Amid a state visit by President Macron last month, 20 soldiers from the French 11e Brigade Parachutiste paid a visit to the No 1 Parachute Training School at RAF Brize Norton to jump under UK parachutes.
“The equipment and procedures we use are slightly different to the French, but it all comes from the same principles, and they’ve adapted quickly,” explained instructor Cpl Craig Corrigan (Para).
“Training like this is important, because the more we know about each other the better prepared we are to go on ops together.”
After a day of ground training to build familiarity with the kit and procedures (pictured above), the French paras did a parachute jump to earn their ‘bonds of friendship’ wings.
Cpl Corrigan added: “It’s important to build human relationships – we are all paratroopers, with similar training and mindset, and being able to earn a different nation’s parachute wings celebrates that special bond.”
The Airborne Combined Joint Expeditionary Force is a partnership between 16 Air Assault Brigade and 11e BP. Both brigades serve as their armies’ rapid response forces and have been trained and ready to deploy together in response to global crises since 2013.
