SPECOPSLAB
OFFICIALlast verified 2026-10-18

Para-Commando — Special Operations Regiment (2 Cdo, 3 Para)
PIM end tests and tests de combat (soldier)

Para-commando soldiers of the Belgian Special Operations Regiment are selected in 2–3 days of medical, psychotechnical and sports tests, then complete the PIM phase (10 weeks) and the IPS phase with the commando and para brevets. The calculator uses the published Go/No Go minimums: the PIM end tests (pull-ups, toes to bar, sit-ups, 8 km run) and the soldier tests de combat at the end of IPS. Failing any of them ends the training.

Move the sliders to your latest results. The verdict updates instantly against the published standards — calculated in your browser, nothing stored.

–
minimum 6
–
minimum 1
–
minimum 35
–
minimum 44:00
–
minimum 2:30
–
minimum 4:30
–
minimum 1:40
–
minimum 120 min

Your profile

The bigger your shape, the closer you are to the target line.

minimumtargetyou

Pay · free · rates from Sep 2026 (our calculation)

What a Belgian para-commando earns

Pay grade
4 yrs
Gross · Caporal / korporaal (Cpl) · annexe A, tableau 12 · 4 yrs€3,603 per month, before tax
Base pay grows with service — tap a bar
Not included in the total
  • Supplement for jump or commando instructors in an organic post at the Para or Commando training centre (complément instructeur, AR 20.12.2007) provisional€196.51 per month
  • Clothing allowance, indexed, from the first month (allocation vestimentaire)€70 per month
  • Operations: flat daily allowance, 2× to 5× €9.92 at index 100% depending on the type of engagement (indemnité journalière forfaitaire, art. 23); paid on top of 5/1850 of the annual salary per day (art. 22) provisional€43.81 – €109.52 per day
  • Weekend or public holiday duty, €50 at index 100% (AR 18.03.2003 art. 29) provisional€110.40 per day

Belgian military pay tables (annex A, in force since 1 Jan 2024) are annual amounts at index 100%; shown is the monthly gross from September 2026: table × 2.1647 / 12, then +2% (or +€80 above €4,000, the 2026 indexation cap). The index coefficient is our calculation from secondary sources, hence provisional; only the seniority years listed in the tables are shown. Included: the para-commando allowance (kept each year with 4 jumps and passed combat tests). Not included: holiday pay, end-of-year bonus, meal vouchers, the career allowance (only after 14–15 years) and operational allowances.

provisional = official source with a provisional legal status, a secondary source or our own calculation; see the sources.

The test, event by event

EventMinimum — soldier (PIM end tests + IPS combat tests)
Pull-ups, chin over the bar (tractions)6
Toes to bar1
Sit-ups, hands behind the neck, feet on the ground, knees bent (sit-up)35
8 km run (endurance)44:00
Rope course in combat uniform with jacket and boots (piste corde)2:30
Obstacle course in combat uniform with jacket and boots (piste d’obstacles)4:30
Fireman’s carry, 200 m with jacket, boots, webbing and weapon (porter homme)1:40
16 km speed march with jacket, boots, webbing and weapon (speed marche)120 min

Also required

  • Belgian or EEA/Swiss nationality; maximum age 30 for the soldier offer (not yet 31 at enlistment); minimum height 1.52 m; a BMI below 17 or above 30 means temporary unfitness for at least 3 months; good command of French or Dutch.
  • Selection (2–3 days): medical examination with urine test, chest and cervical spine X-rays and spirometry; basic and practical reasoning tests; psychotechnical tests; sports tests — a treadmill run for as long as possible, pull-ups, push-ups in 1 minute and side bridges on both sides; interviews. The tests are scored 0–20 without a published pass mark, except pull-ups: 2 or fewer means exclusion.
  • Training: PIM (10 weeks) ends with the tests above plus a 100 m swim without stopping, a walk along a beam 5 m high and a jump of courage; IPS includes the Brevet A Commando (about 22 days) and the Brevet A Para (about 15 days) and ends with the combat tests, including a 100 m combat swim in light uniform, boots and with a dummy weapon (no time limit published). The 2026 job offers describe about 3 months of basic training, 5 months in Marche-les-Dames and 1 month in Schaffen.
Sources:

Questions

Why isn't the selection treadmill run in the calculator?

Because no pass mark is published. Combat-function candidates run a treadmill test (start at 6 km/h, +0.3 km/h every 30 s, 2% incline, speed capped at 16.2 km/h, up to 22:30) and do pull-ups and push-ups in 1 minute; each is scored 0–20 (for men, 22:30 and 25 push-ups earn 20 points). Defence publishes no minimum score; the only elimination threshold is pull-ups, where 2 or fewer exclude you. The calculator therefore uses the later Go/No Go minimums.

Are the standards different for NCOs and officers?

Yes. Cadre candidates take two days of admission tests (5 pull-ups, 1 toes to bar, 40 sit-ups, 5 m rope climb, 3 m beam, 8 km under 40 minutes, 100 m swim; relaxed above 35 and 40). Their combat tests at the end of the SOF Basic Course are stricter than the soldiers': rope course 2:20, obstacle course 4:15, fireman's carry 80 s, 16 km speed march 100 minutes.

Where do the numbers come from?

From the Belgian Defence brochure "Candidat SOF / Paracommando" (version 4.0/2024, PDF last modified 16 January 2026) and the sports brochure on mil.be (July 2026), plus the job offers on careers.mil.be published on 4 September 2026 for age and entry conditions. Sources read on 18 October 2026.

Compare with

BELGIUMSpecial Forces Group (SFG) — Special Forces OperatorSOF admission tests and cadre tests de combat (SF operator candidate)NETHERLANDSKorps Commandotroepen (KCT)KCT information day — basic physical requirementsGERMANYKommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) — KommandosoldatPFV Phase 1 — minimum standards (Kommandosoldat)