The Paratrooper Battalion 263 (''Fallschirmjägerbataillon 263'') was 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 263 was fully airmobile and could act both as air assault infantry or could be dropped by parachute into the area of operations.

History

The battalion was activated as the third combat battalion of Airborne Brigade 26 on April 1, 1982. Since 1985, the headquarters of the battalion have been hosted in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...

. 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, , 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 ...

. Since then, Paratrooper Battalion 263 has taken part in numerous operations all over the globe and spent much time in northern Afghanistan, as part of the

Kunduz Province Campaign The following addresses the events in Northern Afghanistan between April 2009 and 2014. While this part of the country had long been relatively peaceful compared to the all-out war zones of the south and east, tensions would flare up again i ...

, battling the resurgent

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

insurgency. In 2006, the battalion attracted attention when some of its infantrymen were involved in the desecration of an Afghan cemetery. Nonetheless, with four of the nation's highest awards for gallantry - among other - having been awarded to its members, Paratrooper Battalion 263 is the most decorated unit of the modern German Army. In 2008, the battalion's 2nd company suffered casualties to the amount of one quarter of its manpower. Following a restructuring of the German armed forces, the battalion was integrated into the newly raised Paratrooper Regiment 26.

Structure

* Paratrooper Battalion 263 ** Command- and support company *** K9 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 (FP) refers to the concept of protecting military personnel, family members, civilians, facilities, equipment and operations from threats or hazards in order to preserve operational effectiveness and contribute to mission succes ...

)

References

External links

Official Website of Paratrooper Battalion 263

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

{{coord, 49, 15, 38, N, 7, 23, 08, E, region:DE-RP_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Military units and formations established in 1982 Battalions of the Bundeswehr Airborne units and formations of Germany 1982 establishments in West Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Germany

History

Structure

See also

References

External links