Normal infantry to para

[Fusilier]

Ok mate I think we are making some headway.

'aggressive' attitude they displayed in contacts

I did give you credit for that mate in my other posts. Yet aggression could have been counter productive in N.Ireland and in UN situations.




I agree the Marines are the best looking, they do seems to get all the ugly birds. Me and my mates in Anti-Tanks had to make do with the models. I think the Para's just took each other home.

[dwarfy]

Ok mate I think we are making some headway.

'aggressive' attitude they displayed in contacts

I did give you credit for that mate in my other posts. Yet aggression could have been counter productive in N.Ireland and in UN situations.




I agree the Marines are the best looking, they do seems to get all the ugly birds. Me and my mates in Anti-Tanks had to make do with the models. I think the Para's just took each other home.

Lets not forget that 3Cdo Brigade deployed as the bulk forces on Op Haven in the first Gulf war to assist the Kurdish population back into their homes, this was essentially a 'relief' operation. Also those that took part in the assualt on the Al Faw Peninsular and Umm Qsar quickly and admirably undertook a 'peace keeping' stance after the 'war fighting' was complete during the initial and preceeding Op Telics.

Ugly birds? No such creature exists...

Gronks on the other hand.....

[Fusilier]

You get the credit for the above mate...........but only if you also take the credit for getting Iran and Iraq territorial waters alllll mixed up.


I really do understand how it's done, well it all looks the same


Now about this superior map reading you and your mates have.

[Fusilier]

got1

Stick to looking after your tropical fish mate

Belated reply as I only just saw this little GEM.


No problem mate, I will stick to watching my beautiful tropical in my four foot tank. While you sit on a river bank in the pissing rain while eating a Pot Noodle and then throw them all back..

[riflebutt]

each regiment has their own good soldiers who go on to do SAS or recieve a medal for gallantry so there's no real point in arguing

[Paratrooper01]

Alot of para reg believe in themselves and each other and everyone else is a craphat, as the quote goes.

Even ex members of a para reg battalion who have gone on to bigger and better things in their careers in the military are no longer looked upon as being a para reg soldier, and are therefore inferior. Its the way the regiment works and its the mentality alot the soldiers and officers have (not all, some). Perhaps its what makes the regiment tick. I personally believe it creates a massive amount of camaraderie amongst the blokes when you all believe "f@#k it, we are the shit. we are the best unit out there and i feel aggressive and determined in battle when i have fellow paratroopers either side of me".

Now if that helps the soldiers to fight through that enemy position with bullet and bayonet then i couldnt give a shit what people think about us. It wasnt just fitness that helped us in the Falklands, Sierra Leone, Telic and Herrick, it was that aggressive mindset that paratroopers posses.

What i dont like is throwing a whole blanket over the British army and saying "your all shit", because thats just not true.

[Fusilier]

Most Infantry soldiers I have met thought the very same way mate it's part of the training. Regiment against Regiment, Battalion against Battalion Company against Company, Platoon etc etc blah blah.

Paras call others crap hats and in return they where called pigeon shi* etc, pit bulls, brave, loyal, hard as shi* but not to much going on upstairs. Like I said they are a great Regiment. It's not original to have a pop at other Regiments it's just part of the game.

The Paras are a young Regiment if you did a search on Battle honours you would understand what I mean. ( Royal Welsh.)

Most units I met did not think they were shi* because history and experience confirmed the opposite.


Many Regiments have been doing the shi* for hundreds of years against the best the world at that time had and they don’t see the need to keep reaffirming who they are.


Just one simple example I got from the internet about my own Ex Regiment, 2 RRF.

In 2006, A Company Group 2RRF fought the longest defensive battle British troops have been involved since Korea, with 107 days spent in contact with the Taliban in Now Zad, Helmand Province Afghanistan.

I bet them boys think they are the dogs big bollo**s.



If you had walked up to a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders or the now Black Watch / Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and say, "I'm a Para and the shi*. The Jock most probably would reply "I and so are we now fuc* off."



Wear that maroon with pride, you have earned it.

[Paratrooper01]

The Paras are a young Regiment if you did a search on Battle honours you would understand what I mean. ( Royal Welsh.)

So my regiment has only been around since WWII. Look at the achievements we have accomplished since...

I think it speaks for itself the fact that the Parachute regiment was CHOSEN to be first into Helmand Province in 2006, and to serve alongside the SAS in Sierra Leone and to be the first major number of troops to land on the beaches in the Falklands, to name just a few.

Just because the Rifles and the Black watch (for example) have been around for donkeys, it has no correlation whatsoever to their performance in today's army; because if it was, they would be the ones chosen to be first in to Afghanistan, and to air assault into Sierra Leone etc.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for the Fusiliers who served in Now Zad in 2006. I had a mate who served with them and i was serving with the Gurkhas who held the district center before RRF. However, you are trying to iron out the infantry and suggest that everyone is as good as each other. Well if that was the case why is there a section on this website devoted to the Parachute Regiment and not any other line infantry regiment; because whenever anyone talks about the elite of the British Army they first and foremost talk about the SAS and the Parachute regiment.

[Fusilier]

Mate the Army is full of specialist or Elite units. Try 58 Field Squadron (EOD) or a Royal Engineers specialist diver. How about Specialist Surgical Teams etc etc.

How many of your pals could fly a platform or put a Challenger 2 back in operation in the field. It's all about perspective.

I don't want to trade tit for tat because I am not trying to demean what the Para’s do or are, more elevate others.

The Para’s had a pretty average if not less than average history in N. Ireland they were not the first choice for Eastern Europe. They were not the first choice for the 1st Gulf War. Yes they go in first because that is the purpose of shock troops. Others are doing the job after, just as well in fact receiving major credit.

Just because the Rifles and the Black watch (for example) have been around for donkeys, it has no correlation whatsoever to their performance in today's army; because

Sorry mate but no, they are great Regiments still doing the business. The difference is they have been dong it for hundreds of years and have a rich history.


I am not trying to iron anything only attempt for you not to shallow the old shi* that everyone is a crap hat and prat who wished they could be Airborne, they don’t.

I saw Para’s loss at inter Regiment competitions, fail courses and take a beating in the ring. As a unit they have a certain role which they more than exceed and I admire them. If all the other Infantry units were pants then they would not be being selected for the SAS over Para's. Para's fail and plenty other units pass and I do know the Para's are well represented in the SAS but my point still stands.


Let me try a little hearted reply. I am a refinery or chemical operator. The office look down on us because we wear overalls. The laboratory look down on us because our strength is experience not qualifications. The new young grads think we are grunts because we have not been to Uni, the fitters look down on us because we are not tradesmen . Guess what ? ? ? ? we look down on all the dopes because we earn the most. It's a funny old world.