In Marche-Les-Dames, in the province of Namur, the para-commandos opened their doors to the public to present their extraordinary profession, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of their training center.
This open day allows you to learn more regarding this elite unit, starting with its distinction from other soldiers. They have an advanced mastery of climbing, abseiling, and other techniques in mountainous environments. The para-commandos took the opportunity to give a demonstration: a commando climbed a small cliff, but his ladder broke. One of his colleagues then picks him up as an abseil. It is an operation that illustrates what can happen on the ground. “In some missions, when deployed in Kosovo or Afghanistan, there are passages in the mountains. We realize that more and more, this training is necessary” justifies Johan Delvaux, warrant officer in charge of staff at the Marche-les-Dames camp.
Personnel who have undergone para-commando training have undergone one more filter
Second distinction compared to a classic soldier: the physical and mental training which allows the para-commando to be more resistant and to intervene in difficult conflict zones. Visitors were able to observe him during a demonstration of firefights with the enemy. Once mastered, it was a helicopter that landed on the battlefield: “You have the helicopter which is on the position. The elements are descending via the smooth rope. Directly, they will establish their safety by doing a 360. Once the ‘downwash’, the wind from the helicopter, will have dissipated, they will be able to proceed with the cleaning of the objective” describes the lieutenant who manages the operation. He did not wish to reveal his identity and rightly so: discretion and requirement are other qualities of para-commandos. “With all the respect I have for my colleagues from other units of course, the personnel who have undergone para-commando training have undergone an additional filter, with which we differentiate people who have what it takes on a physical level. and mind“.
The various demonstrations and the professionalism of these soldiers impressed the public in any case: “It’s crazy to think that they know how to do that, that they learned“, “it’s impressive to see, and frankly, it was a very nice demonstration“, “we discover things that we cannot usually see so I think it was quite nice and it was the opportunity to come” they say. A moment of pride for the para-commandos, who are celebrating their 75th anniversary. The commandos are celebrating their 80th anniversary.
