Special Operations.Com

Belgium

NEW UNIT - MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW

The town of Flawinne, Namur.

There is a new elite unit within the Paracommandos. The new unit is a combination of the "Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol" and the "Pathfinders". It is comprised of 80 men and has it's base in Flawinne, Namen (Namur), a town in the French speaking part of the country.  It was deployed during operation Restore Hope in Somalia, so it already active for a long time.  The new base reportedly has a sniping range which is used on a regular basis.  The new unit is supposed to be more secretive than the LRRP. Flawinne is also a bit more secluded than Heverlee, so that helps.

There are three Para-Commando battalions in the Belgian Army.
a.. the 1st Paratroopers Battalion 
b.. the 2nd Commando Battalion 
c.. the 3rd Paratroopers Battalion 
Don't let the 'Commando' and 'Paratroopers' names confuse you, all the battalions are exactly alike in training and missions.

In the Second Battalion, at Flawinne, there is a now a Special Forces unit.
So they now get their orders from the commander of the Para-Commando's , but they still operate as a Special Forces unit in all regards. They will not be trained, deployed or equipped as 'regular' commando's.

The unit does indeed merge the Pathfinders and the LRRP.
The Pathfinders was unit that was integrated within the 2nd Commando Battalion, so in that regard, the 2nd was already a bit the Recon unit of the Para-Commando's. The Pathfinders operated in 6 man teams, and their mission was very comparable to that of Pathfinders or CCT within the US military. You already know the LRRP, who operate in 4 man teams and closely resemble the British SAS in many ways.

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