Paratroopers Brigade

Paratroopers Brigade

The Paratroopers Brigade חטיבת הצנחנים is a unit of paratroopers within the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). It has a history of carrying out special forces style missions dating back to the 1950s. It is currently involved primarily in counter-terror operations within the West Bank.

The brigade was created at the mid 1950's were the contraversial deep commando Unit 101 was merged with Battalion 890 in order to form an elite infantry brigade. The new unit was mounted with the IMI Uzi submachine gun as primary weapon as it provided light and small automatic fire frame - an essential properties for a recon unit and a commando.

The goals in creating the Paratroopers brigades were:

To have an elite infantry force.
To innovate and improve fighting skills within other infantry units.
To raise the next generation of military commanders and officers.

The first commander of the Paratroopers Brigade was Ariel Sharon.

The Paratroopers Brigades had only one operational combat parachute. It was during 1956 Sinai War.

In the following years, the brigade was the source for many Israeli Chiefs of Staff, including Shaul Mofaz and Moshe Ya'alon. The Paratroopers Brigades is distinguished by a red beret and red boots.