French Army Special Forces Brigade

The Army Special Forces Brigade (Brigade des Forces Spéciales Terre, BFST) is the French Army's special forces unit. It is based in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

History
The BFST is the heir of the Groupement Spécial Autonome (GSA, independent special grouping) created in 1997 and then commanded the 1er RPIMa and a special operations flight belonging to the 4e Régiment d'Hélicoptères de Combat et de Manœuvre (4e RHCM, 4th attack and manoeuvre helicopters regiment) of the ALAT.

In 1998, the Détachement ALAT des Opérations Spéciales (DAOS, ALAT detachment for special operations) was created. In 1999 the GSA became the Commandement des Forces Spéciales Terre (CFST, special forces command, army).

The BFST was activated on 1 July 2002 instead of the CFST and included the 13e RDP. The BFST conduct an annual exercise called Gorgones (gorgons) to ensure interoperability of the three units. The name Gorgones refers to the three units, as the three mythological figures.

The BFST has supported the peacekeeping operation in Côte d'Ivoire (Operation Licorne) and Afghanistan (Operation Héracles).

Composition

 * Brigade HQ based in Pau
 * 1er Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine (1er RPIMa) based in Bayonne.
 * 13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes (13e RDP) based in Martignas-sur-Jalle.
 * 4e Régiment d'Hélicoptères des Forces Spéciales (4e RHFS) based in Pau.