71st Parachute Battalion 43rd Regiment traces its roots to the Infantry Battalion 71 (Parachute) that was formed on 1 October 1947 at Zákupy u České Lípy as a first parachute unit in the peacetime
Czechoslovak Army after WWII. Two years later it was renamed to Parachute Battalion 71 "Československých parašutistů" to honor Czechoslovak paratroopers both from west and east that served during World War II. Until 1950 the battalion's main tasks were small team operations, diversions and sabotages. It was however changed to align with Soviet doctrine after that year. The 71st Parachute Battalion later formed together with two other airborne battalions (72nd and 65th) the 22nd Parachute Brigade in
Prešov. In 1960 the brigade was transferred to Prostějov. After the
Holešov incident when the soldiers of the 7th Parachute Regiment on special deployment did not allow Soviet units to its barracks on 21 August 1968, the brigade was reorganized to regiment and the 71st Parachute Battalion was disbanded in 1969. On 6 May 1989, the battalion was presented Colours and its honorary title "národního hrdiny
Jana Švermy". Former commander of the 43rd Battalion, Colonel Róbert Dziak became the first commander of the Regiment. ==Structure==