26th (Saarland) Airborne Brigade () was 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 was also called the Saarland Brigade as almost all its troops were stationed in the federal state of Saarland. Other elements are based in Rhineland-Palatinate. Most of the 26th Airborne Brigade belonged to the intervention forces of the Bundeswehr, and the formation therefore provided an overwhelming proportion of paratroopers and airborne troops for the intervention forces of the Army. The Brigade motto was: Einsatzbereit – jederzeit – weltweit ("Ready for action - anytime - worldwide"). The Brigade greeting was "Glück ab".
The brigade was previously part of the 1st Airborne Division alongside the 25th and 27th Luftlande Brigades.
Commanders The brigade commanders were (rank on takeover):
No. Name Takeover date Handover date17Oberst Stefan Geilen4 December 201431 March 201516Oberst Andreas Hannemann1 February 20124 December 201415Oberst Eberhard Zorn14 January 201031 January 201214Oberst Volker Bescht29 August 200514 January 201013Oberst Hans-Werner Fritz200329 August 200512Oberst Manfred Schlenker(2000)(2002)11Oberst Henning Glawatz(1996)(1999)10Oberst Hans-Heinrich Dieter1 April 1994(1995)9Oberst Helmut Harff1 April 199031 March 19948Oberst Fritz Eckert1 April 198331 March 19907Oberst Herbert HagenbruckApril 197631 March 19836Oberst Hans KubisSeptember 1973March 19765Oberst Helmut LiebeskindOctober 1970September 19734Oberst Heinrich SchwiethalOctober 1968September 19703Oberst Karl-Albert KeerlApril 1967October 19682Oberst Hans-Werner VossOctober 1963April 19671Oberst Erich TimmOctober 1958September 1963
See also Special Operations Division German Army Forces Command
References
Literature Sören Sünkler: Die Spezialverbände der Bundeswehr. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag 2007. Sören Sünkler: K-ISOM 1. Ausgabe 2008, Artikel LLBrig. 26, Sept.-Okt. 2008, KOMMANDO- International Special Operations Magazine .
External links Official website of the Brigade Federal archive of the Brigade Official page of 261 Parachute Battalion 3./FschJgBtl 261 Video at tagesschau.de Report about degrading behaviour in the barracks in Zweibrücken