Paratrooper Battalion 261 (Germany)
Encyclopedia
The Paratrooper Battalion 261 (Fallschirmjägerbataillon 261) is one of the three combat battalions of the German Army's Airborne Brigade 26, which is a part of the Special Operations Division. Paratrooper Battalion 261 is fully airmobile and can act both as air assault infantry or be dropped by parachute into the area of operations.

History

The battalion was activated as Airborne Infantry Battalion 9 (Luftlandejägerbataillon 9) on September 3, 1956, being the first combat battalion of the now defunct Airborne Brigade 25. Since 1961, the headquarters of the battalion have been hosted in Lebach
Lebach
Lebach is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km northeast of Saarlouis, and 20 km north of Saarbrücken.-External links:*...

. The arsenal of the battalion was attacked and robbed in 1969. Four of the sentries were killed in cold blood.
The unit temporarily belonged to the multiliteral AMF(L) Brigade. It has taken part in overseas operations since 1993 when large parts of the battalion deployed to Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

. Since then, Paratrooper Battalion 261 has taken part in numerous operations all over the globe and spent much time in northern Afghanistan battling the resurgent Taliban insurgency. In 2007, thirty troops received the great honour of an invitation to the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...

 parade.

Structure

  • Paratrooper Battalion 261
    • Command- and support company
      • K9
        Police dog
        A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...

         platoon
      • Scout platoon
    • 2nd Parachute Infantry Company
    • 3rd Parachute Infantry Company
    • 4th Parachute Infantry Company
    • 5th Fire Support Company
    • 6th Parachute Infantry Company (Training and Force Protection
      Force protection
      Force protection or FP is a term used by the US military to describe preventive measures taken to mitigate hostile actions in specific areas or against a specific populous, usually Department of Defense personnel , resources, facilities, and critical information.-See also:*Pentagon Force Protection...

      )

External links


See also

  • Special Operations Division (Germany)
  • Fallschirmjäger
    Fallschirmjäger
    are German paratroopers. Together with the Gebirgsjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army....

  • Kunduz Province Campaign
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK