SWAT

A SWAT (special weapons and tactics)[1][2] team is an elite paramilitary tactical unit in American and some international law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers. Their duties include performing hostage rescues and counter-terrorism operations, serving high risk arrest and search warrants, subduing barricaded suspects, and engaging heavily-armed criminals. A SWAT team is often equipped with specialized firearms including assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, carbines, riot control agents, stun grenades, and high-powered rifles for snipers. They have specialized equipment including heavy body armor, entry tools, armored vehicles, advanced night vision optics, and motion detectors for covertly determining the positions of hostages or hostage takers inside of an enclosed structure.

The first SWAT team was established in the Los Angeles Police Department in 1968. Since then, many American police departments, especially in major cities and at the federal and state-levels of government, have established their own elite units under various names; these units, regardless of their official name, are referred to collectively as SWAT teams in colloquial usag

History
The LAPD SWAT was the first in the United States.

The development of SWAT in its modern incarnation is usually given as beginning with reference in particular to then-inspector Daryl Gates of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

As far as the LAPD SWAT team's beginning, Gates explained in his autobiography Chief: My Life in the LAPD that he neither developed SWAT tactics nor its distinctive equipment. Gates wrote that he supported the concept, tried to empower his people to develop the concept, and lent them moral support.[3] Gates originally named the platoon "Special Weapons Assault Team", however, due to popular protest this name was turned down by his boss, then-deputy police chief Ed Davis for sounding too much like a military organization. Wanting to keep the acronym "SWAT", Gates changed its expansion ("explanation") to "special weapons and tactics".

While the public face of SWAT was made known through the LAPD, perhaps because of its proximity to the mass media and the size and professionalism of the Department itself, the first SWAT operations were conducted far north of Los Angeles in the farming community of Delano, California on the border between Kern and Tulare Counties in the great San Joaquin Valley. César Chavez' United Farm Workers was staging numerous protests in Delano, both at cold storage facilities and in front of non-supportive farm workers' homes on the city streets. Delano Police Department answered the issues that arose by forming the first-ever units using special weapons and tactics. Television news stations and print media carried live and delayed reportage of these events across the nation. Personnel from the LAPD, having seen these broadcasts, contacted Delano PD and inquired about the program. One officer then obtained permission to observe Delano Police Department's special weapons and tactics in action, and afterwards took what he had learned back to Los Angeles where his knowledge was used and expanded on to form their first SWAT unit.

John Nelson was the officer who came up with the idea to form a specially trained and equipped unit in the LAPD, intended to respond to and manage critical situations involving shootings while minimizing police casualties. Inspector Gates approved this idea, and he formed a small select group of volunteer officers. This first SWAT unit initially consisted of fifteen teams of four men each, for a total staff of sixty. These officers were given special status and benefits. They were required to attend special monthly training. This unit also served as a security unit for police facilities during civil unrest. The LAPD SWAT units were organized as "D Platoon" in the Metro division.[3]

A report issued by the Los Angeles Police Department, following a shootout with the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974, offers one of the few firsthand accounts by the department regarding SWAT history, operations, and organization.[4]

On page 100 of the report, the Department cites four trends which prompted the development of SWAT. These included riots such as the Watts Riots, which in the 1960s forced police departments into tactical situations for which they were ill-prepared, the emergence of snipers as a challenge to civil order, the appearance of the political assassin, and the threat of urban guerrilla warfare by militant groups. "The unpredictability of the sniper and his anticipation of normal police response increase the chances of death or injury to officers. To commit conventionally trained officers to a confrontation with a guerrilla-trained militant group would likely result in a high number of casualties among the officers and the escape of the guerrillas." To deal with these under conditions of urban violence, the LAPD formed SWAT, notes the report.

The report states on page 109, "The purpose of SWAT is to provide protection, support, security, firepower, and rescue to police operations in high personal risk situations where specialized tactics are necessary to minimize casualties."

On February 7, 2008, a siege and subsequent firefight with a gunman in Winnetka, California led to the first line-of-duty death of a member of the LAPD's SWAT team in its 41 years of existence.[5]
[edit] SWAT duties
Members of the U.S. Air Force 60th Security Forces Squadron SWAT Team, Travis Air Force Base, California, USA practice hostage rescue.

SWAT duties include:

* Hostage rescue.
* Crime suppression.
* Riot control.
* Perimeter security against snipers for visiting dignitaries.
* Providing superior assault firepower in certain situations, e.g. barricaded suspects.
* Rescuing officers and citizens captured or endangered by gunfire.
* Countering terrorist operations in cities.
* Resolving high-risk situations with a minimum loss of life, injury, or property damage.
* Resolving situations involving barricaded subjects (specifically covered by a Hostage Barricade Team).
* Stabilizing situations involving high-risk suicidal subjects.
* Providing assistance on drug raids, arrest warrants, and search warrants.
* Providing additional security at special events.
* Stabilizing dangerous situations dealing with violent criminals (such as rapists, serial killers or gangs).
* Armed patrols

[edit] Notable events

The first significant deployment of LAPD's SWAT unit was on December 9, 1969, in a four-hour confrontation with members of the Black Panthers. The Panthers eventually surrendered, with three Panthers and three officers being injured. By 1974, there was a general acceptance of SWAT as a resource for the city and county of Los Angeles.

On the afternoon of May 17, 1974, elements of a group which called itself the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a group of heavily-armed left-wing guerillas, barricaded themselves in a residence on East 54th Street at Compton Avenue in Los Angeles. Coverage of the siege was broadcast to millions via television and radio and featured in the world press for days after. Negotiations were opened with the barricaded suspects on numerous occasions, both prior to and after the introduction of tear gas. Police units did not fire until the SLA had fired several volleys of semi-automatic and automatic gunfire at them. In spite of the 3,772 rounds fired by the SLA, no uninvolved citizens or police officers sustained injury from gunfire.

During the gun battle, a fire erupted inside the residence. The cause of the fire is officially unknown, although police sources speculated that an errant round ignited one of the suspects' Molotov cocktails. Others suspect that the repeated use of tear gas grenades, which function by burning chemicals at high temperatures, started the structure fire. All six of the suspects suffered multiple gunshot wounds and perished in the ensuing blaze.
U.S. Air Force 37th Training Wing's Emergency Services Team use a team lift technique to enter a target building during training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, USA.

By the time of the SLA shoot-out, SWAT teams had reorganized into six 10-man teams, each team consisting of two five-man units, called elements. An element consisted of an element leader, two assaulters, a scout, and a rear-guard. The normal complement of weapons was a sniper rifle (apparently a .243-caliber bolt-action, judging from the ordnance expended by officers at the shootout), two .223-caliber semi-automatic rifles, and two shotguns. SWAT officers also carried their service revolvers in shoulder holsters. The normal gear issued them included a first aid kit, gloves, and a gas mask. In fact it was a change just to have police armed with semi-automatic rifles, at a time when officers were usually issued six-shot revolvers and shotguns. The encounter with the heavily-armed Symbionese Liberation Army, however, sparked a trend towards SWAT teams being issued body armor and automatic weapons of various types.

The Columbine High School massacre in Colorado on April 20, 1999 was another seminal event in SWAT tactics and police response. As noted in an article in the Christian Science Monitor, "Instead of being taught to wait for the SWAT team to arrive, street officers are receiving the training and weaponry to take immediate action during incidents that clearly involve suspects' use of deadly force."[6][dead link]

The article further reported that street officers were increasingly being armed with rifles, and issued heavy body armor and ballistic helmets, items traditionally associated with SWAT units. The idea is to train and equip street officers to make a rapid response to so-called active-shooter situations. In these situations, it was no longer acceptable to simply set up a perimeter and wait for SWAT.

As an example, in the policy and procedure manual of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Department, it is stated, "MPD personnel shall remain cognizant of the fact that in many active shooter incidents, innocent lives are lost within the first few minutes of the incident. In some situations, this dictates the need to rapidly assess the situation and act quickly in order to save lives."[7]

With this shift in police response, SWAT units remain in demand for their traditional roles as hostage rescue, counter-terrorist operations, and serving high-risk warrants.
[edit] Organization

The relative infrequency of SWAT call-outs means these expensively-trained and equipped officers cannot be left to sit around, waiting for an emergency. In many departments the officers are normally deployed to regular duties, but are available for SWAT calls via pagers, mobile phones or radio transceivers. Even in the larger police agencies, such as the Los Angeles PD, SWAT personnel would normally be seen in crime suppression roles—specialized and more dangerous than regular patrol, perhaps, but the officers wouldn't be carrying their distinctive armor and weapons.

By illustration, the LAPD's website shows that in 2003, their SWAT units were activated 255 times,[8] for 133 SWAT calls and 122 times to serve high-risk warrants.

The New York Police Department's Emergency Service Unit is one of the few civilian police special-response units that operate autonomously 24 hours a day. However, this unit also provides a wide range of services, including search and rescue functions, and vehicle extraction, normally handled by fire departments or other agencies.

The need to summon widely-dispersed personnel, then equip and brief them, makes for a long lag between the initial emergency and actual SWAT deployment on the ground. The problems of delayed police response at the 1999 Columbine High School shooting has led to changes in police response,[9] mainly rapid deployment of line officers to deal with an active shooter, rather than setting up a perimeter and waiting for SWAT to arrive.
[edit] Training
United States Mint Police Special Response Team

SWAT officers are selected from volunteers within their law enforcement organization. Depending on the department's policy, officers generally have to serve a minimum tenure within the department before being able to apply for a specialist section such as SWAT. This tenure requirement is based on the fact that SWAT officers are still law enforcement officers and must have a thorough knowledge of department policies and procedures.

SWAT applicants undergo rigorous selection and training. Applicants must pass stringent physical agility, written, oral, and psychological testing to ensure they are not only fit enough but also psychologically suited for tactical operations.

Emphasis is placed on physical fitness so an officer will be able to withstand the rigors of tactical operations. After an officer has been selected, the potential member must undertake and pass numerous specialist courses that will make him or her a fully qualified SWAT operator. Officers are trained in marksmanship for the development of accurate shooting skills. Other training that could be given to potential members includes training in explosives, sniper-training, defensive tactics, first-aid, negotiation, handling K9 units, rappelling and roping techniques and the use of specialized weapons and equipment. They may also be trained specifically in the handling and use of special ammunition such as bean bags, flash bang grenades, tasers, and the use of crowd control methods, and special less-than-lethal munitions. Of primary importance is close-quarters defensive tactics training, as this will be the primary mission upon becoming a full-fledged SWAT officer.
[edit] SWAT equipment

SWAT teams use equipment designed for a variety of specialist situations including close quarters combat (CQC) in an urban environment. The particular pieces of equipment vary from unit to unit, but there are some consistent trends in what they wear and use.
[edit] Weapons

While a wide variety of weapons are used by SWAT teams, the most common weapons include submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, and sniper rifles.

Tactical aids include K9 Units, flash bang, stinger and tear gas grenades.

Semi-automatic pistols are the most popular sidearms. Examples may include, but are not limited to: M1911 pistol series,[10][11] Sig Sauer series [12][13] (especially the Sig P226[11][13][14] and Sig P229) Beretta 92 series,[13] Glock pistols,[12][15][11][16][17][18] H&K USP series,[13][19] and 5.7x28mm FN Five-seven pistol.[20]

Common submachine guns used by SWAT teams include the 9 mm and 10 mm Heckler & Koch MP5,[10][11][12][13][17][18][19] Heckler & Koch UMP,[11] and 5.7x28mm FN P90.[21]

Common shotguns used by SWAT units include the Benelli M1,[17][18][22] Benelli M1014, Remington 870[10][11][14][17] and 1100, Mossberg 500 and 590.[13]

Common carbines include the Colt CAR-15 [10][11][16][17] & M4 [11][12][14][19] and H&K G36[18] & HK416.[23] While affording SWAT teams increased penetration and accuracy at longer ranges, the compact size of these weapons is essential as SWAT units frequently operate in CQB environments. The Colt M16A2[12][14][19] can be found used by marksmen or SWAT officers when a longer ranged weapon is needed.[10] The Heckler & Koch G3 series [17] is also common among marksmen or snipers, as well as the M14 rifle and the Remington 700P.[10][12][14][17][18][19] Many different variants of bolt action rifles are used by SWAT, including limited use of .50 caliber sniper rifles.[24]

To breach doors quickly, battering rams, shotguns, or explosive charges can be used to break the lock or hinges, or even demolish the door frame itself. SWAT teams also use many less-lethal munitions and weapons. These include Tasers, pepper spray canisters, shotguns loaded with bean bag rounds, PepperBall guns, Stinger grenades, Flash Bang grenades, and tear gas. PepperBall guns are essentially paint ball markers loaded with balls containing Oleoresin Capsicum ("pepper spray").
[edit] Vehicles
Dallas Police SWAT's Lenco BearCat Armored Rescue Vehicle. Similar Lenco models are also used by larger departments such as the LAPD and NYPD.

SWAT units may also employ ARVs, (Armored Rescue Vehicle[25]) for insertion, maneuvering, or during tactical operations such as the rescue of civilians/officers pinned down by gunfire. Helicopters may be used to provide aerial reconnaissance or even insertion via rappelling or fast-roping. To avoid detection by suspects during insertion in urban environments, SWAT units may also use modified buses, vans, trucks, or other seemingly normal vehicles. An incident in 1997, the SWAT used a standard armored truck for emergency uses.

Units such as the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Special Response Team (SRT) used a vehicle called a B.E.A.R., made by Lenco Engineering which is a very large armored vehicle with a ladder on top to make entry into the second and third floors of buildings. Numerous other agencies such as the LAPD,[26][27] LASD [27] and NYPD use both the B.E.A.R. and the smaller BearCat variant.

The Tulsa Police Department's SOT (Special Operations Team) uses an Alvis Saracen, a British-built armored personnel carrier. The Saracen was modified to accommodate the needs of the SOT. A Night Sun was mounted on top and a ram was mounted to the front. The Saracen has been used from warrant service to emergency response. It has enabled team members to move from one point to another safely.

The police depa

Erwin Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel info dengarkan (lahir 15 November 1891 – meninggal 14 Oktober 1944 pada umur 52 tahun) adalah seorang komandan pasukan Jerman pada era Perang Dunia II. Perdana Menteri Britania Raya Sir Winston Churchill, yang waktu itu adalah musuh bebuyutan Jerman, pernah terang-terangan memberikan salut kepada jenderal jenius ini di Parlemen. Pada akhir hayatnya ketika ditanya mengapa dia memuji musuh, Churchil mengatakan "Saya tidak menyesal memuji Rommel"

Masa muda

Erwin Rommel dilahirkan di Heidenheim, sekitar 50 km dari kota Ulm, di negara bagian Württemberg, Jerman bagian selatan. Anak kedua seorang kepala sekolah menengah di Aalen ini pada usia 14 tahun bersama teman-teman membuat sebuah pesawat layang (glider) yang berhasil terbang, meski tidak jauh. Rommel muda ingin belajar teknik, namun ayahnya tidak menyetujuinya dan menyuruhnya bergabung dengan Resimen Infantri ke-24 Württemberg sebagai kadet pada 1910 dan segera dikirim ke Sekolah Kadet Militer di Danzig.

Pada 1911, kadet Rommel berkenalan dengan Lucie Maria Mollin, yang kemudian dinikahinya pada 1916. Pada November 1911, Rommel menyelesaikan pendidikannya dan mendapat pangkat Letnan di Wehrmacht/Angkatan Darat Jerman pada Januari 1912.
[sunting] Perang Dunia I

Saat pecah Perang Dunia I tahun 1914, Rommel tergabung dengan pasukan elit Alpen Korps dengan pangkat letnan dan bertugas di front barat: Perancis dan Rumania. Terluka sebanyak tiga kali, Rommel mendapat anugerah bintang jasa Iron Cross kelas satu dan kelas dua pada Januari 1915.

Pada 1917 Rommel bertugas di front Italia, dan usai memimpin penyerangan Monte Matajur dipromosikan sebagai kapten. Segera sesudahnya, Rommel dan sekelompok kecil anak buahnya merenangi Sungai Piave untuk merebut garnisun pasukan Italia di Lognaroni. Pertempuran ini menyebabkan dirinya dianugrahi bintang jasa tertinggi di Angkatan Perang Jerman, yaitu Pour le Mérite, bintang jasa yang biasanya diberikan hanya pada para jenderal. Pasukannya juga memainkan peranan penting dalam pertempuran di Caporetto, kunci kemenangan Jerman atas Angkatan Darat Italia.
[sunting] Menjelang Perang Dunia II

Usai perang, Rommel tetap berdinas di Wehrmacht dan pada 1929 diangkat menjadi instruktur di Sekolah Infantri di Dresden. Pada Oktober 1935 dia naik pangkat menjadi letnan kolonel dan mulai mengajar di Akademi Militer Potsdam.

Sebagai guru yang luar biasa, bahan-bahan kuliah Rommel yang bersumber dari buku hariannya selama Perang Dunia I diterbitkan sebagai buku taktik-taktik infantri (Infanterie greift an) pada 1937. Buku ini dibaca oleh Adolf Hitler yang saking terkesannya menugaskan Rommel melatih Hitler Jügend pada tahun itu. Pada tahun 1938, Rommel, yang sudah berpangkat kolonel, ditunjuk sebagai komandan Akademi Perang di Wiener Neustadt. Di sekolah itu, dia menulis buku lanjutan bukunya yang pertama (Infantry Attacks), yaitu Panzer greift an (Tank Attacks, sering diterjemahkan sebagai Tank in Attacks). Dia dipindahkan tak lama kemudian dan ditempatkan dalam batalyon pengawal pribadi Adolf Hitler (Führer-Begleitbattalion).
[sunting] Perang Dunia II

Pada musim gugur 1938, Hitler menunjuk Rommel untuk memimpin unit Wehrmacht yang bertugas melindungi kunjungannya ke Cekoslowakia yang baru saja dianeksasi Jerman. Menjelang invasi ke Polandia, Rommel dipromosikan sebagai Mayor Jenderal dan Komandan Führer-Begleitbattalion yang bertanggungjawab atas pengamanan markas besar bergerak Hitler selama invasi.
[sunting] Perancis 1940

Tiga bulan setelah invasi Polandia, Rommel mendapat perintah mengomandoi Divisi Panzer ke-7 yang menginvasi Perancis pada Operasi Fall Gelb, Mei 1940. Pasukannya bergerak maju lebih cepat dan lebih jauh dari pasukan-pasukan lain dalam sejarah militer dunia dan mendapat julukan Gespenster-Division (Divisi Hantu), saking sulitnya dideteksi keberadaannya bahkan oleh markas besar Wehrmacht.

Divisi Panzer ke-7 merupakan unit pasukan Jerman pertama yang mencapai Selat Inggris pada 10 Juni 1940, Lalu dia memutar ke selatan, merebut pelabuhan penting Cherbourg pada 19 Juni, dan melaju sepanjang pesisir Perancis hingga mencapai perbatasan Spanyol.

Selama pertempuran di Perancis tersebut, ia tidak henti-hentinya mengalami keberhasilan. Salah satunya pada pertempuran di Arras. Rommel memang seorang yang tahan banting. Pada fase pertama pertempuran ini, Divisi Panzer ke-7 berhasil dipukul mundur oleh tentara Sekutu pimpinan Mayjen Harold Franklyn, tetapi hal ini tidak berlangsung lama. Setelah ia berhasil mengumpulkan kekuatan kembali, akhirnya ia berhasil mengalahkan tentara sekutu pada fase kedua pertempuran.
[sunting] Afrika Utara 1941-1943
Panglima Tertinggi Erwin Rommel, Komandan Angkatan Jerman di Afrika Utara, dengan para pembantunya selama kampanye gurun pada tahun 1942

Sebagai penghargaan, Rommel dipromosikan menjadi Jenderal dan panglima dari 2 divisi AD Jerman yaitu Divisi Ringan ke-5 (kemudian direorganisir dan redesain sebagai Divisi Panzer ke-21) dan Divisi Panzer ke-15, yang dikirim ke Libya pada awal 1941 untuk menolong pasukan Italia yang menderita kekalahan besar di front Afrika Utara. Pasukannya inilah cikal bakal terbentuknya Deutsches Afrika Korps. Pasukan barunya ini berhasil memukul mundur Tentara ke-8 Inggris (British 8th Army) keluar dari Tobruk di Libya. Pasukannya merangsek terus ke Mesir tapi berhasil dipatahkan di 'Alamain. Begitu tentara Amerika Serikat mendarat di Maroko dan Aljazair, pasukannya ditarik mundur meninggalkan Tunisia. Kiprahnya di medan pertempuran di padang pasir Afrika Utara itu membuatnya dijuluki "Rubah Padang Pasir" ("The Desert Fox")

Kejeniusannya dalam taktik perang infantri, didukung kecanggihan teknologi panser Jerman dan kedisiplinan pasukannya yang tinggi membuat Jerman unggul. Sayang sekali, kesuksesan ini tidak terlalu mendapat tanggapan serius dari Reichführer Hitler. Kurangnya pasokan logistik, amunisi dan bahan bakar dikarenakan perhatian Hitler ke front Rusia dan upaya menyerbu Inggris serta adanya blokade Angkatan Laut Inggris di Laut Tengah menyebabkan pasukan Afrika Korps tidak mampu melanjutkan pertempuran dan terus mengalami kekalahan.
[sunting] Benteng Atlantik 1943-1944

Rommel yang terserang infeksi saluran pernafasan ditarik pulang ke Jerman. Ada dugaan kekalahannya di El Alamein dan penarikan mundur pasukannya dari Thubruq membuat Hitler berang. Kembali ke Jerman, Rommel sempat menganggur. Akan tetapi saat serangan Sekutu makin gencar, Rommel ditunjuk sebagai Panglima Grup B Wehrmacht, yang bertugas mempertahankan pantai Perancis dari kemungkinan invasi Sekutu. Di bawah komandonya termasuk barisan pertahanan Benteng Atlantik (Atlantic Wall) yang akhirnya tidak mampu menahan invasi Sekutu pada 6 Juni 1944.
[sunting] Plot Anti-Hitler
Makam Panglima Tertinggi Erwin Rommel, di Herrlingen (Blaustein), Jerman

Pada 17 Juli 1944, dalam perjalanan pulang dari front, mobil Rommel diberondong pesawat Spitfire Angkatan Udara Kanada. Rommel terluka parah dan harus menjalani perawatan di rumah sakit. Pada saat yang sama, terbongkarlah konspirasi politik yang ingin menghabisi Hitler (Plot 20 Juli). Keterlibatan beberapa orang dekatnya menyebabkan Rommel dicurigai terlibat dalam upaya kudeta tersebut. Mengingat popularitas Rommel di mata rakyat Jerman, Hitler memberinya pilihan: bunuh diri dengan menenggak sianida atau mengaku di depan pengadilan rakyat (Volksgerichtshof). Rommel memilih mengakhiri hidupnya dengan sianida pada 14 Oktober 1944 dan dimakamkan secara kebesaran militer.

Setelah usai perang, istrinya menyatakan bahwa Rommel menentang plot tersebut karena ingin menghindari anggapan generasi penerus Jerman bahwa Jerman kalah di Perang Dunia II karena Hitler ditikam dari belakang, sebagaimana halnya yang terjadi pasca Perang Dunia ke-1 manakala sebagian besar anggota Wehrmacht tidak mau menyerah begitu saja kepada Sekutu. Rommel mengusulkan kepada kelompok Plot 20 Juli untuk menangkap Hitler dan menyeretnya ke pengadilan rakyat. Sayangnya plot tersebut terbongkar lebih dahulu sebelum dilaksanakan.

Buku harian Rommel lantas diterbitkan dengan judul The Rommel's Papers. Dan pada tahun 1951, sebuah perusahaan film Inggris memproduksi film berjudul The Desert Fox. Meski sebagian besar tokoh Nazi mendapat caci-maki dan dihukum oleh Sekutu, Rommel tetap dikenang kebesarannya dan sampai saat ini merupakan satu-satunya tokoh Reich Ketiga yang memiliki museum mengenang dirinya dan karirnya.

Tadamichi Kuribayashi

Tadamichi Kuribayashi (栗林忠道, 7 Juli 1891-23 Maret 1945) adalah seorang perwira tinggi Jepang dalam Perang Dunia II yang terkenal prestasinya dalam Pertempuran Iwo Jima. Tugas mempertahankan pulau kecil ini diberikan padanya oleh Jenderal Hideki Tojo. Dalam pertempuran ini dia memimpin kurang lebih 20.000 pasukan tanpa dukungan angkatan udara dan laut melawan 100.000 pasukan Amerika Serikat. Hampir seluruh prajuritnya bertempur sampai titik darah penghabisan, hanya 296 dari mereka yang menyerah. Dia dilaporkan melakukan seppuku menjelang detik-detik terakhir kejatuhan pulau itu ke tangan musuh.

Kehidupan awal

Kuribayashi dilahirkan di perfektur Nagano dari keluarga samurai dan berdarah bangsawan. Dia adalah kepala keluarga yang baik, waktu-waktunya sebisa mungkin dia habiskan bersama keluarganya. Dalam perjalanan dinasnya, dia selalu melakukan komunikasi dengan mereka walaupun secara jarak jauh. Dia pernah mengenyam pendidikan di Kanada dan bertugas dua tahun sebagai deputi atase militer Jepang di Washington DC. Selama masa ini dia sering mengadakan perjalanan di berbagai daerah Amerika Serikat. Perjalanan ini membuatnya mengetahui lebih dalam tentang negara ini dan juga mendapat respek dari orang Amerika. Menurutnya perang modern akan banyak tergantung pada produksi industri, dia pernah mengemukakan pendapatnya ini pada rekan-rekannya bahwa perang dengan Amerika akan sia-sia karena mereka memiliki industri yang kuat, pendapat ini ditentang keras oleh sebagian kaum militer Jepang. Walaupun pandangannya cukup kontroversial, dia adalah salah satu dari sedikit perwira yang pernah mendapat kesempatan audisi dengan Kaisar Hirohito. Selain sebagai pemimpin militer, Kuribayashi juga adalah seorang yang berbakat sastra, karyanya antara lain syair Aikoku Koshin Kyoku (Lagu Cinta Tanah Air).
[sunting] Pertempuran Iwo Jima

Kuribayashi sudah memperkirakan dua hal dalam menghadapi pertempuran yang menentukan ini yaitu Iwo Jima bagaimanapun akan jatuh juga ke tangan Amerika dan dirinya beserta seluruh pasukannya akan gugur. Namun dia tetap berusaha semaksimal mungkin mempertahankan pulau itu agar Amerika membayar semahal mungkin untuk upayanya.

Kuribayashi sudah mengenali pola penyerangan Amerika, karenanya dia tidak memfokuskan pada pendaratan mereka di pantai. Strateginya adalah menyuruh para insinyurnya untuk mendirikan benteng-benteng pertahanan bawah tanah. Di pulau kecil ini mereka menggali terowongan bawah tanah sepanjang 5000 meter yang saling berhubungan satu sama lain seperti jaring laba-laba.

Taktik ini terbukti keampuhannya. Selama delapan bulan pulau itu dibombardir Sekutu pulau itu, ditambah 72 hari sebelum pendaratan dibom berturut-turut oleh pesawat tempur, dan tiga hari sebelumnya oleh kapal perang mereka memuntahkan ribuan ton peluru pertahanan Kuribayashi tetap kokoh. Pesawat-pesawat pembom bingung menentukan target yang hendak dibom dan foto yang diambil pesawat intai tak ada gunanya karena taktik kamuflase Jepang yang hebat.

Kuribayashi juga pandai membangkitkan semangat anak buahnya, dia menginstruksikan agar setiap orang harus menganggap posisi pertahanannya sebagai kuburannya sendiri, bertempur sampai titik darah penghabisan dan membunuh musuh sebanyak mungkin, targetnya adalah setiap orang membunuh sepuluh musuh sebelum diri sendiri gugur. Dia mengendalikan pasukannya dengan tangan besi sehingga disiplin dan moril mereka baik sekali.
[sunting] Hari-hari terakhir
Letjen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi

16 Maret 1945 pertahanan secara teratur berakhir, tapi Kuribayashi masih hidup , dia hanya terputus kontak dengan sebagian anak buahnya. Mayor Horie yang pernah menjadi salah satu staff Kuribayashi menulis: Letjen Kuribayashi memimpin pertempuran di bawah sinar lilin tanpa istirahat dan tanpa tidur dari hari ke hari. Hubungan antara dia dengan dunia luar masih ada tanggal 15 Maret. Kami kira dia gugur pada tanggal 17 Maret. Dia dipromosikan sebagai jenderal penuh pada hari itu. Dia berkata, “Pertahanan musuh 200 atau 300 meter dari kami, mereka menyerang kami dengan api yang disemburkan dari tank. Mereka menyerukan agar kami menyerah tapi kami tertawa dan tidak menghiraukannya.” Kabar tentang promosinya ini disampaikan Horie melalui kawat, namun tidak diketahui apakah Kuribayashi menerimanya.

23 Maret 1945, kawatnya yang terakhir berbunyi, “Kami tidak makan maupun minum selama lima hari, tapi semangat Yamato, semangat bertempur kami masih tinggi, kami akan bertempur sampai saat terakhir” dan “Kepada perwira-perwira di Chichi Jima, selamat tinggal dari Iwo”. Dia dilaporkan melakukan seppuku di salah satu tempat di terowongan bawah tanah itu, namun jenazahnya tidak pernah ditemukan. Iwo Jima sendiri baru diduduki Amerika tanggal 26 Maret 1945 dengan harga 6.800 tewas dan 17.000 lainnya terluka. Sementara di pihak Jepang hanya 1.083 dari 22.000 orang yang selamat dan tertawan.
[sunting] Penilaian pihak Sekutu

Amerika tidak bisa tidak merasa kagum pada kegigihan Kuribayashi mempertahankan Iwo Jima hingga titik darah terakhir.Rasa kagum ini telah dimulai sejak hari pertama pertempuran dan terus bertambah hingga berakhirnya pertempuran. Jenderal Holland Smith, komandan pasukan Amerika dalam pertempuran Iwo Jima berkata, “Dari semua lawan kita di Pasifik, Kuribayashi adalah yang paling tiada tanding.” Jenderal Cattes yang pernah secara pribadi menyerukan lewat corong pengeras suara agar Kuribayashi menyerah juga memuji pertahanannya yang luar biasa.

Amerika memang telah beberapa kali berhadapan dengan panglima Jepang yang pandai dan memukau mereka, tapi belum pernah pujian mereka begitu tinggi seperti terhadap Jenderal Kuribayashi. Kuribayashi adalah orang yang harus mereka takuti ketika masih hidup akan tetapi mungkin ia lebih berbahaya setelah meninggal karena ia sanggup menjadi pahlawan perang yang pasti dipuja-puja kalau saja nasionalisme baru tumbuh lagi di Jepang. Maka tidak heran kalau Jenderal Smith juga pernah berkata, “Semoga Jepang tidak pernah memiliki orang lain seperti dia.”

Special Air Service

The Special Air Service or SAS is a special forces regiment of the British Army that has served as a model for the special forces of other countries.[1][10] The Special Air Service together with the Special Boat Service (SBS), Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), and the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) form the United Kingdom Special Forces under overall command of the Director Special Forces.

The Special Air Service can trace its origins to 1941 during the Second World War, but gained fame and recognition world wide after they successfully assaulted the Iranian Embassy and rescued the hostages, during the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege. Prior to that few outside of the military special operations community even knew the regiment existed.[11]

The Special Air Service comprises 22 Special Air Service Regiment from the Regular Army and 21 Special Air Service Regiment and 23 Special Air Service Regiment provided by the Territorial Army. The three regiments tasks are special operations in wartime and counter-terrorism mostly but not restricted to peacetime.

History
Main articles: History of the SAS and List of SAS operations

The Special Air Service was a unit of the British Army during the Second World War, formed in July 1941 by David Stirling and originally called L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade in an attempt at deception.[3][12] They were conceived as a commando force to operate behind enemy lines in the North African Campaign,[13] and initially consisted of five officers and 60 other ranks.[14] Their first mission, in November 1941, was a parachute drop in support of the Operation Crusader offensive.[12] Unfortunately, because of enemy resistance and adverse weather conditions, the mission was a disaster, 22 men were killed or captured, one third of the men employed.[15] Their second mission was more successful; transported by the Long Range Desert Group, they attacked three airfields in Libya destroying 60 aircraft without loss.[15] In September 1942 they were renamed 1st SAS and consisted of four British squadrons, one Free French, one Greek, and the Folboat Section.[16]

In January 1943, Stirling was captured in Tunisia, and was replaced as commander 1st SAS by Paddy Mayne.[17] In April 1943, the 1st SAS was reorganised into the Special Raiding Squadron under the command of Mayne and the Special Boat Squadron under the command of George Jellico.[18] The Special Raiding Squadron went on to fight in Sicily and Italy along with the 2nd SAS, which had been formed in North Africa in 1943.[19][20] The Special Boat Squadron fought in the Aegean Islands and Dodecanese until the end of the war.[21] In 1944 the SAS Brigade was formed from the British 1st and 2nd SAS, the French 3rd and 4th SAS and the Belgian 5th SAS.[22] They were tasked with parachute operations behind the German lines in France.[4] Then to carry out operations supporting the Allied advance through Belgium, the Netherlands and eventually into Germany.[22]
[edit] Post war
A close-up of six men in three Jeep's. A heavily armed patrol of 'L' Detachment SAS. The crews of the Jeep's are all wearing 'Arab-style' headdress, as copied from the Long Range Desert Group. Jerricans can be seen mounted around the vehicles
SAS in North Africa during the Second World War.

At the end of the war the British Government could see no need for such a force and it was disbanded on 8 October 1945.[4] However in 1946 it was decided that there was a need for a long term deep penetration commando unit and a SAS regiment was to be raised as part of the Territorial Army.[23] The title chosen for the new regiment was 21st SAS Regiment (V) and the regiment chosen to take on the SAS mantle was the Artists Rifles which had been raised in 1860.[23] The new regiment came into existence on 1 January 1947 and took over the Artists Rifles headquarters at Dukes Road, Euston.[5]

In 1950 a squadron was raised to fight in the Korean War. After three months training, they were informed that the squadron would not, after all, be needed in Korea, and instead were sent to serve in the Malayan Emergency. On arrival in Malaya, they came under the command of Mike Calvert and became B Squadron, Malayan Scouts (SAS).[24]

Calvert had initially sought for volunteers in the Far East, and produced 100 men who formed A Squadron, C Squadron came from Rhodesia where Calvert had picked them on a quick visit from 1,000 volunteers.[25] After three years service the Rhodesians returned home and were replaced by a New Zealand squadron.[26] The need for a regular army SAS regiment had been recognised and 22 SAS Regiment was formally added to the army list in 1952 and has been based at Hereford since 1960.[1] In 1959 the third regiment, 23 SAS Regiment, was formed by the renaming of the Reserve Reconnaissance Unit which had succeeded MI9 and were experts in escape and evasion.[27]
[edit] 22 SAS Regiment

Since serving in Malaya, men from the regular army 22 SAS Regiment have been known to have taken part in operations in Borneo, which consisted of covert reconnaissance and surveillance by patrols and some larger scale raiding missions.[28] In the Oman an operation against communist guerillas which included the Battle of Mirbat.[29] Operations in the Aden Emergency,[30] Northern Ireland,[31] and The Gambia.[28] Assisting the West German counter-terrorism group GSG 9 at Mogadishu.[28] The Falklands War where D and G squadrons were deployed and participated in the Raid on Pebble Island.[32] An anti–terrorist operation in Gibraltar preventing a Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) bomb plot.[28] A hostage rescue operation during the Iranian Embassy Siege in London.[33] Directing NATO aircraft onto Serb positions and hunting war criminals in Bosnia.[34][35]
Eight armed soldiers at the rear of a Chinook helicopter
Bravo Two Zero patrol members

The Gulf War in which A, B and D squadrons deployed, the largest SAS mobilisation since the Second World War, notable for the failure of the Bravo Two Zero mission.[36] Operation Barras, a hostage rescue operation in Sierra Leone to rescue members of the Royal Irish Regiment.[28] The Iraq War, where they formed part of Task Force Black and Task Force Knight, with A Squadron 22 SAS being singled out by General Stanley McChrystal, the American commander of NATO forces, as during a six month tour they had carried out 175 combat missions.[37] In 2006 members of the SAS were involved in the rescue of peace activists Norman Kember, James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden. The three men had been held hostage in Iraq for 118 days during the Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis.[38] Operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan,[39] which have also involved soldiers from 21 and 23 SAS Regiments.[7]

In recent years SAS officers have risen to the highest ranks in the British Army. General Peter de la Billière was the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in the 1990 Gulf War.[40] General Michael Rose became commander of the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia in 1994.[41] In 1997 General Charles Guthrie became Chief of the Defence Staff the head of the British Armed Forces.[42] Lieutenant-General Cedric Delves was the Commander of the Field Army and Deputy Commander in Chief NATO Headquarters Armed Forces North in 2002–2003.[43]
[edit] Influence on other special forces

Following the reformation of the Special Air Service, other countries in the commonwealth also recognised a need for a Special Forces type unit. Australia formed the 1st SAS Company in July 1957, which became a full regiment the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) in August 1964.[44] The New Zealand Special Air Service started as a squadron formed in 1954 to serve with the British SAS in Malaya.[45] On their return from Malaya the Rhodesian C Squadron formed the basis for the formation of the Rhodesian Special Air Service in 1961.[27]

Non commonwealth countries have also formed units based on the SAS. Impressed by the Australian SASR methods in Vietnam the American General William Westmoreland, ordered the formation of a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) unit modelled on the SASR in each infantry brigade.[46] Another American unit Delta Force, can also trace its formation to the SAS, its founder Charles Alvin Beckwith having served with 22 SAS as an exchange officer from the United States Army.[47] It's claimed the Israeli Sayeret Matkal was also modelled on the SAS and even shares the same "who dares wins" motto.[48] The French 1st Airborne Marine Infantry Regiment can trace its origins to the Second World War 3rd and 4th SAS and also kept the "who dares wins" motto.[49]
[edit] Organisation

The United Kingdom Government does not usually comment on special forces matters, therefore little verifiable information exists in the public domain.[50][51]

The Special Air Service comprises three units, one Regular and two reserve Territorial Army (TA). The regular army unit is 22 SAS Regiment and territorial army units are 21 SAS Regiment (Artists) and 23 SAS Regiment.[6]
[edit] Squadrons

The 22 SAS Regiment has four operational squadrons A, B, D and G. Each squadron contains approximately 60 men, commanded by a major divided into four troops and a small headquarters section.[37][52] Troops usually consist of 16 men,[39] and each patrol within a troop consists of four men, with each man possessing a particular skill: signals, demolition, medic or linguist in addition to basic skills learned during the course of their training.[52] The four troops specialise in four different areas:


Boat troop — are specialists in maritime skills using scuba diving, kayaks and Rigid-hulled inflatable boats and often train with the Special Boat Service.[53]

Air troop — are experts in free fall parachuting, High Altitude-Low Opening (HALO) and High Altitude-High Opening (HAHO) techniques.[53]

Mobility troop — are specialists in using vehicles and are experts in desert warfare.[54] They are also trained in an advanced level of motor mechanics to fix any problem with their vehicles.[55]

Mountain troop — are specialists in Arctic combat and survival, using specialist equipment such as skis, snowshoes and mountain climbing techniques.[53]

In 1980 R Squadron was formed which has since been renamed L Detachment, Its members are all ex regular SAS regiment soldiers who have a commitment to reserve service.[52][nb 2]
22 Special Air Service Regiment 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) 23 Special Air Service Regiment
'HQ' Squadron (Hereford)[7] 'HQ' Squadron (London)[7] 'HQ' Squadron (Birmingham)[7]
'A' Squadron[57] 'A' Squadron (Regent's Park)[7] 'B' Squadron (Leeds)[58]
'B' Squadron[59] 'C' Squadron (Bramley)[60] 'G' Squadron (Manchester)[61]
'D' Squadron[62] 'E' Squadron (Wales)[63] 'D' Squadron (Scotland)[64]
'G' Squadron[62][nb 3]
[edit] Special projects team

The special projects team is the official name for the Special Air Service anti–hijack, counter–terrorism team.[52] They are trained in Close Quarter Battle (CQB) and sniper techniques and focuses on hostage rescue in buildings or on public transport.[66] It was formed in 1975 when the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Edward Heath asked the Ministry of Defence to prepare for any possible terrorist attack similar to the 1972 Munich massacre at the Munich Olympic Games and ordered that the SAS Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) wing be established.[67] Once the wing had been established each squadron would in turn rotate through counter terrorist training. The training included live firing exercises, hostage rescue and siege breaking. It was reported that during CRW training each soldier would expend 100,000 pistol rounds and would return to the CRW role on average every 16 months. Their first deployment was during the Balcombe Street Siege, where the Metropolitan Police had trapped a PIRA unit. Hearing on the BBC that the SAS were being deployed the PIRA men surrendered.[67] The first documented action by the CRW Wing was assisting the West German counter-terrorism group GSG 9 at Mogadishu.[28] In 1980 the SAS were involved in a hostage rescue during the Iranian Embassy Siege. Five of the six terrorists involved were killed and one survived by passing himself off as a hostage.[68]
[edit] United Kingdom Special Forces

The Special Air Service are under the operational command of the Director Special Forces (DSF) a major-general grade post. Previously ranked as a brigadier, the decision to promote the DSF from brigadier to major-general followed the significant expansion of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).[69] The UKSF originally consisted of the regular and the reserve units of the SAS and the Special Boat Service, but they have now been joined by two new units the Special Forces Support Group and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment.[69] They are supported by the 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, part of which 8 Flight Army Air Corps is based in Hereford with the SAS.[70][71][72]
[edit] Recruitment, selection and training
Main article: United Kingdom Special Forces Selection
snow and frost covered mountain peak
Pen y Fan 886 metres (2,907 ft) above sea-level. The location for the Fan dance.

All members of the United Kingdom armed forces can be considered for special forces selection,[nb 4] but historically the majority of candidates have an airborne forces background.[74] There are two selections a year, one in winter and the other in summer,[73] and all the instructors are full members of the Special Air Service Regiment.[73] Selection lasts for five weeks in Sennybridge, Powys in the Brecon Beacons and normally starts with about 200 candidates.[73] On arrival candidates have to complete a Basic Fitness Test (BFT) and a Combat Fitness Test (CFT).[nb 5] They then complete a series of cross country marches against the clock, with the distances covered increasing each day and includes a 14 miles (23 km) march with full equipment on Pen-y-Fan known as the Fan dance in four hours.[73] By the end of the hill phase candidates must be able to walk four miles in 30 minutes and swim two miles in 90 minutes.[73]

Those who successfully complete the hill phase move onto the jungle phase which can take place in Belize, Brunei or Malaysia.[76] In the jungle phase candidates are taught navigation,moving in patrol formation and how to survive in the jungle.[77]

After successfully completing the jungle phase candidates return to Hereford for training in battle plans, foreign weapons and take part in a combat survival exercise.[78] The final exercise is an escape and evasion exercise the remaining candidates are formed into patrols and carrying nothing more than a tin can filled with survival equipment they are dressed in old Second World War uniforms and told to head for a point by first light. The exercise lasts for one week and is followed by the final selection test resistance to interrogation (RTI) which lasts for 36 hours.[79]

At the end of the resistance to interrogation phase the candidates that have survived are transferred to an operational squadron.[80]
[edit] SAS Reserve selection

The Territorial Army Special Air Service Regiments undergo the same selection, but due to being part-time the selection process is stretched over a longer period of time. Nine weekends of endurance training, one week endurance training in the Brecon Beacons. Followed by one week assessment (Test Week) in the Beacons.[81]

This is followed by Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) Training. Which comprises: nine weekends patrol SOP's including surveillance and reconnaissance. one week live firing including patrol contact drills and Troop offensive action. a nine day battle camp comprising: Live firing assessment, Field training exercise to test the skills learned throughout Selection. This culminates in Conduct after Capture (CAC) training.[81] On successful completion of this training, ranks are badged as SAS(R) and are fit for appointment. They then enter a period of probation and must complete a Basic Parachute Course, a Special Forces Communications Course and a main training period to be fit for mobilisation.[81]
[edit] Uniform distinctions

The Special Air Service, like every British regiment, has its own uniform distinctions. Their normal barracks headdress is the sand-coloured beret,[1] with their own cap badge which is a downward pointing winged sword worked in cloth of a Crusader shield with the motto Who Dares Wins.(see footnotes 1).[2] Worn on the right shoulder are the SAS pattern parachute wings, designed by Lieutenant Jock Lewes and based on the stylised sacred Ibis wings of Isis of Egyptian iconography depicted in the décor of Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo.[82] Their ceremonial No 1 Dress Uniform is distinguished by a light blue stripe on the trousers, the Commanding Officer and Officer of the day wear a black leather pouch belt mounted with a silver whistle chain and the Mars and Minerva badge of the Artists Rifles.[1] Their Stable belt is also a shade of blue similar to the blue stripe on the No 1 dress uniform.[1]

Airborne forces

Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning. The formations are limited only by the number and size of their aircraft, so given enough capacity a huge force can appear "out of nowhere" in minutes, an action referred to as vertical envelopment.

Conversely, airborne forces typically lack the supplies and equipment for prolonged combat operations, and are therefore more suited for airhead operations than long-term occupation; furthermore, parachute operations are particularly sensitive to adverse weather conditions. Advances in helicopter technology since World War II have brought increased flexibility to the scope of airborne operations, and air assaults have largely replaced large-scale parachute operations, and (almost) completely replaced combat glider operations. However, due to the limited range of helicopters and the limited number of troops that can be transported by them many countries retain Paratroopers as a valuable strategic asset.

General information
Paratroopers from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division jump from a C-17 Globemaster at Ft. Bragg, N.C., during Exercise Joint Forcible Entry in April 2005.

Airborne forces can be divided into three categories:

* Paratroopers — landed by parachute from aircraft,
* Airlanding troops — landed by aircraft (usually glider),
* Air assault troops or airmobile infantry — transported to the battle by helicopter or by aircraft.

The basic premise of the Airborne is that they can arrive with such speed that a coherent defence cannot be mounted against them for some time. It is assumed that this tactical advantage cannot be sustained for very long, so effective Airborne missions require the rapid advance of ground based troops in support. Another problem regularly faced by Airborne troops, is that they are usually defencless in transit and while they descend. However, it is rather difficult to hit a moving target, especially a paratrooper because their movements while descending will be erratic and not in a straight line.

Airborne forces are generally composed of infantry and light, non-armored vehicles and guns. In World War II light motorcycles were used by paratroopers; the American Cushman Model 53 and the British Welbike. After the Korean war, vehicles light enough to be dropped by parachute were developed, such as the M551 Sheridan. The Soviets developed the BMD-1 and BMD-3 fighting vehicles. Helicopters can also transport vehicles such as the German Wiesel AWC, LAV-25 and British CVR(T) series. Large transports can carry only small numbers of main battle tanks or heavier infantry fighting vehicles.
[edit] Early history

The idea of "Sky Soldiers" is by no means a recent thought; Benjamin Franklin envisioned a time when soldiers would be delivered from the sky, with a crude, rudimentary understanding of parachutes:

"Where is the prince who can afford so to cover his country with troops for its defense, so that ten thousand men descending from the clouds might not, in many places, do an infinite deal of mischief before a force could be brought together to repel them?" -Benjamin Franklin, 1784

Although Winston Churchill, whilst serving in the British wartime government, had proposed the creation of an airborne force to assault the German flanks deep behind the trenches of the static Western front in 1917,[1] the first modern operational consideration of the use of what we now call a paratroop force dates to late 1918. Towards the end of World War I, Major Lewis H. Brereton and his superior Brigadier General Billy Mitchell suggested dropping elements of the United States 1st Infantry Division behind German lines near Metz. The operation was planned for February 1919 but the war ended before such an attack could be seriously planned. Mitchell conceived that US troops could be rapidly trained to utilise parachutes and drop from converted bombers and land near Metz thus causing disruption behind the enemy's lines in sychronistaion with a planned infantry offensive.

The first true paratroop drop was carried out by Italy in November 1927. Within a few years several battalions had been raised and were eventually formed into the two elite Folgore and Nembo divisions. Although these would later fight with distinction in World War II, the divisions were never used in a parachute drop. Men drawn from the Italian parachute forces were dropped in a special forces operation in North Africa in 1943 in an attempt to destroy the aircraft of the USAAF based there while they are still on the ground.

At about the same time the Soviet Union was also experimenting with the idea, planning to eventually drop entire units complete with vehicles including light tanks. To train enough experienced jumpers, parachute clubs were set up all over Russia with the aim of being able to transfer skilled members (or at least the men) into the armed forces if needed. Planning and organization progressed to the point that Corps-size drops were demonstrated to foreign observers, including the British Military Attache Archibald Wavell, in the Kiev military district maneuvers of 1935. By the late 1930s, the USSR possessed the largest Airborne forces in the world, but development stagnated prior to WW2 as a result of the Great Purge[citation needed].

One of the observing parties, Germany, was particularly interested. In 1936, Major F. W. Immans was ordered to set up a parachute school at Stendal (Borstel), and was allocated a number of Junkers Ju 52 aircraft to train on. The military had already purchased large numbers of Junkers Ju 52 aircraft which were now modified (slightly) for use as paratroop transports in addition to their other duties. The first training class was known as "Ausbildungskommando Immans", They commenced the first course on May 3, 1936.

Other nations, including Japan, France and Poland also organized airborne units around this time.
[edit] World War II
[edit] German operations

Several groups within the German armed forces attempted to raise their own paratroop formations, resulting in confusion. As a result, Luftwaffe General Kurt Student was put in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the Fallschirmjäger.

During the invasion of Norway and Denmark in Operation Weserübung the Luftwaffe dropped paratroopers on several locations. In Denmark a small unit was dropped on the Masnedøfort on the small island of Masnedø to seize the Storstrøm Bridge linking the islands of Falster and Zealand. A paratroop detachment was also dropped at the airfield of Aalborg which was crucial for the Luftwaffe for operations over Norway. In Norway a company of paratroopers was dropped at Oslo's undefended airstrip. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon of April 9, 1940, the Germans flew in sufficient reinforcements to move into the capital in the afternoon, but by that time the Norwegian government had fled.

In the Battle of France, members of the Brandenburg Regiment were landed by Fieseler Fi 156 Storch light reconnaissance planes on the bridges immediately to the south of the 10th Panzer Division's route of march through the southern Ardennes. In Belgium a small group of German glider-borne troops landed on top of the Belgian fortress of Eben Emael on the morning of May 10, 1940 and disabled the majority of its artillery. The fort held on for another day before surrendering. This opened up Belgium to attack by German Army Group B.

The Dutch were granted the spurious privilege of being exposed to the first large scale airborne attack in history. During the invasion of the Netherlands, the Germans threw into battle almost their entire Luftlandekorps, an airborne assault army corps that consisted of one airborne division, one parachute division and the necessary transport capacity. The existence of this formation had been carefully kept secret until then. Two simultaneous airborne operations were launched. German paratroopers landed at three airfields near The Hague, hoping to seize the Dutch government. From one of these airfields they were driven out after the first wave of reinforcements, brought in by Ju-52s, was annihilated by anti-aircraft fire and fierce resistance by some remaining Dutch defenders. As a result, numerous crashed and burning aircraft blocked the runway, preventing further reinforcements from landing. This was one of the few occasions where an airfield captured by paratroops has been recaptured. The other two airfields were recaptured as well. Simultaneously the Germans dropped small packets of paratroopers to seize the crucial bridges that led directly across the Netherlands and into the heart of the country. They opened the way for the 9th Panzer Division. Within a day the Dutch position was hopeless. Nevertheless, Dutch forces inflicted high losses on the German transportation aircraft. Moreover, 1200 German elite troops from the Luftlandekorps taken POW around The Hague, were shipped to England just before the capitulation of the Dutch armed forces.

The Fallschirmjäger's greatest victory and greatest losses occurred during the Battle of Crete. The Ultra enabled the British to wait on each German drop zone, yet despite compromised secrecy, surviving German paratroops and airlanded mountain troops pushed the Commonwealth forces off the island in part by unexpected fire support from 75 mm guns. Seaborne reinforcements were destroyed by the Royal Navy. However, the losses were so great that Hitler forbade their use in such operations in the future. He felt that the main power of the paratroop was novelty, and now that the British had clearly figured out how to defend against them, there was no real point to using them any more.

There was one notable exception to this and that was the use of airborne forces in special operations. On September 12, 1943, Otto Skorzeny led a daring glider-based assault on the Gran Sasso Hotel, high in the Apennines mountains, and rescued Benito Mussolini from house arrest with very few shots being fired. On May 25, 1944, paratroopers were dropped as part of a failed attempt to capture Josip Broz Tito, the head of the Yugoslav Partisans and later postwar leader of Yugoslavia.
[edit] Allied operations

The actual heavy German casualties during the Battle of Crete were hidden from allied planners.[citation needed] Ironically, the battle that ended Germany's paratrooper operations had the opposite effect on the Allies. Convinced of the effectiveness of airborne assaults, the Allies hurried to train and organize their own airborne units. No.1 Parachute Training School at RAF Ringway near Manchester trained all the 60,000 allied paras who were recruited in Europe during World War II .

A fundamental decision was whether to create small Airborne units to be used in coup-de-main type operations, or to organize entire Airborne Divisions for larger operations. Many of the early, successful Airborne operations were coups-de-main carried out by very small units. The Allies eventually formed two British and five US Airborne Divisions: the British 1st Airborne Division and 6th Airborne Division, and the US 11th Airborne Division, 13th Airborne Division, 17th Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division, and 101st Airborne Division. By 1944 the British Divisions were grouped in the 1st Airborne Corps under General Frederick Browning, while US Divisions in the ETO (the 17th, 82nd, and 101st) were organized into the XVIII Airborne Corps under US Major General Matthew Ridgway. Both Corps fell under the First Allied Airborne Army under US Lieutenant General Lewis Brereton.
[edit] Early commando raids
[edit] Operation Colossus: Raid on the Tragino Aqueduct

Britain’s first airborne assault took place on February 10, 1941, when 'X' Troop, No 11 Special Air Service Battalion (which was formed from No 2 Commando and subsequently became 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment) dropped into southern Italy from converted Whitley bombers flying from Malta and demolished a span of the aqueduct near Tragino in a daring night raid named Operation Colossus.
[edit] Operation Squatter: Raid on Axis airfields in Libya

54 effectives of 'L' Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade (Largely drawn from the disbanded Layforce) mounted a night parachute insertion onto two Drop Zones in Bir Temrad, North Africa on the night of November 16/17 1941 in preparation for a stealthy attack on the forward airfields of Gambut and Tmimi in order to destroy the Axis fighter force on the ground before the start of Operation Crusader, a major offensive by the British Eighth Army.
[edit] Operation Biting: The Bruneval raid

A Würzburg radar site on the coast of France was attacked by a company of British Paratroopers from 2 Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, commanded by Major John Dutton Frost, in Operation Biting on February 27, 1942. The key electronic components of the system were dismantled by an English radar mechanic and brought back to Britain for examination so that counter measures could be devised.
[edit] Mediterranean
[edit] Operation Mercury: Crete
Main article: Battle of Crete

This was the last large scale airborne assault by Adolf Hitler and the Germans. The German paratroopers had such a high death rate in the jump into Crete that Hitler forbade any further large scale airborne attacks. The Allies on the other hand were very impressed by the potential of paratroopers, and started to build their own airborne divisions.
[edit] Operation Torch: North Africa
See also: British airborne operations in North Africa

The first United States airborne combat mission occurred during Operation Torch in North Africa on 8 November 1942. 531 men of the U.S. 2nd Battalion 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment flew over 1600 miles at night from Britain, over Spain, intending to drop near Oran and capture two airfields. Navigation errors, communications problems, and bad weather scattered the forces. Seven of the 39 C-47s landed far from Oran from Gibraltar to Tunisia, and only ten actually delivered their troops by parachute drop. The remainder off-loaded after 28 C-47 troop carriers, short on fuel, landed on the Sebkra d'Oran dry lake, and marched overland to their objectives.

One week later, after repacking their own chutes, 304 men of the battalion conducted a second combat jump on 15 November 1942 to secure the airfield at Youk-Les-Bains near the Tunisian border. From this base the battalion conducted combined operations with various French forces against the German Afrika Korps in Tunisia. A unit of French Algerian infantry, the 3rd Regiment of Zouaves, was present at Youk-les-Bains and awarded the American paratroopers their own Regimental Crest as a gesture of respect. This badge was awarded to the battalion commander on 15 November 1942 by the 3rd Zouaves' Regimental Commander, and is worn today by all members of the 509th Infantry.
[edit] Operation Husky: Sicily
Main article: Allied invasion of Sicily

As part of Operation Husky four airborne operations (two British and two American) were carried out, landing during the nights of July 9 and July 10. The American troops were from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, making their first combat parachute jump. Strong winds encountered en route blew the dropping aircraft off course and scattered them widely. The result was that around half the US paratroops failed to make it to their rallying points. British glider-landed troops fared little better. Only 12 out of 137 gliders in Operation Ladbroke landed on target, with more than half landing in the sea. Nevertheless the scattered airborne troops maximised their opportunities, attacking patrols and creating confusion wherever possible. On the night of 11 July a reinforcement drop of the 82nd Airborne behind American lines at Farello airfield resulted in heavy friendly-fire casualties when despite forewarnings, Allied antiaircraft fire both ashore and aboard U.S Navy ships shot down 23 of the transports as they flew over the beachhead.[2]

Despite a catastrophic loss of gliders and troops loads at sea, the 1st Airlanding Brigade captured the Ponte Grande bridge south of Syracuse. Before the Germans' counterattack, the beach landings took place unopposed and the First Airlanding Brigade was relieved by the 8th Army as it swept inland towards Catania and Messina.[3] For more details on this action see the article on the South Staffordshire Regiment.

On the evening of July 13, 1943, more than 112 aircraft carrying 1,856 men and 16 gliders with 77 artillerymen and ten 6 pounder guns, took off from North Africa in Operation Fustian. The British First Parachute Brigade's initial target was to capture the Primosole bridge and the high ground around it, providing a pathway for the 8th Army, but heavy anti-aircraft fire shot down many of the Dakotas before they reached their target. Only 295 officers and men were dropped close enough to carry out the assault on the bridge. They captured the bridge but the German 4th Parachute Brigade recaptured it.[4] They held the high ground until relieved by the 8th Army, which re-took the bridge at dawn of 16 July.

The Allied commanders were forced to reassess the use of airborne forces after the many misdrops and the deadly friendly fire incident. Nevertheless, improved training and some tactical changes kept airborne units in the war, eventually in much-increased numbers.[citation needed]
[edit] Italy

Italy agreed to an armistice with the Allies on September 3, 1943, with the stipulation that the Allies would provide military support to Italy in defending Rome from German occupation. Operation Giant II was a planned drop of one regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division northwest of Rome, to assist four Italian divisions in seizing the Italian capital. An airborne assault plan to seize crossings of the Volturno River during the Allied invasion of Italy, called Operation Giant, was abandoned in favor the Rome mission. However doubts about the willingness and capability of Italian forces to cooperate, and the distance of the mission far beyond support by the Allied military, resulted in the artillery commander of the 82nd, Brig. Gen. Maxwell Taylor (future commander of the 101st), being sent on a personal reconnaissance mission to Rome to assess the prospects of success. His report via radio on September 8 caused the operation to be postponed (and canceled the next day) as troop carriers loaded with two battalions of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment were warming up for takeoff.

With Giant II cancelled, Operation Giant I was laid on again for September 13 to drop two battalions of the 504th at Capua. However significant German counterattacks beginning September 12 resulted in a shrinking of the American perimeter and threatened destruction of the beachhead. As a result, Giant I was cancelled and the 504th instead dropped into the beachhead on the night of September 13 using transponding radar beacons as a guide. The next night the 505th PIR was also dropped into the beachhead as reinforcement. In all, 3,500 paratroopers made the most concentrated mass night drop in history, providing the model for the American airborne landings in Normandy in June 1944. An additional drop on the night of September 14-15 of the 2nd Battalion 509th PIR to destroy a key bridge at Avellino, to disrupt German motorized movements, was badly dispersed and failed to destroy the bridge before the Germans withdrew to the north.

In April 1945 Operation Herring, an Italian commando-style airborne drop aimed at disrupting German rear area communications and movement over key areas in Northern Italy, took place. However the Italian troops were not dropped as a unit but as a series of small (8-10 man) groups. Another operation, Operation Potato, was mounted by men drawn from the Folgore and Nembo divisions, operating with British equipment and under British command as No 1 Italian Special Air Service Regiment. The men dropped in small groups from American C-47s and carried out a successful railway sabotage operation in Northern Italy.
[edit] Western Europe
Eisenhower speaks with U.S. paratroops of the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on the evening of June 5, 1944.

The Allies had learned better tactics and logistics from their earlier airborne drops, and these lessons were applied for the assaults along the Western Front.
[edit] Operation NEPTUNE: D-Day Normandy

One of the most famous of airborne operations was Operation NEPTUNE, the assault of Normandy, part of Operation OVERLORD on D-Day June 6, 1944. The task of the airborne forces was to secure the flanks and approaches of the landing beaches in Normandy. The British glider transported troops and paratroopers of the 6th Airborne Division secured the Eastern flank in Operation Tonga of which Operation DEADSTICK, capture of the Pegasus Bridge is the best remembered objective. Another objective was the Merville gun battery. The American glider and parachute infantry of the 82nd (Operation DETROIT) and 101st Airborne Divisions (Operation CHICAGO), though widely scattered by poor weather and poorly marked landing zones in the American airborne landings in Normandy, secured the western flank of VII Corps with heavy casualties. All together, Airborne casualties at D-Day Normandy totalled around 2,300.
[edit] Operation DRAGOON: Southern France

On August 15, 1944, airborne units of the 7th Army's provisional airborne division, commanded by US Major General Robert T. Frederick, opened Operation DRAGOON, the invasion of Southern France with a dawn assault. Called the "1st Airborne Task Force", the force was composed of the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade, the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, the 509th and 551st Parachute Infantry Battalions, the glider-borne 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion, and supporting units. Nearly 400 aircraft delivered 5,600 paratroopers and 150 guns to three drops zones surrounding Le Muy, between Frejus and Cannes, in phase 1, Operation ALBATROSS. Once they had captured their initial targets, they were reinforced by 2,600 soldiers and critical equipment carried in 408 gliders daylight missions code-named Operation BLUEBIRD, phase 2, simultaneous with the beach landings, and Operation DOVE, phase 3. A second daylight parachute drop, Operation CANARY, dropped 736 men of the 551st PIB with nearly 100% effectiveness late on the afternoon of August 15. The airborne objective was to capture the area, destroy all enemy positions and hold the ground until the US Seventh Army came ashore.
[edit] Operation MARKET-GARDEN: "A Bridge Too Far"
Waves of paratroops land in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in September 1944.

Operation Market Garden of September 1944, involved 35,000 troops dropped up to 100 miles (160 km) behind the German front lines in an attempt to capture a series of bridges over the Maas, Waal and Rhine rivers, ultimately enabling the Allies to outflank German fortifications and penetrating into Germany. The operation was hastily planned and many key planning tasks were inadequately completed. Three complete airborne divisions executed Operation MARKET, the airborne phase. These were the British 1st Airborne Division, the US 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division, as well as the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. All three Divisions, as well as the Independent Brigade, were landed or dropped at various points along Highway 69, or "Hell's Highway", in order to create a "carpet" over which the British XXX Corps could rapidly advance in Operation GARDEN, the armored phase. It was a daylight assault, with little initial opposition, and most units achieved high accuracy on drop and landing zones. In the end, after strong German counter-attacks, the overall plan failed: the British 1st Airborne division was all but destroyed at Arnhem, and the final Rhine bridge remained in German hands.
[edit] Operation REPULSE: re-supply of Bastogne

Operation Repulse, which took place in Bastogne on December 27, 1944, as part of the Battle of the Bulge, glider pilots, although flying directly through enemy fire, were able to land delivering the badly needed ammunition, gasoline, and medical supplies that enabled defenders against the German offensive to persevere and secure the ultimate victory.
[edit] Operation VARSITY: The Rhine Crossing

Operation Varsity was a daylight assault conducted by two airborne Divisions, the British 6th Airborne Division and the American 17th Airborne Division, both of which formed a part of the US XVIII Airborne Corps. Conducted as a part of Operation Plunder, the operation took place on the 24th of March, 1945 in aid of the attempt by the British 21st Army Group to cross the Rhine river. Having learnt from the heavy casualties inflicted upon the airborne formations which took part in Operation Market-Garden, the two airborne divisions were dropped several thousand yards forward of friendly positions, and only some thirteen hours after Operation Plunder had begun and Allied ground forces had already crossed the Rhine. There was heavy resistance in some of the areas that the airborne troops landed in, with casualties actually statistically heavier than those incurred during Operation Market-Garden. The British historian Max Hastings has labelled the operation both costly and unnecessary, writing that 'Operation Varsity was a folly for which more than a thousand men paid for with their lives...' [5]
[edit] Pacific Theater

Less famous are these airborne operations against the Japanese.
[edit] South West Pacific
September 5, 1943. C-47 transport planes, silhouetted against clouds of smoke created to provide cover, drop a battalion of the U.S. 503d Parachute Regiment at Nadzab, New Guinea, during the Battle of Lae. A battalion dropped minutes earlier is landing in the foreground.

In September 1943, in New Guinea, the U.S. 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment made a highly successful, unopposed landing at Nadzab, during the Salamaua-Lae campaign. This was the first Allied airborne assault in the Pacific Theater.

In July 1944, the 503rd jumped again, Battle of Noemfoor onto Noemfoor Island, off Dutch New Guinea.

The 503rd's most famous operation was a landing on Corregidor ("The Rock") in February 1945, during the Philippines campaign of 1944–45.

The U.S. 11th Airborne Division saw a great deal of action in the Philippines as a ground unit. The 511th Parachute Regiment, made the division's first jump near Tagaytay Ridge, 3 February 1945, meeting no resistance at the drop zone. The division also jumped to liberate 2,000 Allied civilians interned at Los Baños, 23 February 1945. The final operation of the Division was conducted on 23 June 1945, in conjunction with an advance by U.S. ground forces in northern Luzon. A task force from the 11th was formed and jumped on Camalaniugan Airfield, south of Aparri.
[edit] Burma

A large British force, known as Chindits, operated behind Japanese lines during 1944. In Operation Thursday, most of the units were flown into landing grounds which had been seized by glider infantry transported by the American First Air Commando Group, commencing on March 5. Aircraft continued to land reinforcements at captured or hastily constructed landing strips until monsoon rains made them unusable. Small detachments were subsequently landed by parachute. The operation eventually wound down in July, with the exhausted Chindits making their way overland to link up with advancing American and Chinese forces.

For Operation Dracula, an ad hoc parachute battalion group made up of personnel from the 153 and 154 (Ghurka) Parachute Battalions of the Indian Army secured Japanese coastal defences, which enabled the seaborne assault by the 26th Indian Division to attain its objectives with the minimum of casualties and loss of time.
[edit] Japanese operations

The Japanese used troops with parachute training in several battles in the Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941-42. Before the Pacific War began, the Imperial Japanese Army formed Teishin Dan ("Raiding Brigades") and Imperial Japanese Navy trained marine (Rikusentai) paratroopers.

Rikusentai airborne troops were first dropped at the Battle of Menado, Celebes in January 1942, and then near Kupang, during the Timor campaign, in February 1942. Teishin made a jump at the Battle of Palembang, on Sumatra in February 1942. Japanese airborne units suffered heavy casualties during the Dutch East Indies campaign, and were rarely used as parachute troops afterwards.

On 6 December 1944, a 750-strong detachment from Teishin Shudan ("Raiding Division") and the Takachiho special forces unit, attacked U.S. airbases in the Burauen area on Leyte, in The Philippines. The force destroyed some planes and inflicted casualties, but was wiped out.

Japan built a combat strike force of 825 gliders but never committed it to battle.
[edit] Soviet Operations

The Soviets mounted only one large-scale Airborne operation in World War Two, despite their early leadership in the field in the 1930s. The Axis air superiority early in the conflict limited the ability of the Soviets to mount such operations, whilst later in the conflict ongoing shortages of materiel, including silk for parachutes, reduced the ability of the Soviet airborne to operate. Nonetheless, the Soviets maintained their doctrinal belief in the effectiveness of airborne forces, as part of their concept of 'deep battle', throughout the war.[6] The largest drop during the war was corp-sized, and was not successful (the Vyaz'ma Operation, the 4th Airborne Corps).[7] Airborne formations were used as elite infantry units, however and played a critical role in several battles. For example, at the Battle of Kursk, the defense of the eastern 'shoulder' of the southern penetration by Guards Airborne units was critical to holding back the German penetration. The Soviet military sent at least one team of observers to witness British and American airborne planning for D-Day,[8] but took pains not to reciprocate the liaison.

Russia pioneered the development of combat gliders, but used them only for cargo during the war.
[edit] Post World War II
[edit] Korean War

The 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team ("Rakkasans") made two combat jumps in Korea during the Korean War. The first combat jump was made on October 20, 1950 at Sunchon and Sukchon, North Korea. The missions of the 187th were to cut the road north going to China, preventing North Korean leaders from escaping from Pyongyang; and to rescue American prisoners of war.

The second combat jump was made on Easter Sunday, 1951 at Munsan-ni, South Korea codenamed Operation Tomahawk. The mission was to get behind Chinese forces and block their movement north. The 60th Indian Parachute Field Ambulance provided the medical cover for the operations, dropping an ADS and a surgical team and treating over 400 battle casualties apart from the civilian casualties that formed the core of their objective as the unit was on a humanitarian mission.

The 187th served in six campaigns in Korea. Shortly after the war the 187th ARCT was considered for use in an Airborne drop to relieve the surrounded French garrison at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam but the United States, at that time, decided not to send its troops into the combat zone.

The unit was assigned to the reactivated 101st Airborne Division and subsequently inactivated as a combat team in 1956 as part of the division's reorganization into the Pentomic structure, which featured battle groups in place of regiments and battalions. The 1st and 3rd Battalions, 187th Infantry, bearing the lineages of the former Co A and Co C, 187AIR, are now with the 101st Airborne Division as Air Assault units.
[edit] First Indochina War

The French used paratroops extensively during their 1946-54 war against the Viet Minh. Colonial, French Foreign Legion and local Vietnamese units took part in numerous operations which were to culminate in the disastrous siege of Dien Bien Phu.
[edit] Suez crisis: Operations Machbesh & Musketeer

Launching the 1956 Suez War, on October 29, 1956, Israeli paratroopers led by Ariel Sharon dropped onto the important Mitla Pass to cut off and engage Egyptian forces. Operation Machbesh (Press) was the IDF's first and only combat parachute drop in its entire history.

A few days later, Operation Musketeer needed the element of total surprise to succeed, and all 660 men had to be on the ground at El Gamil airfield and ready for action within four and a half minutes. At 04.15 hours on November 5, 1956, British 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment jumped in and although opposition was heavy, casualties were few. Meanwhile, French paratroopers of the 2nd Regiment of Colonial Paratroopers under the command of Colonel Chateau-Jobert jumped on the water treatment factory South of Port-Said.

The landings from the sea the next day saw the first large-scale heliborne assault, as 45 Commando, Royal Marines were landed by helicopters in Port Said from ships offshore.
[edit] Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

For the first time in a combat in South Asia, paratroopers were used in the subcontinent during the Second Kashmir War of 1965. A covert operation was launched by Pakistan Army with the intention of infiltrating Indian airbases and sabotaging them. The SSG (Special Service Group) commandos numbering close to 200 were parachuted into Indian territory. Indian sources however claim as many as 800-900 attempted the landing. Given that most of the Indian targets (Halwara, Pathankot and Adampur) were deep into enemy territory only a dozen or so commandos made it back alive and the stealth operation proved ineffective. Of the remaining, 136 were taken prisoners, 22 were killed in encounters with the army, local police or the civilians. The daring attempt proved to be a disaster with the Commander of the operations, Major Khalid Butt too being arrested.
[edit] Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Main article: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

In 1971, the Indian Parachute Regiment fought numerous actions both in the Eastern and Western Theatres. On 11 December, India airdropped Para Bn Gp 130 in what is now famous as the Tangail airdrop. The Paratroop unit was instrumental in denying the retreat and regrouping of the Pakistani army, and contributed substantially to collapse of Dacca. The Para Commandos also proved their unmatched skills in spectacular lightning raids into Chachro (Sindh, Pakistan) and Mandhol (Jammu and Kashmir). The Regiment earned battle honours Poongli Bridge, Chachro and Defence of Poonch during these operations.
[edit] Vietnam War

In 1963, in the Battle of Ap Bac, ARVN forces delivered airborne troops by helicopter and air drop. The use of helicopter-borne airmobile troops by the United States in Vietnam was widespread, and became an iconic image featuring in newsreels and movies about the conflict.

In February 1967 Operation Junction City was launched, it would be the largest operation the Coalition Force would assemble. During this operation, 845 members of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne), the 319th Artillery (Airborne), and elements of H&H company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade made the only combat jump in Vietnam.
[edit] Soviet and Russian VDV
A BMD-1 in Kabul, Afghanistan, 1986.

The Soviet Union maintained the world's largest airborne force during the Cold War, consisting of seven airborne divisions and a training division. The VDV was subordinated directly to the Ministry of Armed Forces of USSR, and was a 'prestige service' in the armed forces of the USSR and Russia to reflect its strategic purpose. Recruits received much more rigorous training than ordinary Soviet units. Although a light infantry force, the paratroops were the recipients of several pieces of specifically-designed equipment, such as the AKS-74 ASU-85 self-propelled gun, and the BMD-1. The VDV have participated in virtually all Soviet and Russian conflicts since the Second World War, including the Soviet war in Afghanistan. As an elite force, the VDV developed two distinctive items of clothing: the telnyashka, or striped shirt, and the famous blue beret.

Airborne assault (воздушно-штурмовые войска) units wore similar striped shirts (as did the naval infantry) but used helicopters, rather than the Military Transport Aviation's AN-12s, AN-22s, and IL-76s, which carried the Airborne Troops and their equipment. The airborne assault forces thus had tactical missions.
[edit] Soviet Glider Infantry

The Soviet's maintained three glider infantry regiments until 1965.
[edit] Operation Meghdoot

Operation Meghdoot was the name given to the preemptive strike launched by the Indian Military to capture most of the Siachen Glacier, in the disputed Kashmir region. Launched on April 13, 1984, this military operation was unique as it was the first assault launched in the world's highest battlefield. The military action was quite successful as Indian troops managed to gain two-thirds of the glacier with the rest remaining under Pakistani control.
[edit] Recent history
Members of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry, Fort Richardson, Alaska, United States

With the advantages of helicopter use, airborne forces have dwindled in numbers in recent years. Their strategic capabilities have ensured that Airborne forces are still a part of armies today with the 82nd Airborne Division and Russian Airborne forces being the largest formations of paratroopers in the world.[citation needed]

* During the 1983 Invasion of Grenada, the 75th Ranger Regiment made a combat jump on Point Salines International Airport.
* In 1989 during the U.S invasion of Panama the 82nd Airborne Division made its first combat jump in over 40 years. The 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment secured Omar Torrijos International Airport in Tocumen, Panama. The jump was made hours after the 75th Ranger Regiment conducted its two separate combat jumps. M551 Sheridan tanks were also dropped by air, the only time this capability was used in combat.
* On October 19, 2001 during Operation Enduring Freedom the 3rd Ranger Battalion and a small Command and Control Element from the Regimental Headquarters of the 75th Ranger Regiment jumped into Kandahar to secure an airfield.[citation needed]
* On March 23, 2003 A co 3/75 Ranger Regiment conducted a combat jump into Northern Iraq, to seize a desert airfield.[citation needed]
* On March 26, 2003 the US 173rd Airborne Brigade conducted a combat jump into Northern Iraq, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, to seize an airfield and support special forces. The paratroopers left from Aviano Air Base, Italy. [9][10][11]

[edit] Other meanings of the word Airborne

In the United States Air Force, the term refers to Airmen (other than pilots, navigators and weapon system officers) performing duties in aerial flight, such as the operations crew on the E-3 Sentry.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

e United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created by the United Nations, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 on March 19, 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and help the Government of Lebanon restore its effective authority in the area.[1] Beginning in 1985, Israel scaled back its permanent positions in Lebanon, although this process was punctuated by brief invasions and bombings, as in Operation Accountability in 1993 and Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996. In 1999, Israel undertook a withdrawal, which concluded in 2000 and enabled UNIFIL to resume its military tasks. The Lebanese government claims that the Shebaa farms area is Lebanese territory, although the UN considers it to be Syrian territory under Israeli military occupation. They contend that this dispute gives continued legal sanction to armed anti-Israeli groups in Lebanon (though the UN has officially certified that Israel has fully withdrawn from all areas it occupied after 1973).

Lebanese civil war
Saad Haddad (right) in a conversation with Norwegian Norbatt IV field priest major Ole Askvig Øgaard and other Norwegian UNIFIL personnel in a hotel in the Israeli town of Metula.

Prior to the 1982 Lebanon War on 2 January 1982, in which two Ghanaian soldiers guarding a UNIFIL position were attacked by unidentified persons and one of the soldiers was shot and subsequently died.[3] During the 1982 Lebanon War, UN positions were overrun, primarily by the SLA forces under Saad Haddad. This was the Lebanese paramilitary force supported by the IDF in Southern Lebanon.[4] The first UNIFIL troops were deployed in the area on March 23, 1978; these troops were reassigned from other UN peacekeeping operations in the area (namely the United Nations Emergency Force and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone).[1]

During the occupation, UNIFIL's function was mainly to provide humanitarian aid.[4]

Mandate

UNIFIL is tasked with achieving the following objectives:

* Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon
* Restore international peace and security
* Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area

Mandating resolutions by the United Nations:

* January 31, 2006: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1655[5]
* July 31, 2006: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1697[6]
* August 11, 2006: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701[7]
Post-2006 war operations
UNIFIL base

UNIFIL is currently deployed in Southern Lebanon (south of the Litani River) and primarily along the United Nations-drawn Blue Line, which is the border between Israel and Lebanon. The force's activities have centered around monitoring military activity between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces with the aim of reducing tensions and allaying tension along the border. UNIFIL has also played an important role in clearing landmines, assisting displaced persons and providing humanitarian assistance to civilians in the underdeveloped region of Southern Lebanon. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which passed as a result of the 2006 Lebanon War, its mandate and rules of engagement changed. The mandate changed to allow up to 15,000 personnel in order to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces in deploying in Southern Lebanon to implement the Lebanese government's sovereignty. The rules of engagement changed to allow the troops to open fire in certain cases: mostly in cases of self-defense but also in order to protect civilians, UN personnel and facilities.[2] The new resolution states that UNIFIL can “take all the necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces, and as it deems with its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind.”[8] On August 27, 2006, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that UNIFIL would not intercept arms shipments from Syria, unless requested to do so by Lebanon.[9]
[edit] Maritime Task Force

After the 2006 Lebanon War, the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force (MTF) was established to assist the Lebanese Naval Forces in preventing the smuggling of illegal shipments in general and armament shipments in particular. With its establishment in October 2006, the force was led by the German Navy which was also the major contributor to the force.[10] The Germans lead the MTF up until February 29, 2008 when they passed control over to EUROMARFOR - a force made up of ships from Portugal, Spain, Italy and France (of which the latter three countries sent vessels to the force in Lebanon).[11][12] As of May 2008, the German Navy is still the biggest contributor to the UNIFIL MTF sending four vessels. These four vessels are complemented by two Italian, two Greek, one French, one Spanish, one Bulgarian and one Turkish vessel to comprise the 12-vessel UNIFIL Maritime Task Force.[12]
[edit] Personnel
C.I.S.S. humanitarian staff with Italian UNIFIL soldiers in Lebanon

As of April 30, 2008, UNIFIL employs 12,341 military personnel, supported by some 307 international civilian and 606 local civilian staff[13] and it is headed by Spanish Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta.[14]

To date UNIFIL has suffered 272 fatalities: 261 troops, two military observers, five international civilian staff, and four local staff.[14]
[edit] Concerns over UNIFIL presence and neutrality
[edit] Israeli concerns

UNIFIL has fallen out of favour with both Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has criticized the force for, amongst other things, maintaining a dialogue with Hezbollah, which it views as a terrorist organization, for treating Israeli and Lebanese (and more specifically, Hezbollah) violations of security council resolution 1701 equally, while Israel views its violations of Lebanese airspace as less severe than Lebanese violations including crossings of the blue line and rocket launchings. UNIFIL was accused of complicity in the fatal abduction of IDF soldiers in October 2000, and Israel further blamed it for obstructing its investigation by denying the existence of and then once the existence was leaked, refusing to supply videos of the attack for several months.[15][16]

Prior to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict of July 2006, Israel had been lobbying for UNIFIL to either take a more active role vis-a-vis Hezbollah (for example, preventing Hezbollah from stationing near UNIFIL posts to fire at the IDF and into northern Israel) or to step out of the region (thereby voiding the Lebanese government’s excuse for not deploying Lebanese Armed Forces along the border).[17]

UNIFIL also came under criticism during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict for broadcasting detailed reports of Israeli troop movements, numbers, and positions on their website which "could have exposed Israeli soldiers to grave danger", while making no such reports about Hezbollah.[18]
[edit] Hezbollah concerns

Hezbollah supporters have accused UNIFIL of siding with Israel, especially since the passage of Resolution 1701 which they view as one-sided. On October 16, 2006 Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah declared that the UN force had “come to protect Israel, not Lebanon”.[citation needed]
[edit] Conflict in 2006
See also: Attacks on United Nations personnel during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

According to UNIFIL press releases, there have been dozens of such incidents of UN posts coming under fire during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.[19] In his 21 July 2006 report about the UNIFIL activities 21 January-18 July 2006, the UN Secretary-General stated that "Some Hezbollah positions remained in close proximity to United Nations positions, especially in the Hula area, posing a significant security risk to United Nations personnel and equipment."[20]
[edit] Combat-related incidents

* On July 17, a UNIFIL international staff member and his wife were killed when Israeli aircraft bombed the Hosh District of Tyre, Lebanon.
* On July 23, Hezbollah fire wounded an Italian observer.
* On July 25, Hezbollah opened small arms fire at a UNIFIL convoy, forcing it to retreat.
* On July 25, four soldiers from the Ghanaian battalion were lightly injured after an Israeli tank shell hit a UNIFIL position during fighting in Southern Lebanon on 24 July 2006.[21]
* Shrapnel from tank shells fired by the IDF seriously wounded an Indian soldier on 16 July 2006[22]
* On 25 July 2006 four UNTSO observers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland were killed by Israeli strikes on an OGL patrol base near Khiam in southern Lebanon. According to the UN, the Israelis claimed to be responding to "Hezbollah fire from that vicinity" and the four had taken shelter in a bunker under the post. The area around the site was hit by a precision guided bomb from an Israeli jet and shelled a total of 14 times by Israeli artillery[23] throughout the day despite warning calls made by UN personnel to the IDF.[24] However, General Alain Pellegrini, then commander of UNIFIL, claims that he attempted to call Israeli officials "five or six times", but never got past their secretaries. Later, Israeli artillery shelling resumed as a rescue team tried to clear the rubble.[25]
* On 29 July, two Indian soldiers were wounded when their post was damaged during an Israeli airstrike in Southern Lebanon.
* On 6 August, a Hezbollah rocket hit the headquarters of the Chinese UNIFIL contingent, wounding three Chinese soldiers.
* On 12 August, a Ghanian soldier was wounded when Israeli artillery shelled the area near the village of Haris.
* On 14 August, Israeli aircraft fired two missiles onto a Palestinian faction in Saida, killing UN staff member Abdel Sagir.

[edit] Reinforcements
Italian Soldier on guard during UNIFIL
Search Wikinews Wikinews has related news: France offers promised 2000 soldiers to the UN in Lebanon

Following the cease-fire, the UNIFIL will receive vast reinforcement, up to 15 000 men, and heavy equipment. France is committed to increase her complement from 400 to 2,000 men and send Leclerc heavy tanks and AMX 30 AuF1 self-propelled artillery [26], in addition to the forces deployed in Opération Baliste. Italy will send 3,000 troops.[27]Qatar will send between 200 and 300 troops. [28]

A naval component of UNIFIL is being set up to assist the Lebanese Navy preventing arms proliferation to Hezbollah. This force is under the command of a German admiral with the majority of vessels being provided by the German Navy.

Indonesian contingent has received 12 VAB(Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé) on February 17, 2007, as the part of the second wave of shipment from the agreement between the French and Indonesian governments. Amongst the equipments sent with the second wave of VABs are 10 tool boxes (pioneering equipment), 10 armored vehicle radio communications unit, HMG (Heavy Machine Gun) shooter shield, and 40 water jerrycans.[29]
[edit] Incidents involving Israeli planes

On the 3 October 2006, an Israeli fighter penetrated the 2-nautical-mile (3.7 km) defence perimeter of the French frigate Courbet, triggering a diplomatic incident. Israel apologised after official protests from the French government [30][31].

On 24 October, six Israeli F-16s flew over a German vessel patrolling off Israel's coast just south of the Lebanese border. The German Defence Ministry said that the planes had given off infrared decoys and one of the aircraft had fired two shots into the air, which had not been specifically aimed. The Israeli military said that a German helicopter took off from the vessel without having coordinated this with Israel, and denied vehemently having fired any shots at the vessel and said "as of now" it also had no knowledge of the jets launching flares over it. Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz telephoned his German counterpart Franz Josef Jung to clarify that 'Israel has no intention to carry out any aggressive actions' against the German peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, who are there as part of UNIFIL to enforce an arms embargo against Hezbollah. Germany confirmed the consultations, and that both sides were interested in maintaining good cooperation.[32][33][34]

On 31 October 2006, eight Israeli F-15s flew over many areas of Lebanon, including Beirut.[35][36] The IAF jets also flew over a French peacekeeper position in Lebanon. According to the French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, the planes came in at what was interpreted as an attack formation, and the peacekeepers were "seconds away" from firing at the jets with an anti aircraft missile.[37]

In a report to the Security Council, Annan reported that there were no serious incidents or confrontations, but that peacekeepers reported Israeli flyovers "almost on a daily basis". Israel claimed that the flyovers were to prevent Hezbollah from receiving arms shipments from Syria or Iran.[38]

General Alain Pellegrini warned that the Israeli flyovers violated the cease fire, and threatened the use of force.
[edit] Post-conflict situation

On 24 June 2007, six UNIFIL soldiers (three Colombians and three Spanish) were killed after their vehicle was hit by an explosive device; two others (both Spanish) were injured in the incident.[39] No group has yet admitted responsibility. The Israeli military believed the attack to be the work of al-Qaeda/Global Jihad members.[40]

On January 8, 2008 a roadside bomb injured two Irish UNIFIL soldiers 35 km south of Beirut.[41]

On March 30, 2008 the UNIFIL patrol, following a suspicious pickup truck that was towing a trailer in the western sector of UNIFIL's area of operations, was blocked by two other vehicles with five armed persons. According to the UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouzianne, the patrol challenged the armed people who left the area after about three minutes before a positive identification could be made.[42]

The Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Ambassador Dan Carmon, met with UNIFIL commander, Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano, on 15 August 2008, after Israel was accused of unilaterally violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 by the almost daily overflights of Lebanese airspace, the continued occupation of the village of Ghajar and Israel's refusal to submit maps of areas on which it dropped cluster munitions during the 2006 Lebanese war.[43]