PARATROOPERS from Colchester will be trained to fly out within five days to any incident around the world.

Families of soldiers serving in 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, will be relieved to hear their loved ones will no longer be called on for six-month tours in Afghanistan after being taken off the tour rota.

Instead, they will be required to answer the nation’s call, if troops are needed anywhere in the world, having been chosen for the UK’s Airborne Task Force.

When 16 Air Assault Brigade was formed, it was designed to be a rapid response unit.

But, for most of the last decade, the country lost this capability because Colchester’s troops were needed in Afghanistan.

Now, with international tension heightening in areas including Libya and Bahrain, it is down to troops from Colchester to be ready for short, sharp attacks, if the Government calls for troops.

Brigadier James Chiswell, who is leading the current operation in Afghanistan as the head of 16 Air Assault Brigade, said: “We are going to be taking on important responsibilities and getting a high readiness contingency into position.”

Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Ewart-Brookes, commanding officer for Colchester’s 13 Air Assault Support Regiment, added: “When we get back, we will be in training to man the task force. It is a major commitment and we can be sent anywhere at short notice.”

Other battalions within the brigade will remain on the Afghanistan rota and are due to return in Spring 2013 – meaning the brigade will be unofficially split.

For some troops and their families this will mean the burden of five Afghan tours – more than any other in the UK.

For others, there will be the worry their relatives will have to go to the most dangerous parts of the world at their most dangerous times.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “On return from Afghanistan, 16 Air Assault Brigade will prepare to resume its core role as the Army’s high-readiness, light, short duration intervention unit.

“Initially, 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, supported by elements of artillery, engineers, helicopters and logisticians from the brigade, will form the core of the task force, beginning in the autumn; but this duty will rotate at regular intervals so the burden is shared.

“Although individual units in the brigade may well serve again in Afghanistan, it is not anticipated the whole brigade will deploy.”