2nd Battalion , Parachute Regiment The Second Battalion , Parachute Regiment ( 2 PARA ) , is a battalion - sized formation of the British Army ' s Parachute Regiment and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade whose Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Adam Dawson OBE , MC . 2 PARA is an airborne light infantry unit capable of a wide range of operational tasks , based at Merville Barracks , Colchester Garrison , England . Personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations and training . All personnel have completed the Pre Parachute Selection ( P Company ) course at Depot PARA at Catterick , North Yorkshire ( previously Aldershot , Hampshire ) , entitling them to wear the maroon beret . History . The 2nd Battalion was formed on 30 September 1941 , as the 2nd Parachute Battalion , and later became part of the Army Air Corps . The battalion took part in their first active operation over the night of the 27 – 28 February 1942 , Operation Biting , the raid on Bruneval in France . On 1 August of the same year the battalion was renamed the 2nd Battalion , the Parachute Regiment . The battalion was part of the 1st Parachute Brigade , 1st Airborne Division , and fought in the British airborne operations in North Africa , Operation Fustian in Sicily , Operation Slapstick on the Italian mainland and , most famously , the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 . After the Second World War the battalion was reformed and served with the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine . It was then amalgamated with the 3rd Parachute Battalion and renamed the 2nd / 3rd Battalion and shortly afterwards disbanded . A new 2nd Battalion was formed later the same year by renumbering the 5th ( Scottish ) Parachute Battalion . In 1951 the battalion was deployed to Ismaïlia , Egypt , after civil unrest in the region and to protect the Suez Canal . In July 1956 , 2 Para went to Cyprus to counter EOKA insurgency . They then took part in Operation Musketeer in November of the same year as part of 16 Independent Parachute Brigade , landing by sea and occupying El Cap . In June 1961 , as part of an 8 , 000 strong battle - group , 2 Para was sent to Kuwait to forestall a threatened invasion by Iraq . In early 1965 the battalion was rushed to Singapore in response to a threat of invasion of Borneo by Indonesia . In the following Indonesian Confrontation , B Company repulsed an attack by an Indonesian battalion in the jungle at Plaman Mapu . In March 1969 , 2 Para went to the Caribbean island of Anguilla to restore the British administration . They landed by boat from three Royal Navy frigate s together with 40 police officers , and were later awarded the Wilkinson Sword of Peace ‘ for acts of humanity and kindness overseas ’ . In the 1970s the battalion was sent to Northern Ireland as part of Operation Banner for the first of many tours . In 1982 the battalion was part of the force sent to the South Atlantic in Operation Corporate , as part of 3 Commando Brigade . The battalion were the first troops from the main assault body to land on the islands . Landing on the shore at San Carlos Water ( codename : Blue Beach ) Their first battle was the Battle of Goose Green , on 28 May . This was followed by the Battle of Wireless Ridge before they participated in the recapture of Port Stanley . In August 2001 the battalion was part of the NATO Operation Essential Harvest in Macedonia . This was followed in 2002 by Operation Fingal , in Afghanistan . The battalion took part in Operation Telic in Iraq and Operation Herrick in Afghanistan .