10 Paratrooper Brigade

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10 Paratrooper Brigade
Insignia of 10 PARA Brigade
Active	1970s - Present
Country	Malaysia
Branch	Malaysian Armed Forces
Type	Parachute Special Forces
Role	Counter Terrorism, Parachute Infantry Unit
Size	8th Bn Royal Ranger Regt (Para), 17th Bn Royal Malay Regt (Para), 9th Bn Royal Malay Regt (Para), Immediate Response Team, PAC, 1st Royal Artillery Regiment, 1 Armour squadron, other supporting units including Signals, Engineers, Medical, Pathfinder Platoon
Part of	Royal Malay Regiment, Malaysian Army
Garrison/HQ	10 PARA HQ, Terendak Camp, Malacca
Nickname	Act Fast (English:Tindak Pantas)
Motto	Tiada Misi Terlalu Sukar, Tiada Pengorbanan Terlalu Besar, Tugas Diutamakan (English:No Mission Is Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Is Too Great, The Mission Comes First)
Colors	Maroon beret
Battles/wars	Operation Astute Ops Pasir

10 Parachute Brigade - commonly known as 10 PARA - is a standard infantry brigade-sized unit within the Malaysian Army tasked with being rapidly deployed inside or outside the boundaries of Malaysia. 10 PARA is the key element of the Malaysian Pasukan Aturgerak Cepat (Immediate Response Team, PAC).

[edit] Beginning

10 PARA's primary role is to be the nation's main offensive force in time of war or emergencies. The creation of the Parachute Brigade was proposed by Malaysia's defence planners in the late 1970s as a part of the modernisation plan for the military. The plan originally did not receive much support from the government due to concerns that the formation of such a brigade would be looked with suspicion by its neighbour, Singapore.

In November, 1988 Malaysia was unable to respond to a request for assistance by Maldives when that country was invaded by Tamil mercenaries. This inability to render timely help prompted Malaysian leaders to move to form paratrooper units within the Malaysian Army.

[edit] Timeline

• 1988 - a single Malaysian Army infantry battalion from the 8 Royal Ranger Regiment is parachute trained and converted from their traditional infantry role into a parachute battalion. This battalion becomes the first members of the new rapid deployment force.
• 1990 - 17th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment and 9th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment are jump qualified and join the rapid deployment force.
• October 10, 1994 - Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mahathir Mohamad formally redesignates the 10 Malaysian Infantry Brigade as the 10 Parachute Brigade.
• October, 1994 - 10 PARA undertakes a rapid deployment exercise, supported by elements of the Malaysian Special Forces Group (Gerup Gerak Khas) and PASKAL and with operational support provided by the Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Malaysian Air Force. The exercise centres around a scenario of the retaking of Langkawi International Airport from an invading force by the Rapid Deployment Force spearheaded by 8th Rangers (Para).

[edit] 10th Para Motto

The official Motto:Tindak Pantas (English:Act Fast). Members of 10 Para wear the maroon beret. The motto of 10 Para is Tiada Misi Terlalu Sukar, Tiada Pengorbanan Terlalu Besar, Tugas Diutamakan, meaning, No mission is too difficult, no sacrifice is too great, duty comes first.

[edit] Training

Members of the brigade must have passed a series physical qualifying test (Latihan Semangat Waja) which among others include the 12 kilometer march, raid execution, a 5 kilometer escape and evasion exercise, 30 kilometer navigation exercise and a 32 kilometer forced march designed to mentally and physically test candidates for jump qualification.

[edit] Equipment

[edit] 2006 Composition

One of 10 Para Officer, Capt. Norul Hisyam in teaches patrol, ambush, and jungle attack to U.S. Marines and sailors

As of August, 2006 10 Para is based at Kem Terendak in Melaka and consists of:

• 3 paratrooper battalions
  • 8th Bn Royal Ranger Regt (Para)
  • 17th Bn Royal Malay Regt (Para)
  • 9th Bn Royal Malay Regt (Para)
• 1 artillery regiment
  • 1st Royal Artillery Regiment
• 1 Armour squadron
  • equipped with British-made Alvis Scorpion equipped with 90mm Cockerill Mk III gun and Stormer APCs armed with 20 mm Oerlikon Contraves guns. The armored squadron was formerly "B" Squadron of 11th Armor and transferred as component of 10 Para in 1992.
• other supporting units including Signals, Engineers, Medical.
• Pathfinder Platoon

[edit] 2006 Deployment

As of August, 2006 10 PARA is deployed in Ops Pasir in Sabah to prevent terrorist elements from the Philippines from entering Malaysia. In May 2006, 209 soldiers from 10 PARA were deployed to Timor Leste as part of the Australian-led Operation Astute. ^[1]

[edit] Previous Deployment

The unit has been deployed in the following operations:

• Malaysian Medical Team (MASMEDTIM), Chaman, Pakistan
• MASMEDTIM, Kashmir, Pakistan
• MASMEDTIM, Acheh
• MALCON, Lebanon

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Paskal
• Maldives for more information on the invasion of Maldives by Tamil mercenaries.