On January 3rd, 2021, at the 26 Airborne Infantry Battalion Parade Field, a parade was held in order to farewell the Brazilian Culminating Subunit that was ready to embark. After two years of training, the Airborne Company will travel to the U.S. to take part in a combined exercise in the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), Fort Polk, Louisiana, USA, from January 3rd to February 22nd, 2021. The exercise is an exchange between both countries and concludes a series of activities as part of a five-year Joint Plan.
The task Force that was trained to be deployed to airborne operations uses state-of-the-art collective and individual equipment and weapons: 84 mm recoilless cannons; 60 and 81mm mortars; light machine guns, night vision equipment; laser sights; optical monoculars; GPS; varied means of communications and MC-1 parachutes. A subunit level Task Force comprises 172 airborne troops.
The Culminating Exercise will have an airborne subunit as part of a Battalion of a Brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army.
In Brazil, the exercise consisted of 5 phases. On the 1st and 2nd ones, the subunit from the Airborne Infantry Brigade took part in an airborne assault, accomplishing missions to conquer and maintain an airhead. On the 3rd and 4th phases, the troops trained airmobile infiltration as well as the occupation and stabilization of the urban area of São José do Barreiro, in São Paulo. On the 5th phase, Live Fire was conducted.
The following service members participated in the ceremony: the Commander of the 1st Army Division, Lieutenant General Kleber Nunes de Vasconcellos, the Land Force Chief for Preparation of troops, Lieutenant General Marcos de Sá Affonso da Costa and the Chief of Staff of the Airborne Infantry Brigade, Colonel Fabiano Lima de Carvalho. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, all sanitary measures were adopted and only two family members of each Culminating serviceman were invited for the farewell ceremony.
* An Airborne Company consists of three Rifle Platoons, one Support Platoon and a Command Section.
