Paras reign in Spain, Ex Listed Paratrooper, C Coy 3 PARA, November 2016.

Paras reign in Spain

British paratroopers are being put through their paces alongside their Spanish counterparts as part of a joint exercise on the open plains of the country’s arid interior.

Exercise LISTED PARATROOPER has brought together the men of C Company, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (C Coy, 3 PARA) with the Brigada Paracaidista "Almogávares" VI (BRIPAC), based around an hour to the north-east of Madrid.

The two-week training package is designed to test the troops in a range of disciplines, from marksmanship to Offensive Action drills. A joint jump has been conducted from a Spanish CH47 Chinook helicopter, familiarising the British with their hosts’ parachute systems and earning them their Spanish jump wings. Soldiers from both nations then transitioned into a week-long final tactical phase.

The exercise’s principal focus is on building interoperability between British and Spanish units, while simultaneously reinforcing their shared bond of Airborne brotherhood and opening the way for parachutists from both countries to conduct further joint training, and potentially deploy on future operations together.

Major Rick Lewin, Officer Commanding C Coy, 3 PARA, reinforced the importance of this burgeoning partnership, saying: “The Spanish are a key ally for the UK. When we arrived the Spanish commander mentioned that anywhere we go we’ll be fighting alongside allied troops and we’re here for that purpose, to get to know one another, and to get to know one another’s capabilities so we can work and potentially fight efficiently together.”

He added: “Being a paratrooper is all about being ready. It’s about being ready to deploy anywhere at extremely short notice in the most demanding of conditions. There is a benefit to that in its own right and that’s very much the mind-set we have as an organization, and when I say we I mean the British Parachute Regiment and BRIPAC in Spain”

Enthusiasm for working with the Spanish was shared across all ranks. Private Ross Lainchbury from Ipswich in Suffolk said: “As individuals they’re sound blokes. They work well as a unit, we got on well with their training, with them teaching us to use their kit and how to do their drills when exiting the aircraft and when underneath the canopy after you’ve jumped, so it’s been a good experience working with them. I’d be happy to go on operations with the Spanish any day.”

Private Andrew Hutton from Stirling in Scotland said: “It was a good experience. They were very professional – we got a whole Company jumped within an hour, so it was good to see how quick they could actually get us out the door. We came here optimistic, but they’ve actually really impressed me.”

Spanish airborne Signaller Juan Cifuentes of BRIPAC echoed the sentiments of his British colleagues, saying: “I’ve found it very rewarding, because although we have many differences we share many things, and this makes it easy and fun to work with them. I believe everyone who has seen themselves in front of the open door of a plane in the air and felt that fear inside has a bond that cannot be expressed but crosses all boundaries. We have all felt the same so in a way we all belong to the same team.”