26th Airborne Brigade (Bundeswehr)


26th Airborne Brigade is a formation in the Special Operations Division of the German Army with a strength of about 3,500 men and its brigade headquarters in Saarlouis. The Brigade is also called the Saarland Brigade as almost all its troops are stationed in the federal state of Saarland. Other elements are based in Rhineland-Palatinate. Most of the 26th Airborne Brigade belongs to the intervention forces of the Bundeswehr, and the formation therefore provides the overwhelming proportion of paratroopers and airborne troops for the intervention forces of the Army. The Brigade motto is: Einsatzbereit – jederzeit – weltweit. The Brigade greeting is "Glück ab".
The brigade was previously part of the 1st Airborne Division alongside the 25th and 27th Luftlande Brigades.

Commanders

The brigade commanders were :
No.NameTakeover dateHandover date
17Oberst Stefan Geilen4 December 201431 March 2015
16Oberst Andreas Hannemann1 February 20124 December 2014
15Oberst Eberhard Zorn14 January 201031 January 2012
14Oberst Volker Bescht29 August 200514 January 2010
13Oberst Hans-Werner Fritz200329 August 2005
12Oberst Manfred Schlenker
11Oberst Henning Glawatz
10Oberst Hans-Heinrich Dieter1 April 1994
9Oberst Helmut Harff1 April 199031 March 1994
8Oberst Fritz Eckert1 April 198331 March 1990
7Oberst Herbert HagenbruckApril 197631 March 1983
6Oberst Hans KubisSeptember 1973March 1976
5Oberst Helmut LiebeskindOctober 1970September 1973
4Oberst Heinrich SchwiethalOctober 1968September 1970
3Oberst Karl-Albert KeerlApril 1967October 1968
2Oberst Hans-Werner VossOctober 1963April 1967
1Oberst Erich TimmOctober 1958September 1963

Literature