The 3rd Paratroopers Battalion (french: 3
ème Bataillon Parachutistes, nl, 3 Bataljon Parachutisten) is a military formation of the
Belgian Land Component
The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...
and part of the
Special Operations Regiment
The 21st Special Service Group (Abbreviation, Abbr.: 21 SSG, ) is a Command (military formation), command for Malaysian Army special forces, the ''Gerak Khas (Malaysian Army unit), Gerak Khas''. The 21 SSG and 10th Parachute Brigade (Malaysia), 10 ...
. It carries on the regimental traditions of the
Belgian Korean War volunteers.
Corps of Volunteers for Korea
After the outbreak of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
in 1950, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
asked the Belgian government for military assistance. Belgium, conscious of the vast cost and logistical difficulties of sending large numbers of men or equipment across the world, elected to put an elite unit under UN command.
Since the Belgian constitution forbade sending anyone but volunteers on overseas deployments in peacetime, it was not possible to send an existing battalion, so the
Belgian United Nations Command
The Volunteer Corps for Korea (french: Corps de Volontaires pour la Corée; nl, Vrijwilligerskorps voor Korea) was a Belgian–Luxembourg military force sent to assist South Korea during the Korean War. A battalion-sized unit, it arrived in Korea ...
(known as BUNC) was created. BUNC also incorporated a platoon of volunteer from Luxembourg. BUNC soldiers wore Brown Berets with a new cap badge to distinguish them from other Belgian units.
BUNC fought in several of the key engagements of the Korean War from 1951, including the
Battle of the Imjin River
The Battle of the Imjin River ( fil, Labanan sa Ilog Imjin), also known as the Battle of Solma-ri ( ko, 설마리 전투) or Battle of Gloster Hill () in South Korea, or as Battle of Xuemali () in China, took place 22–25 April 1951 during t ...
, the
Battle of Haktang-ni
The Battle of Haktang-Ni was a skirmish in the Korean War fought between a largely Belgian United Nations Command (UN) contingent and Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) forces between 9–13 October 1951, just north of the city of Chorwon.
...
and the
Battle of Chatkol
The Battle of Chatkol (also known as the 55 Nights of Chatkol) was the name given to the series of skirmishes between United Nations Command (UN) and Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) forces near the village of Chatkol at the centre of the Iro ...
. BUNC won
Presidential Unit Citation (United States)
The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...
and
Presidential Unit Citation (Republic of Korea) for its heroism, and citations for these battles are included on the Regimental Standard. Of the 3,000 Belgian soldiers who served in Korea, over 100 were killed in action between the battalion's arrival in 1951 and the 1953 armistice.
The last Belgian forces left Korea in 1955.
Major Operations
Congo
Somalia
Kosovo
Afghanistan
Niger
Peacekeeping
Somalia
In December 1992,
1st Paratroopers Battalion deployed to
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
as part of US-led
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
mission
Operation Restore Hope
The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...
. Their role involved protecting UN aid distribution, as well as searching out militants. The 3rd Paratroopers Battalion was later also deployed to the country.
In 1993, two soldiers of the 3rd Paratroopers Battalion were arrested, after a photo apparently showing two soldiers holding a Somali boy above a fire appeared in Belgian newspapers.
Two soldiers were put on trial in Belgium, but both were acquitted by a military tribunal through lack of evidence.
Lebanon
Soldiers from 3rd Paratroopers Battalion have been deployed to peace-keep in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
as part of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
UNIFIL
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...
mission. The Belgian force, known as BELUBAT (since it is also joint with
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
).
Composition
The battalion was bilingual (French-Dutch) from its creation until 1982, but is now Dutch speaking only.
The 3rd Paratrooper Battalion and the
2nd Commando Battalion personnel are all trained identically, and are designated as a Paracommando's on completion of their training, Personnel allocated to the 3rd Paratrooper Battalion are awarded the Paratrooper Maroon Beret, and wear the Paratrooper Qualification Brevet above the right side chest Pocket along with Belgian "Commando Dagger" brevet on the upper right sleeve
Organisation
The 3rd Paratroopers Battalion comprises:
* Headquarters Company
* 17th Paratroopers Company
* 22nd Paratroopers Company
The 21st Paratroopers Company was disbanded when the
Special Operations Regiment
The 21st Special Service Group (Abbreviation, Abbr.: 21 SSG, ) is a Command (military formation), command for Malaysian Army special forces, the ''Gerak Khas (Malaysian Army unit), Gerak Khas''. The 21 SSG and 10th Parachute Brigade (Malaysia), 10 ...
was formed from the
Light Brigade.
See also
*
King Philippe, a member of the battalion in 1983.
References
External links
*
{{Belgian Paracommando Units
Airborne units and formations of Belgium
Battalions of Belgium
Military units and formations established in 1950
1950 establishments in Belgium
Parachuting in Belgium