List of commando units

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This is a list of current commando units.

Argentina[edit]

Australia[edit]

Main article: Australian commandos

Azerbaijan[edit]

Bahamas[edit]

Main article: Commando Squadron (Bahamas)

Bangladesh[edit]

Main article: Bangladesh special operations forces

Belgium[edit]

Brazil[edit]

China - PRC[edit]

  • Chengdu Military Region Special Forces Unit – "Falcon".[4]
  • Thor (Leishen) Commando Airborne Forces. [4][5][6]
  • PLA Navy's commando team "Sea Dragon" [4]
  • "Snow Leopard"[4]

Colombia[edit]

Air Force[edit]

France[edit]

3rd level Commando Badge

In France, commando is both the name of Special Operations or Special Operations Capable units and the name of an elite light infantry training.

The commandos are trained at the Centre national d'entraînement commando or National Commando Training Center. The graduates of the Center are either serving in a SF unit (1er RPIMa and 13e RDP), in a light-infantry unit (Commando Parachute Group in the 11th Parachute Brigade and Mountain Commando Group in the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade) or as instructors in a regular Army unit. Furthermore, members of the counter-terrorist National Gendarmerie Intervention Group and of the Division Action of Directorate-General for External Security are usually graduates of the Center.
Weapons of the modern commando Jaubert are clearly visible
The Commandos Marine are the Navy component of Special Operations Command.
  • Commando Hubert : (also named Commando d'Action Sous-Marine Hubert, CASM, "underwater operations commando"): Submarine action (combat divers).
  • Commando Jaubert : Assault at sea, exfiltration, close quarters battle at sea.
  • Commando Trepel : Assault at sea, exfiltration.
  • Commando de Penfentenyo : Reconnaissance, Intelligence Operations (recon swimmers)
  • Commando de Montfort : Long range neutralisation (missile launchers, light mortars, heavy sniper rifles), fire support designation
  • Commando Kieffer : C3I, military dogs
The Parachute Commandos (commandos parachutistes) are the élite units of the Air Force Infantry (Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air).
  • Commando parachutiste de l'Air n° 10 (CPA 10) is the Air Force component of Special Operations Command
  • Commando parachutiste de l'Air n° 20 : long-range Bases Protection and JTACs.
  • Commando parachutiste de l'Air n° 20 : RESCO[clarification needed]

Germany[edit]

KSK-sniper during training

The German Army currently operates the Fernspähkompanie (Germany's elite long range reconnaissance company), and the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK).

The KSK is stationed in Calw, in the Black Forest area in southern Germany. It consists of about 1,100 soldiers, but only a nucleus of these are in fighting units. Exact numbers are not available, as this information is considered secret. The KSK is a part of the Special Operations Division (Div. Spezielle Operationen or DSO).

The fighting units are divided into four commando companies of about 100 men each and the special commando company with veteran members, taking supporting tasks. Each of the four commando companies has five specialised platoons:

  • 1st platoon: land insertions
  • 2nd platoon: airborne operations
  • 3rd platoon: amphibious operations
  • 4th platoon: operations in special geographic or meteorologic surroundings (e.g. mountains or polar-regions)
  • 5th platoon: reconnaissance, sniper and counter-sniper operations
  • Command Platoon

There are four commando squads in every platoon.

India[edit]

Main article: Special Forces of India

In India, the term "commando" is generally used to refer to the Special forces of India. 2 of the 3 Indian special forces currently have the word "commando" in their name while the other dropped the word "commando" for "Special Forces" in the late 1970s.[7]

In addition, Ghatak Platoons are platoons present in every single infantry battalion of the Indian Army consisting of the most physically capable troops from every battalion who are selected to undergo commando training and are better equipped than the other platoons present in the battalion. Their role is similar to that of light infantry commandos.[8]

Iraq[edit]

Main article: Iraqi Special Operations Forces
Iraqi commandos in June 2010, training under the supervision of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne

Israel[edit]

Israeli Egoz Reconnaissance soldiers blending in with the landscape
Israeli Shayetet 13 Operatives during training

The primary commando units of the Israel Defense Forces include Shayetet 13, Sayeret Matkal and the Shaldag Unit.

Shayetet 13 is the elite naval commando unit of the Israeli Navy. S'13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, sabotage, maritime intelligence gathering, maritime hostage rescue, and boarding. The unit is one of the world's most well reputed special forces units.[9]

Sayeret Matkal (General Staff Reconnaissance Unit) is a special forces unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) directly subordinate to the Directorate of Military Intelligence.Primarily a field intelligence-gathering unit specializing in special reconnaissance behind enemy lines, Sayeret Matkal is also tasked with counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and foreign espionage. Modeled after the British Army's Special Air Service—from which it emulated the motto, "Who Dares, Wins"—the unit is considered to be the Israeli equivalent to the famed Delta Force of the United States.[10] As one of Israel's most important commando units, the Sayeret Matkal has reputedly been involved in almost every major counter-terrorism operation since its inception in 1957.[11]

The Egoz Reconnaissance Unit is an Israeli Special Force commando unit, in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Egoz is a unit that specializes in guerrilla, anti-guerrilla warfare, behind enemy lines intelligence gathering, and more complicated ground activity. Egoz is part of the Commando Brigade but still completes basic training with the Golani Brigade.[12]

Maglan (Also known as Unit 212) is an Israeli special forces unit which specializes in operating behind enemy lines and deep in enemy territory using advanced technologies and weaponry.

Unit 217, frequently called Duvdevan Unit is an elite special operations force within the Israel Defense Forces, part of the Oz Brigade. Duvdevan are noted for undercover operations in urban areas, during which they often wear Arab civilian clothes as a disguise.[13] They are also known to be trained in human and mechanical counter-surveillance. Along with Sayeret Matkal, soldiers in Duvdevan are the only soldiers in the IDF authorized to wear their uniforms without identifying shoulder tabs.

Shaldag Unit, also known as Unit 5101, is an elite Israeli Air Force commando unit. Shaldag's mission is to deploy undetected into combat and hostile environments to conduct special reconnaissance, establish assault zones or airfields, while simultaneously conducting air traffic control and commando actions.

Korea, South - ROK[edit]

Main article: Commandos of the Republic of Korea Army

Republic of Korea Army

  • 700th Commando Regiment
  • 701st Commando Regiment
  • 702nd Commando Regiment
  • 703rd Commando Regiment
  • 705th Commando Regiment

Malaysia[edit]

Netherlands[edit]

New Zealand[edit]

Pakistan[edit]

Pakistani SSG Commandos on UN Peacekeeping Force

Philippines[edit]

Main article: Special Action Force
Seal of the Special Action Force

The Special Action Force (SAF) is the elite commando unit of the Philippine National Police. It is required to undergo the SAF Commando Course to be allowed to wear the SAF Beret. It also serves as the foundation course or requisite for other SAF specialization trainings such as Explosives and Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Basic Airborne Course (BAC), Urban Counter Revolutionary Warfare Course (SURESHOCK), SCUBA-BUSROC (Basic Under-Water Search and Rescue Operations Course), SAF Seaborne Warfare Course (SSWC) and others.

Portugal[edit]

A Portuguese Army Commandos team in Afghanistan

Singapore[edit]

Singapore Armed Forces Commando Formation 1 CDO, 1st Commando Battalion

Sri Lanka[edit]

Sri Lanka Army Commando K9 Unit

Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment

  • 1st Commando Regiment
  • 2nd Commando Regiment
  • 3rd Commando Regiment
  • 4th Commando Regiment
  • HQ BN Commando(RFT)
  • Commando Regiment Training School[15] Uva Kudaoya
  • Commando Regiment Specialized Warfare Training School at Vidathalathive Mannar
  • Anti Hijacking & Hostage Release Team' (AHHRT)[16]

South Africa[edit]

While the use of the word commando came to refer to various elite special operations forces units in other countries in the world, South Africa retained its original name as both a well regulated quick response militia as well as a special operations forces unit defined in the worldwide fashion. From the end of the 19th until the early 21st centuries, the Commando units in the form of its original structure were used in both urban and rural areas until the end of white rule in South Africa as part of a nationwide South African Commando System.

When white rule was replaced with majority rule, the new democratic ANC led government demanded the disbandment of the commandos which they considered an obstacle to further democratic control as well as complaints of abuses. Thus, with the integration of white cities with black townships, the new ANC led urban governments immediately disbanded the urban militia commando units.

With the election of Thabo Mbeki, the process of de-arming white militias again commenced and it was announced in 2003, that the rural commandos would be disbanded. The last rural commandos were ordered disbanded by the central government over constitutional arguments.

The ANC government directed its attention toward the Reconnaissance Commandos which were the first mixed-race unit in the old SADF. During the period of rationalisation, reorganisation and integration, some Reconnaissance Regiments (Numbers 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6) were disbanded and the members absorbed into the remaining 4 Special Forces Regiment (SFR) at Langebaan and 5 SFR at Phalaborwa[17] as part of the South African Special Forces Brigade.

Sweden[edit]

Syria[edit]

Thailand[edit]

Air Force

Turkey[edit]

Turkish commandos typically wear blue berets. Commando brigades form the backbone of the Turkish Army's offensive capabilities, but they are not trained to conduct special operations, rather they serve as the main light infantry of the TAF. As of 2016, the number of commando brigades have been expanded to 16 to deal with the new threats, including two in the gendarmerie force brigade.[21] These include:

The most notable are the 1st Commando Brigade and the 5th Hakkari Mountain and Commando Brigade. The Hakkari Mountain and Commando Brigade was founded as a subunit of the 1st Commando Brigade and is stationed in Hakkâri Province at south-easternmost Turkey. With the rise of the Kurdish insurgency, the existing formation has been enlarged from the size of a battalion to a brigade. The 1st Commando Brigade was involved in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and fought beside airborne commandos (Bolu) and the Naval Infantry Brigade (Izmir). In 1988, 7000 commandos received training from the United States.

United Kingdom[edit]

Main article: British Commandos

3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines is under the command of the Royal Navy's Commander-in-Chief Fleet. All Royal Marines (other than those in the Royal Marines Band Service) are commando trained on entry to the Corps, with supporting units and individuals from the other armed services undertaking the All Arms Commando Course as required.

The Brigade is made up of 30 (IX) Commando, 40 Commando (home base: Taunton), 42 Commando (Bickleigh, South Hams, Plymouth), 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group (HMNB Clyde, Argyll and Bute), 45 Commando (Arbroath, Scotland), the Commando Logistic Regiment, the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group (Bovington Camp (Royal Armoured Corps Centre), Dorset), 539 Assault Squadron RM, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers.

The Royal Marines is the largest force of its type in Europe and the second largest in NATO.

United States[edit]

Rangers take part in a raid during Operation in Nahr-e Saraj, Afghanistan

The United States continues to have no designated "commando" units; however, the closest equivalents remain the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment and United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions, which specialize in most of the same tasks and missions.[22]

During the Vietnam War the U.S. Army's 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) instituted, "Special Operations Augmentation Recondo School," an acronym for Reconnaissance Commando. The school was at Nha Trang Air Base, north of the massive U.S. Navy and Air Force Base at Cam Ranh Bay. Recondo School trained small, heavily armed long-range reconnaissance teams the art of patrolling deep in enemy-held territory. All students were combat veterans and came from the ranks of the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps Force Recon Battalions, and the Army of the Republic of South Korea. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam had their own school. The modern U.S. Army's Long-range surveillance, Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition, and United States Marine Air-Ground Task Force Reconnaissance all derive some portion of their legacies from the Recondo program and utilize the name "Recondos" informally.[23][24][25][26][27]

Vietnam[edit]

Main article: People's Army of Vietnam Special Forces
Typical sapper formation with 4 echelons: Assault, Security, Reserve, and Fire-support
NVA commando or sapper at work

See also[edit]

Rhodesia[edit]

During the Rhodesian Bush War of 1965–1980, the Rhodesian military increased its usage of commando type of operations in fighting against insurgents until the formation of Zimbabwe. In the Rhodesian Light Infantry a Commando was also the name given to its company sized units.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Martin Middlebrook: "The Argentine fight for the Malvinas - The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War", Pen and Sword Books, 1989, ISBN 0-670-82106-3, p. 62 "The Argentine army did not have Special Forces. In the early 70s, commandos were formed but subsequently disbanded because of the fear of the highly trained groups being used in a coup d’état. In 1975, they were reformed for the 'dirty' war and disbanded again after participating in security during the 1978 Football World Cup. The trained commandos were dispersed throughout the army. About 80 men were assembled in the 601st and 602nd Commando companies and send to the Falkland Islands. They were beefed up with SWAT-like teams from the Gendarmería Nacional – paramilitary frontier guards."
  2. ^ "1st Commando Regiment". Australian Army. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  3. ^ "2nd Commando Regiment". Australian Army. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d The PLA's special forces: secrets revealed, archived from the original on 2015-06-30
  5. ^ "Newscontent". 220.181.168.86. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. ^ Jianing, Yao. "Chinese airborne troops win glory in int'l special forces competition". english.chinamil.com.cn. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. ^ "An Overview of Indian Elite & Special Forces - Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute". bootcampmilitaryfitnessinstitute.com. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  8. ^ "Know about Ghatak commandos, the invincible Special Forces of India". India TV. 8 August 2014.
  9. ^ Mahnaimi, Uzi; Jenkins, Gareth (2010-06-06). "Operation calamity". The Times. London. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  10. ^ "Sayeret Matkal – Israeli Special Operations". Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  11. ^ Cohen, Rich. "Stealth Warriors". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  12. ^ Zitun, Yoav (2015-07-07). "IDF to unite elite units in new commando brigade". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  13. ^ Steve Macko, The IDF Duvedevan Unit Archived 2007-11-25 at the Wayback Machine, Emergency Response & Research Institute (August 11, 1997)
  14. ^ "D Squadron (Commando)". New Zealand Defence Force. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  15. ^ Commando Regiment Training School
  16. ^ "Commandos Display Their 'Hostage Rescue' Skills". army.lk. 23 September 2016.
  17. ^ Special Forces League, SA. "1 RR/1 SFR History". Special Forces League. Archived from the original on 2014-06-16. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
  18. ^ Sof, Eric (30 October 2012). "Kustjägarna".
  19. ^ Gregory Waters (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  20. ^ "SAA's 59th Battalion (Commandos)".
  21. ^ "TSK'ya dört yeni komando tugayı!".
  22. ^ Plaster, John (Sep 7, 2010). SOG: The Secret War of America's Commandos in Vietnam. New York: NAL Trade.
  23. ^ "Recondo School – MACV-SOG". 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  24. ^ "11th MEU on X". X.com. Just doing Recondo things with my friends. Recon #Marines with the All Domain Reconnaissance Detachment, @11thMEU, conduct free-fall jumps while training at Camp Buehring, #Kuwait, Oct. 4.
  25. ^ "Long Range Reconnaissance veterans make Fort Benning their home". www.army.mil. 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  26. ^ "Operation ENDURING FREEDOM RECONDO School | Small Wars Journal". smallwarsjournal.com. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  27. ^ Major James F. Gebhardt, US Army (Retired). "Eyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units" (PDF). Small Wars Journal.
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