A paratrooper from Greenford is taking part in a major Anglo-French military exercise in Brittany, as British and French airborne forces train together to respond to potential international crises.
Lance Corporal Emmanuel Karantzias, 29, of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, is among around 2,000 troops participating in Exercise Orion at the St Cyr-Coëtquidan training area. Born in Greece, he moved to Greenford in 2016 before joining the British Army.
The exercise brings together soldiers from the UK’s 16 Air Assault Brigade and France’s 11e Brigade Parachutiste and tests their ability to support a NATO ally facing an insurgency and the threat of invasion.
The soldier, who is based in Colchester, has served in the Army for six years and has previously taken part in exercises in Poland, Estonia, the Falkland Islands and Japan.
Mr Karantzias serves in a specialist anti-tank platoon equipped with the Javelin missile system and said the training was designed to strengthen ties between the two forces.
He Karantzias said: “We’re in France to train with French paratroopers and build the alliance between us.”
He added that he decided to join the Army after watching the documentary The Paras: Men of War. Mr Karantzias said: “I didn’t know what to do as a career, and then I saw ‘The Paras: Men of War’ documentary in 2019 and just saw something I wanted to do. My brother Alexandros had already joined the Army – he’s in The Household Cavalry, but I wanted to go one better than him so went for the Paras.
“It’s given me the challenge I wanted in life and taught me to be calm under pressure and have self-belief and confidence in yourself.”
The British Army said it is currently recruiting for around 10,000 roles across the UK, ranging from combat and aviation to cyber security and support roles.
