16 Air Assault Brigade 16 Air Assault Brigade ( 16 Air Asslt Bde ) is a formation of the British Army based in Colchester in the county of Essex . It is the Army ' s rapid response airborne formation and is the only Operational Brigade in the British Army capable of delivering Air Manoeuvre , Air Assault and Airborne operations . It was formed as part of the defence reforms implemented by the Strategic Defence Review on 1 September 1999 by the merging of 24 Airmobile Brigade and elements of 5th Airborne Brigade . This grouping created a highly mobile brigade of parachute units and airmobile units which employ helicopters . It is the only airborne brigade within the British Army , and in line with current Dress Regulations members of parachute regiment wear the maroon beret . Background . As the British Army ' s rapid response formation , 16 Air Assault Brigade has served in the vanguard of all the Army ' s recent operational deployments to Sierra Leone , Macedonia , Iraq and Afghanistan , and is the largest brigade in the British Army , with 8 , 000 personnel . Its structure makes it a highly flexible unit . It comprises a Formation Reconnaissance Squadron , an artillery regiment with an attached air defence battery , an engineer regiment , two parachute infantry battalions and two air assault infantry battalions , three aviation regiments , logistics , medical and mechanical engineering regiments or battalions and the Pathfinder group . The brigade HQ is based in Colchester Garrison and is under the operational command of the tri - service Joint Helicopter Command ( JHC ) . It is assigned to the British - led Allied Rapid Reaction Corps of NATO as Corps Troops . For administrative purposes , it is under the control of 5th Division , now Support Command . The brigade is based in Colchester , Essex and the Brigade Headquarters has personnel from both the British Army and the Royal Air Force assigned , enabling it to carry out Air and Land operations . Due to the brigade ' s mobile role it is lightly armed and equipped . The brigade ' s land equipment includes Scimitar s , WMIK Land Rovers , Supacats , towed L118 105 mm light gun s , Javelin anti - tank and lightweight Starstreak air - defence missile launchers . The aviation element of the brigade consists of three attack regiments equipped with WAH - 64 Apache and Lynx helicopters from the Army Air Corps , and Chinook , Merlin and Puma support helicopters from the RAF . The brigade is also supported by the RAF ' s Hercules transport aircraft fleet . Furthermore , two four - man Tactical Air Control Parties ( TACPs ) manned by the RAF Regiment , provide airspace deconfliction , integration of air platforms within the battlespace , and terminal control of air assets . Pathfinder Group . The Pathfinder Group is made up of selected personnel from the armed forces , who have undergone a rigorous selection and training programme . The Group is formed around a platoon to company strength cadre of reconnaissance and communications specialists . Its role includes locating and marking parachute drop zones and tactical and helicopter landing zones for air landing operations . Once the main force has landed , the group provides tactical intelligence vital to the operational decision - making within the brigade headquarters . The pathfinders can utilise various airborne insertion techniques which range from the current in - service Low Level Parachute ( LLP ) , going up to High Altitude Low Opening ( HALO ) and High Altitude High Opening ( HAHO ) systems . Traditions . The numeral 16 is derived from the 1st Airborne Division and 6th Airborne Division of the Second World War , first used by the 16th Parachute Brigade formed in 1948 . The brigade ' s sign is that of a light - blue and maroon shield with a light blue Striking Eagle outlined in maroon emblazoned on it and was adopted from the Special Training Centre in Lochailort , Scotland , where Special Forces and Airborne troops were trained between 1943 and 1945 . The sign is worn on the left arm . The colours chosen are traditional and show the make - up of the brigade , maroon for Airborne and light - blue for Army Air Corps . The symbol of 5 Airborne Brigade had been Bellerophon on top of Pegasus ( a winged horse of Greek mythology ) which became synonymous with the airborne forces during World War II . There was some controversy when the Parachute units of 5 Airborne had to give up the symbol and replace it with 16 Air Assault ' s symbol . History . Macedonia . After a ceasefire was declared in the Republic of Macedonia between government forces and rebels known as the National Liberation Army , NATO launched a British - led effort , Operation Essential Harvest , to collect weapons voluntarily given up by the rebels . The brigade HQ and some of its elements deployed in August 2001 , acting as the spearhead for the NATO operation . It returned home after the NATO mission was successfully completed in September . Afghanistan . After the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 , NATO established a peacekeeping force in December known as the International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF ) , based in the capital Kabul . The brigade HQ and some of its units deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 , 2006 , 2008 and again in 2010 - 11 , 16th Air Assault Brigade has currently deployed to Afghanistan more than any other . Iraq . During the build - up to the invasion of Iraq , the brigade , commanded by Brigadier ' Jacko ' Page , was deployed to Kuwait in February 2003 . The brigade was part of 1 ( UK ) Armoured Division and after extensive training in Kuwait it took part in the beginning of the invasion on 20 March . Initial speculation in the British media suggested that the brigade would support the American 82nd and 101st divisions in an airborne assault on the Saddam International Airport in Baghdad . This plan did not , however , come into fruition . The brigade ' s eventual objective was to secure the southern oil fields before they were destroyed by Saddam Hussain ' s forces . The brigade ' s 7th Parachute Regiment , Royal Horse Artillery entered Iraq on 20 March to support U . S . Marine Corps forces in their efforts to capture the Rumaila oil fields , nearly all of the oil wells being taken intact . The rest of the brigade , supported by its AAC helicopters , entered Iraq soon afterwards , still tasked with securing Rumaila . The brigade often met sporadic resistance and had to deal with disarming the many explosives attached to the infrastructure . The brigade was subsequently used to guard the oil fields and protect Allied supply lines with elements moving further north of Basra – Iraq ' s second largest city – to provide a screen protecting it from Iraqi attack . On 31 March the brigade , assisted by artillery and air support , attacked an Iraqi armoured column advancing on Basra , destroying 17 T - 55 tanks , 5 artillery pieces and 7 armoured personnel carriers . After British forces entered Basra on 6 April , 3 PARA was employed to clear the ' old quarter ' of the city on 7 April due to the narrow streets making it inaccessible to vehicles . After Basra ' s capture the brigade was based in Maysan Province , centred around the province ' s capital Al - Amarah . The brigade carried out patrols into towns , helped bring normality back to the south , tried to maintain order and destroyed any conventional weapons caches that were found . The war was officially declared over on 1 May and the brigade began to return home that same month . During one patrol into Majar al - Kabir on 24 June the brigade suffered its largest casualties in Iraq when six Royal Military Police men of 156 Provost Company were killed by a large Iraqi mob . A patrol of 1 PARA were ambushed at the same time but were successfully extracted from the area . By the time the brigade left Iraq it had collectively suffered nine killed . It was reported that two soldiers from the brigade had refused to fight just before the war began , and were sent back to Colchester Garrison . Future . The unit composition is likely to change due to the Army 2020 plan . The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders , 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland will not be part of the brigade and will be reduced to a company - sized unit for public duties in Scotland . 4th Battalion , Parachute Regiment will be paired with the Brigade as a reserve air assault battalion . The Brigade HQ , along most of the main combat and support units , will remain at Colchester . The Household Cavalry squadron may not be part of the ORBAT in 2020 . " Note " : 1st Battalion , The Parachute Regiment now operates within the Special Forces Support Group .