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Parachute Troops School | |
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Escola de Tropas Paraquedistas | |
Active | 1915-1918 1955-present |
Country | Portugal |
Branch | Portuguese Army |
Type | Military instruction school |
Size | Two battalions |
Part of | Rapid Reaction Brigade |
Garrison/HQ | Aeroterrestrial Support Battalion Instruction Battalion |
Nickname(s) | Páras / Boinas Verdes (Paras / Green Berets) |
Motto(s) | "Que nunca por vencidos se conheçam" (Let them never be known as vanquished) |
March | Ó Pátria Mãe |
The Regimento de Paraquedistas (formerly: Escola de Tropas Pára-Quedistas - Parachute Troops School), based in Tancos, Portugal, is a unit of the Portuguese Army and serves as the instruction center for recruitment and training of the Portuguese paratroopers. This unit includes an entire battalion, acting as support and reserve for airborne units which contains for example, military war dogs and airborne pathfinders and an instruction battalion responsible for the forming of new paratroopers.
The RPára is part of the Rapid Reaction Brigade that includes other elite units like the army commandos and Army Special Operations.
Like other Portuguese airborne units, the troops of the school are nicknamed "Boinas Verdes" (Green Berets) while recruits are nicknamed "Catatuas".