The Eagle is the nickname of the Belgian Airborne Assault Brigade, named after the bravery and tenacity of combat during World War II. The predecessor of the Belgian Airborne Assault Brigade was the Airborne Assault Brigade, which was formally formed in 1942 and was reorganized into the Belgian Special Air Service Regiment in 1945, assisting the Allied forces in the Ardennes region and achieving good results. In November 1991, in order to meet the needs of joint military operations of NATO countries, the airborne assault regiment was expanded into an airborne assault brigade with a strength of about 1600 people, becoming a small-scale specialized airborne special operations force.
The combat structure of the Airborne Assault Brigade includes airborne combat units, companies directly under the brigade headquarters, anti-tank companies, airborne artillery companies, 3rd gun riding companies, engineer companies, airborne support companies, and health companies. Airborne combat units are the core combat forces of the brigade, consisting of the 1st, 3rd and 4th Parachute Battalions and 2nd Assault Battalions. The brigade's lethal weapons are mainly light weapons. Depending on the nature of the mission, soldiers' weapons vary. At present, the brigade's commonly used weapons are the light alloy folding stock type 5.56 mm FNC automatic rifle, the machine gunner is equipped with FNMAG 7.62 mm light machine gun and 12.7 mm M2 heavy machine gun, and the sniper is equipped with the imperial L96A sniper rifle. The brigade's direct support fire was the 105 mm M2 howitzer of the airborne artillery company, while the mortar platoons under the battalion were equipped with six 81 mm NR47 5A1PR8 mortars or 107 mm M-30 heavy mortars, respectively. The anti-tank company has 34 Sets of "Milan" anti-tank missile systems and several M-72 light anti-tank bazookas. The French "Northwest Wind" anti-aircraft missile system equipped by the 35th Artillery Battalion provided effective anti-aircraft fire support for the airborne assault brigade. The officers and men of the brigade wear the "smoke" type 4-color camouflage uniform unique to the Belgian elite troops, the jacket is mostly a Kevlar bulletproof vest or LBV tactical vest, and when operating in the tropics, it is additionally equipped with a pressure-regulated vest, and previously wore an M1954 helmet or a maroon/light green beret, and has recently been replaced with a Kevlar-style helmet similar to the M88 helmet of the US Army.
Members of the Airborne Assault Brigade are rigorously selected and trained. First, all applicants who volunteer to join the brigade undergo 6 weeks of harsh commando training in Marchtimes, but generally only 50% of them pass the test. Afterwards, the "survivors" will take special forces and advanced paratrooper training courses at the Schaeffen base. Only when a soldier performs well can he officially become a member of the Airborne Assault Brigade. The brigade's mission was to rapidly deploy to the area of the attack to intervene when the interests of the Kingdom of Belgium were violated, to control the development, to take the initiative on the battlefield, and to provide emergency support to the friendly forces that had previously been stationed. In addition, the brigade is also responsible for peacekeeping and humanitarian relief activities under the leadership of the United Nations and other international organizations.