Editing Paratrooper (section)

===Portugal===
{{main|Portuguese Paratroopers}}

The first Portuguese paratroopers were part of a small [[commando]] unit, organized in [[Australia]], during World War II, with the objective to be dropped in the rearguard of the Japanese troops that were occupying [[Portuguese Timor]].

However, the first regular parachute unit was only created in 1955, by the [[Portuguese Air Force]], as the Parachute ''[[Caçadores]]'' Battalion. This unit adopted the [[green beret]], which has become, since then, the principal emblem of the Portuguese paratroopers. The Battalion was expanded to a Regiment and additional parachute battalions were created in the Portuguese overseas territories of [[Portuguese Angola|Angola]], [[Portuguese Mozambique|Mozambique]] and [[Portuguese Guinea|Guinea]]. These units were actively engaged in the [[Portuguese Colonial War]], from 1961 to 1975, being involved both in airborne and air assault operations. In addition to the regular units of paratroopers, in Mozambique were also created the [[Special Groups (Portugal)|Parachute Special Groups]], composed of African irregular troops who wore a [[maroon beret]].

With the end of the Colonial War, the Portuguese parachute troops were reorganized as the Paratroopers Corps, with the Light Parachute Brigade as its operational unit. In 1993, the Paratroopers Corps was transferred from the Portuguese Air Force to the [[Portuguese Army]] and become the Airborne Troops Command, with the Independent Airborne Brigade as its operational unit.

The reorganization of the Portuguese Army in 2006 caused the extinction of the Airborne Troops Command. The Independent Airborne Brigade was transformed in the present [[Portuguese Rapid Reaction Brigade|Rapid Reaction Brigade]], which now includes not only parachute troops but also [[Special Operations Troops Centre|special operations]] and [[Portuguese Army Commandos|commando troops]].