1 Para, New Role

[dannyd]

I was talking to a mate in 1 Para last Friday. I mentioned this to him & he gave me a blank look. Said as far as he knew it was just a rumour. Typical how the guy at the sharp end is always the last to know.

[Leigh Dowell]

I've been having problems getting on the forum and thought I'd sent this already so here goes again, I'm winding my neck in as I've now seen the big picture.
When I first heard about the cuts it seemed that the army had lost 4 Bns AND 1 Para where going off to play with the men with maskers over their eyes, I have now had eyes on the truth and see that Gen Jackson has been very canny and it is 3 Bns to go and 1 Para on permanent loan.
How they set it up and run it will be interesting and very expensive by the sounds of it I wonder if the treasury will be happy with the outcome when they see the bills coming in?
Cheers Leigh

[Guest]

Maybe the treasury has ditched the other 3 regular infantry battalions, so they can afford to have a semi-SF battalion, working alongside SF?

I find that amazing how the people that are going to be affected (the soldiers of 1 Para) dont even know themselves more than what they read in the papers. Perhaps your friend was not so up-to-date with the current situation danny?

I think they move will be good for the Paras. But i am concerned about how other soldiers are going to apply for it. Will passing P-Company be the only selection? Or, because they have moved into a more "SF-type" role, will there be a more SAS style selection; i.e. TQ, Bergen runs on your own and in small groups, etc... I, and im sure everyone else in the Paras, will be annoyed if soldiers can get into this new battalion easily, when the soldiers of 1 Para have all gone through depot, done P-Company, gone to Brize, and passed the Parachute Infantry training.

James

[Gazza85]

They might have to do pathfinder type selection. Isent that a mix of SAS and para training?

[Cobalt]

There had been quite a bit of talk around over the last couple of weeks about 3 Para splitting away from the Parachute Regiment to form the basis of a New Elite Battalion. Well in the todays statement it has turned out that it is 1 Para that is taking up this role, with a possibly move to Hereford. There has been talk that the Battalion will even specialize in mountain warfare along with many other things, so there should be interesting times ahead for the men of this Battalion. It has also been said that any one can apply for this unit from any of the other three services, well they can do very much the same thing if they want want to join the Para's. The thing I might have a problem is understanding just how a regiment loses it 1st Battalion so is just left with 2 & 3 Battalions, to me it just not sound very logical. Now for the name of this new unit any on any idea's, from what I can see it could wind up being called Parachute Regiment Ranger Section.

Hi Tab.

Apparently the way this is going to work is this 'Ranger' SF support Bn is going to be rotational. So at any one time two Bns will be in 16 AAB whilst another is roled as a 'Ranger' Bn, starting with 1 PARA.

I'm not sure if it will be a Bn group with arty support from 4/73 or 7 RHA and such.

From what I've heard the lads in 1 PARA haven't a clue what's going on. The first they knew of it was reading the morning papers.

The Hereford Gun Club have been asking for it for ages to free them from doing larger infantry-type tasks, such as in Afghanistan.

[Tab]

Cobalt

I don't know where you get the idea that 1 Para will be rotated every year or so on this Ranger business, but from what I have seen and read they have the best part of a years training in front of them to get them ready for this new role. Now if they are going rotate the Battalions then you would never get any of the them in the field. For no sooner that one is trained that they will step down and the next Battalion would then start training, by the the time you have trained all 3 battalions you would have to start again because of the number of changes that had taken place over the last two years.

[Cobalt]

Hi Tab,

I think the rotations, if that is how it's going to be done, will be two years at the very least. Still, I don't think anyone really knows what's happening. Seems like something different every time it's mentioned.

We'll just need to wait and see I suppose.

[Guest]

When are these reforms going to take place? I thought it wasnt going to be fully implemented until 2008?

[William]

Are the fellas in bn 2 and 3 worried that they might not get the deployments or training opportunities they have had in the past?

The Paras were the closest thing to SF the army had,now with this new unit,seems like they might have to sit out on operations wich would have had them working alongside RM or SAS otherwise.Just a thought,and as a Para hopeful,I dont like it.

[Tab]

Reading between the lines 1 Para will be used to cover some of the more mundane jobs that are now done by the SAS, leaving the SAS more free to get on with the other jobs that have made them a household name. With the conflicts going on in Afghanistan & Iraq plus all the other bits and pieces there are not enough special troops to go around, and that includes the SBS. They had to pick a unit to fill these holes and 1 Para had a very successful tour in Iraq not so long ago when they did a lot of covert observation work and I think this is what may have tipped the balance in their favour. Also my old Company did all that work along side the special forces in Serra Leone where they collected a hateful of MC.

[William]

Couldnt the Parachute regiment do this?! I am sure the lads would be more than willing to up-grade their training to include special operations.

Edit: What command is the Pathfinder platoon under? Could they not simply increase to company size and fill this role?

[Tab]

In 1 Para all the Pathfinders and Snipers are in D Company. D Company was formed after WW2 when the whole of B Company was killed at Arnhem. Not soul lived to tell the tale of the Battles that they where in. It was then decided that B Company would never be reformed so they formed D Company instead. Well as the years passed a new CO came in during the 1980 with no sense of history and scrapped D Company and reformed B instead as he thought it looked neater. Well they found that the D Company would not pass into history and they reformed it again in 2000 and it now holds all the specialist the Battalion