Rate of climb: 17.0 m/s (3,345 ft/min)
Wing loading: 196 kg/m² (40 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 344 W/kg (0.21 hp/lb)
Armament:
1× 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannon with 75 rounds
2× 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin UBS machine guns with 300 RPG
all mounted above the engine and synchronized to fire through the propeller arc
A total external ordnance of 500 kg (1.100 lb), including 1× 250 kg (551 lb) bomb or 1 × 300-litre (79
US gal) drop tank on a centerline hardpoint, or 2x 250 kg bombs or 2x 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov
NS-23 cannon with 60 rounds in pods under the outer wings
The kit and its assembly:
This build was actually a kind of kit recycling, since I had a Heller Bf 109K kit in my kit stash that had donated its engine section to a converted Fw 190D. Otherwise, the kit was still complete, and it took some time until I had an idea for it: I had never so far built an East German whif, and with the complicated political and economic situation after WWII I wondered how a nascent aircraft industry could build experience and an air force? A re-engined/revamped late Bf 109 could have been the answer, so I took this idea to the hardware stage.
The Heller Bf 109K is a simple and pleasant build, but it took some time to find a suitable new engine of Soviet origin. I eventually settled for a Mikulin AM-35, taken from a Revell MiG-3 kit. The transplant was rather straightforward, and the Bf 109K’s “cheek” fairings at the cowling’s rear section actually matched the round diameter of the AM-35 well – even though the Soviet engine was much smaller and very sleek.
The rhinoplasty went very well, though, there’s just a little, ventral “step” at the wings’ leading edge.
The MiG-3 propeller could not be used, though, because the diameter and the blades themselves were just too small for the Bf 109. So I scratched a completely new propeller from a Spitfire Mk. IX spinner (reduced in length, though) and single blades from the scrap box – not certain which aircraft they actually belong to. The new prop was mounted onto a metal axis and a matching plastic tube adapter was implanted into the fuselage.
The only other modification of the kit are the main wheels – Heller’s OOB parts are quite bleak, so I replaced them with visually better parts from the scrap box.
Painting and markings:
This was not easy, because LSK/LV aircraft either carried Soviet camouflage of that era (typically a uniform green/blue camouflage) or were, more often, simply left in bare metal, like the MiG-15s. However, I wanted a more interesting camouflage scheme, but nothing that would remind of the Bf 109’s WWII origins, and it was still supposed to show some Eastern Bloc heritage. After a long search I found a suitable option, in the form of a LSK/LV MiG-15UTI trainer (actually a museum piece at the military history museum Gatow, near Berlin): the machine carried a relatively light green/brown camouflage and light blue undersides. Pretty simple, but the tones were quite unique – even though there’s no guarantee that this livery is/was authentic!
However, I adapted the concept for the FWD-53. Search in the paint bank yielded Humbrol 86 (Light Olive Green) and 62 (Leather Brown) as suitable tones for the upper surfaces, while I went for a garish Humbrol 89 (Middle Blue) underneath. Quite a bright result! The spinner became red and the interior was painted in RLM02.
The markings were puzzled together from various sources, including suitable early LSK/LV roundels. Most stencils were taken from the Heller kit’s OOB sheet. After light panel shading and some soot stains with grinded graphite, the kit was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.
A very quick project, realized just in three days (plus some time for the beauty shots, though) as a distraction from a very busy time at work. However, for a model created from leftover parts the FWD-53 looks surprisingly good and sleek. The pointed MiG-3 nose section subtly changes the profile – and somehow, from certain angles, the FWD-53 even reminds of the much bigger Il-2?
Norwegian Armed Forces Personnel from the Air Mobile Protection Team from NORTADII Guard a Norwegian C-130J Hercules aircraft in Gao, Mali as part of the UN Operation MINUSMA - 2019-06-24
Photo: Torbjørn Kjosvold / Forsvaret
The 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (French: 1er Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine, 1er RPIMa) is one of three regiments (1er RPIMa, 13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes (13e RDP), 4e RHFS) in the French Army Special Forces Brigade (BFST).
The 1er RPIMa is one of Europe's most experienced special forces units, and has been constantly operationally deployed right from the beginning of its new role over thirty years ago.
It takes advantage of an exceptional location in Bayonne, in South Western France, which enables all sort of training (amphibious, mountain…), and the proximity of dedicated assets of the French Army's 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment (4e RHFS) and airborne school (ETAP), two establishments that are essential for its training and operations.
The list of its recent operational deployments indicates a worldwide commitment that ranges from Afghanistan, to Africa and the Balkans. The acknowledged expertise of the Regiment is such that in recent years, many prominent European countries[who?] have entrusted it with the evacuation of their nationals in war-torn countries. The trust these countries have has never been misplaced and the 1er RPIMa has safely whisked out of harm's way hundreds of EU and foreign nationals in recent years.
Similarly, from the beginning of its involvement in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, first in 2001 and again from 2003 onwards, the Regiment has won high praises. The commitment of its members has been rewarded several times by the American forces in the form of Bronze Stars, Army Commendations and Army Achievement Medals.[citation needed]
The high level of expertise attained by the 1er RPIMa also makes it a highly sought-after partner in the development of Special Forces units abroad and the Regiment constantly receives requests for assistance in that specific field from sister units around the world.[citation needed]
Always the first to be deployed, the 1er RPIMa is at the forefront of France's defence. It is constantly on the lookout for new solutions and opportunities and thereby remains faithful to the motto of its SAS (Special Air Service) ancestors, "Who Dares Wins".