| 10 Paratrooper Brigade (Airborne) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1970s - present |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Branch | Malaysian Army |
| Type | Elite Airborne Infantry, Rapid deployment force |
| Role | Air Assault, Coastal Operations, Heli Operations, Spearhead Operations, Raids, Vertical Envelopment Forced Entry |
| Part of | Malaysian Armed Forces, Malaysian Special Operations Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Terendak, Malacca |
| Nickname | 10 PARA |
| Motto | Tindak Pantas (English: ACT FAST) |
| Beret | Maroon beret Black beret (Armor corps only) |
| March | Tiada Misi Terlalu Sukar, Tiada Pengorbanan Terlalu Besar, Tugas Diutamakan (English: No Mission Is Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Is Too Great, Duties Comes First) |
| Engagements | Operation Astute MALTIM INTERFET,Timor Timur MASMEDTIM, Indonesia MASMEDTIM, Pakistan Ops Pasir Genting Sempah Incident MALCON - UNIFIL 2007 |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
Brigadier General Dato' Suhaimi Mohd Zuki |
The 10 Paratrooper Brigade (Malay: 10 Briged Para) - commonly known as 10th Para - is an elite airborne brigade-sized unit within the Malaysian Army tasked with being rapidly deployed inside or outside the boundaries of Malaysia. 10th Para is the key element of the Malaysian Rapid Deployment Force (Malay: Pasukan Aturgerak Cepat; PAC).
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10th 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.
10 Paratrooper Brigade is highly skilled in accordance with its status as a Rapid Deployment Force. Paratroopers are vigorously trained for specialised combat operations and rapid deployment in alignment with the brigade's motto -Tindak Pantas (English: Act Fast).
Members of the brigade must pass a series physical qualifying tests (Latihan Semangat Waja) before being qualified for wear the maroon berets and parachute wings.
Many of the qualifying tests include: marches, raids, escape and evasions, abseiling, rappelling, mounted Gunung Ledang, survival skills, navigation, boating, running, and armory dexterities.
These were designed to mentally and physically test candidates for jump qualifications.
Basics for specialists include:
| Firearms | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistols | Shotgun | Submachineguns | Service Rifles | Sniper Rifles | Machineguns | ||
| Beretta M92F/S | Remington 870 | HK MP5SD3 | Colt M4A1 | Acc-Int. PM | FN MAG 58 | ||
| Browning HP Mk.3 | Colt M16A1 Model 653 | Harris M-96 | FN Minimi Mk.2 | ||||
| Colt M1911A1 | Colt M16A4 | HK 11A1 | |||||
| Glock 26 | Steyr AUGout of services | ||||||
| HK P9S | |||||||
| HK USP9 | |||||||
| Sig Sauer P226 | |||||||
The unit has been deployed in the following operations:
| Operation | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Malaysian Medical Team (MASMEDTIM), Chaman | Pakistan | |
| MASMEDTIM, Kashmir | Pakistan | |
| MASMEDTIM, Acheh | Indonesia | |
| Operations PADANAN SIPADAN ISLAND RESORT (Ops Pasir) | Malaysia | 2006 |
| Operation Astute[2] | Timor-Leste | 2006 |
| MALCON-UNIFIL, Lebanon[3] | Lebanon | 2007–Present |
| Genting Sempah Incident[4] | Malaysia | 2007 |
On October 14, 2005, The Malaysian Medical Team (MasMedTim) soldiers serving in earthquake-hit Battagram, Pakistan have been recommended for a service allowance of RM100 a day. The team, which left for Pakistan had set up a field hospital in Battagram, some 250 km from Islamabad, on Oct 26. Equipped only with tents that were more suitable for the tropics and kerosene heaters, MasMedTim soldiers had to battle subzero temperatures while carrying out their duties of providing aid to survivors of the Oct 8 South Asia earthquake. Insufficient winter clothes and the lack of hot water at the campsite was affecting soldiers for over two months now as the temperature sometimes dropped to minus-7 degrees Celsius at night.[5]
The security surveillance, code-named Operation Padanan Sipadan Island Resort or known as Ops Pasir, which was launched on September 20, 2000 following the hostage-taking incidents in Sipadan and Pandanan islands, had restored confidence among tourists, including from the United States, to come to the resort islands. The integrated operation involves the Malaysian army, navy and air force as well as other related agencies such as the police and the coast guard.[6]
Maldives for more information on the invasion of Maldives by Tamil mercenaries.