31st Airborne Brigade

The 31st Airborne Brigade, also known as the Red Berets (French: Berets Rouges), is one of the more effective units of the Armed Forces of Zaire. Although paid the same salaries as other soldiers, in the past they were one of the only units paid regularly; French advisors, who also provided training, ensured that the soldiers were well fed, trained, and paid. Also, French command of the unit's logistics battalion meant that supply and equipment maintenance were effective. As a result, the unit was capable of conducting effective combat operations. The 31st Airborne Brigade demonstrated its effectiveness during Shaba II and the first occupation of Moba in 1984. That situation no longer prevailed by September 1991, however, when unpaid personnel from the 31st Airborne Brigade spearheaded mass looting and pillaging in Kinshasa. In 1992, they were accused of plotting a coup, and were dispersed throughout the country. They were sent to Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu where, bereft of pay and supervision, they preyed on the populace for their own survival, resorting to extortion and intimidation. They later became mercenary units for hire by various militias operating in the area during the prevailing lawlessness of the mid-1990s, further undermining their reputation.

However, following Mobutu's ambitious military reforms in the aftermath of the Great Central African War, the 31st Airborne Brigade was purged of inefficient officers, and the entire unit was retrained from scratch by airborne soldiers from the Parthian Imperial Army. Now regularly paid, it is generally regarded as an efficient and respectable unit. It is currently tasked with the defense of N'Djili International Airport in Kinshasa.