Commando Parachute Group

Commando Parachute Group
Groupement des Commandos Parachutistes
shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1965 - present
CountryFrance
BranchFrench Army
TypeAirborne Light Infantry
Role• Pathfinding

• DZ marking

• Raiding

• Reconnaissance

• Deep Reconnaissance

• Long-Range Reconnaissance

• Direct Action

• Counterterrorism
Size19 Teams (around 250 men in total)
Part ofCommandement de la force d'action terrestre11 Parachute Brigade
Nickname(s)GCP
Insignia
French Chuteur Opérationnel Brevet of Commando Parachute Group

The Commando Parachute Group (French: Groupement des Commandos Parachutistes, GCP) is a unit of elite pathfinders within the French Army's 11th Parachute Brigade (11e BP). These pathfinders are paratroopers drawn from the various regiments of the brigade who then undertake GCP training and must pass various requirements. Referred to as "commandos paras" (para commandos), they numbered less than 250 men in 2015 out of the more than 8,000 paratroopers serving in the 11e BP. This unit doesn’t belong to French Special Forces but to 11 Parachute Brigade.

The GCP also has what can be considered a sister unit within the French Army: the Groupement de Commandos de Montagne (Mountain Commando Group) or GCM, which is part of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade. While the GCP members are exclusively selected from airborne regiments, GCM commandos are drawn from the French mountain units, notably from the Alpine Hunter battalions.