special forces profiles

Wow there is even a book on the KSK!
KSK - the command of special forces of the German Federal Armed Forces

Already today only a few years ago the set up German command of special forces (KSK) belongs to the best military special federations of the world. From safety reasons penetrated over selection, training and employments of the geheimnisumwitterten special federation so far only little to the public.

In lengthy procedures the author received permission from the Federal Minister of the defense for reporting for the first time in detail on the exclusive special troop. Thus this richly illustrated documentation developed over a military elite federation, which already provided in Afghanistan and other crisis areas for headlines.
source

Looks pretty detailed! I wonder if its also in American?

The Selous Scouts chose their official motto themselves at the behest of Col Ronald Reid-Daly, their commanding officer. they also chose their distinctive 'Colours' and stable-belt and cap badge.

Pamwe Chete - pronounced 'Pamway Chetay' is an amalgamation of 2 Shona dialects and a literal translation means "This Thing of Ours" or "This Thing We Have", depending on the dialect.

It was Ron Reid-Daly who founded the Selous Scouts. Their Mission?

a) Take the fight to the enemy by acting like the enemy guerillas infiltrating Rhodesia; b) infiltrate the infiltrators; 3) if possible, pass themselves off as lost freedom fighters.

Whilst white officers and Snco's hid in the brush or the kopjie, the black former soldiers from the RAR would oftem taken insurgents to 'meet' their insurgent 'leaders' explaining that they hid to ensure their identity was not generally known.

Most times after some fast talking by the officers, the insurgents, seeing that death from the gallows or a very long (often 'life') prison sentance would follow, agreed to 'turn' and in this way, the Selous Scouts grew to be one of the finest counter-insurgency units in Africa.

It says much about former soldiers and their trust in their comrades and former insurgents that cases where former insurgents 'turned' and led their new found friends and comrades in to enemy ambushes were few and far between. Indeed there is only 2 or 3 ocaisions when this happened.

It was a very sad day when Robert Mugabe came to power in the new Zimbabwe because one of the first things he did, was to dishonour an agreement made with General Walls and Ian Smith, and hunt down those Selous Scouts most decorated for bravery. At least three senior Corporals and two Sergeants were mercilessly hacked to death at Mugabe's behest!

The soldiers of this unit are volunteer and they are usually recruited from Army's Non-Commissioned Officer School. The first part of the training, called "of specialization" lasts 8 months. The young sergeants are sent to Pisa to the Military Parachute School, then they come back to 101st and train individual, two-men and eventually team tasks. At the end of this course they become "guastatori paracadutisti" (airborne sapper). The second part, called "of improvement", lasts an year and aims to complete tactic training and to get soldiers to be able to operate in every environment. They also are taught surviving, evasion and escape, inquiring resistance, free-fall, skiing, mountaineering, sub-water activities etc. The final task consists in a complete mission with air infiltration, raid, capture, inquiry and evasion. To join the 111st Guastatori, the "improvement" training lasts "only" 8 months because they don't perform all the mobility courses, which aren't necessary because they won't reach a high rank enough to lead a detachment.




source


This unit will defintly by a good unit in cooperation with Sayeret 13 agains terrorism in the Mediterean area. And I'm sure it will play a part in conflicts n Africa.

71st Counterterrorist Battalion

81st Ranger Battalion

91st Airborne Orientation Battalion

101st Special Forces Battalion

Navy
Royal Jordanian Navy Frogman Team

Royal Jordanian Navy Special Boat Unit

Air Force
Special Operation Aviation Squadron

Fixed Wing Element

Helicopter Element

Special Forces Element


Need info on these units guys, and info you could find would be greatly appreciated.

sorry bluecell i dont know nothing bout none of them but i do have a question for everyone.
what info does anyone have on the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment?
Id love to read what people know of us.

[edit on 29-8-2005 by Wardr08e]

blue cell, if you can, try get hold of The Encyclopedia of the World's Special Forces. It's a bit expensive but it's well worth it and covers nearly all the CT units as well as SF units on air, land and sea

Originally posted by D
blue cell, if you can, try get hold of The Encyclopedia of the World's Special Forces. It's a bit expensive but it's well worth it and covers nearly all the CT units as well as SF units on air, land and sea

Definitly have to look into it man, it looks pretty comprehensive. Once I get enough money, I'm defintly gonna get it.

GROM- Polish Spec Ops are considered the best units in Iraq as of right now.

I have talk with experts on the subject, and all of them agree that GROM Units are among the best in the world, if not the best.

Here are some links...(very informative)

www.weeklystandard.com... 653hsdpu.asp

Good Photos of GROM with US Spec Ops
media.militaryphotos.net... _War_2_Iraqi_Freedom_Navy_SEALs_Polish_Special_Forces_GROM

app1.chinadaily.com.cn...

en.wikipedia.org...

www.specialoperations.com...

"We really hit it off with GROM. They are well-led, well-equipped and very professional. As good as any unit we've worked with in the (Iraq war) coalition, perhaps better," US Navy SEALs Lieutenant-Commander Jay Richards said.

And here is a link to a thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Hope you enjoy the read, and possibly further your knowledge.


[edit on 30-8-2005 by omega1]

I have been reading back from the start on this thread and i have noticed one thing in particular.
Bluecell you are one of the most patient people i have ever come across!!!
and i utterly apologise for a post of mine earlier in this thread.
i dont even remember writing it.
i just noticed it before.
so please accept.

Originally posted by Wardr08e
sorry bluecell i dont know nothing bout none of them but i do have a question for everyone.
what info does anyone have on the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment?
Id love to read what people know of us.

[edit on 29-8-2005 by Wardr08e]

Here is a link, looks pretty detailed. Don't have anything on the training though.

im not so sure about that link.
because unless things have seriously changed since i left the Regt. last year.
it states that the Regt. has 3 Regular Force Infantry Battalions.
1st RNZIR
2/1st RNZIR and
3/1st RNZIR.
but i have never heard of 3/1st Bn.
I mean there are the T.F. Bn's that when it comes down to it would Naturally become an over strength Bn on their own
and would probably be designated 3/1st.
yet to my knowledge there is no such thing as that designation as of yet.
unless it was some big secret but whats the point in that?
its just a Light/ Mounted Infantry unit???
well anyway if anybody wants to prove me wrong then please do.
i need some answers.
that link has confused the heck outta me!!!
it doesnt even have 2/1st or 1st Bn's motto.
yet it has the motto for the ANZAC Bn,
which has been disbanded for god knows how long.
i dont get it.


[edit on 4-9-2005 by Wardr08e]

Okay does anybody have a translation program that can translate Polish to English? Because I found a pretty detailed special forces site but its in Polish. Here is the link.

On the 10th of July last year the ORP "Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki" left her homeport in Swinoujscie and joined the support group of the 5th US Fleet in the Persian Gulf.




The main tasks of the ship were related to the logistic support of the operational forces, control of shipping and cooperation with naval special forces and marines. The ship hosted onboard special forces teams from the US Navy and the US Marine Corps and special forces from the Royal Australian Navy. The teams closely cooperated with the Polish Navy special forces FORMOZA teams. The control of shipping was conducted using the ship's boarding boats and with a support of the US Navy and Australian Navy helicopters. All the tasks were carried out in the highest readiness conditions and using the ship's armament.
Upon launch of the military operation against the Saddam Husain regime the ship operated with the Polish Navy special forces "Formoza" teams, as well as a support ship for the US Navy special forces. She was also used as a base for smaller craft of various nations which were patrolling the coastal waters of Iraq and the mouth of Kaa river. The logistic support ship ORP "Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki" took part in the escort of the first humanitarian relieve transport to Umm Qasr together with British and Australian ships. She also escorted several other ships with humanitarian cargo for the population of Iraq.

After the war operations had ended and part of the forces had been withdrawn from the Persian Gulf the Polish ship took over patrol and anti-pirate tasks in the mouth of Kaa river area. This time she operated alone using her armament, boarding groups and teams of "Formoza" commando. Some of the tasks were conducted on the Iraqi waters. The ship was also fighting the plunders who used rivers and channels to transport stolen goods.

While in the Persian Gulf the crew of the Polish ship conducted four rescue operations as a part of the coalition SAR system. In the first operation, on 21 December, the ship participated in rescuing the crew of an Iranian fishing cutter. 8 sailors were taken of the sinking cutter and carried to the "Czernicki" by an US Navy helicopter which was called in by the ship's CO. The fishermen, who were exhausted, hungry and dehydrated went on the Polish ship through a medical examination, were fed and send on land. The next two rescue actions were conducted in May. On Saturday, 3 May, the crew of the ORP "Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki" received a distress signal from an Iraqi cutter fishing in the Persian Gulf. One of the cutter crewmembers had a serious hand infection. Thank to a quick intervention of the ship's medical corpsmen the fisherman hand was saved. The next day, 4 May, the ship's doctor dressed a leg wound of an Iraqi merchant ship crewmember. The fourth rescue operation was conducted by the ship on the 7th of July. A fishing cutter flying a flag of Kuwait was sinking. The May Day signal was received on the Polish ship while on an international ship task group patrol near the Iraqi coast. The sinking cutter "Jomar" with a 9 members crew was 3 nautical miles from the ORP "Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki". The "Czernicki" approached the cutter. The crew of the fishing boat did not have any basic emergency equipment. The CO of the Polish ship sent the ship's own DC team to help the cutter. Drain pump was passed to the cutter and the DC team conducted an inspection of the boat. The Polish sailors detected hull puncture and a leak on the propulsion shaft. The operation of draining and stopping the leakage took the DC team of the "Czernicki" 3 hours. Next the ORP "Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki" towed the cutter to the mouth of Kaa river where Kuwait's ships took over. The whole operation was secured by a "Formoza" fire team and a Royal Australian Navy helicopter. The Persian Gulf waters were still dangerous and a possibility of a provocation or ambush had to be considered.


Over 120 sailors of two crews of the ship, the special forces "Formoza" unit, liaison officers team stationed at the Coalition Forces Headquarters and logistics specialists participated in the mission. The ships sailed 27787 nautical miles while in the operation ENDURING FREEDOM and 7383 nautical miles in the operation IRAQUI FREEDOM. Over 350 tons of cargo and 330 people were transported. The ship conducted 36 patrols, most of them in difficult conditions – storms and sand storms, temperature up to 47 degrees Celsius.


article on Polish Naval Special Forces


Wow I never new that Poland sent their Naval Special Forces over there, intresting article.

Task Force 20 is a temporary, top secret Task Force assigned to Iraq.

This task force is comprised of Army Green Berets, Delta Force operators, commandos from the Navy's elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group and operators from the Navy's Red Cell division. It is rumored that operators from the UK's world famous Counter-terrorism unit, the Special Air Service (SAS) and Poland's Elite CT unit, GROM also are members of TF 20.

The force is made of a 40 man assault team backed by a private aviation unit and backed by a intelligence unit. The unit is commanded by a US Air Force Brigadier General.

Task Force 20's primary goal is to capture or kill "High Value Targets" (HVT's), such as Iraqi Mujahideen leaders and former Ba'ath party regime members and leaders. Task Force 20 operators were directly involved in the 14 hour firefight between them, 101st Airborne soldiers, and Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein. The two sons were killed in the shootout after TOW missiles launched from 101st Airborne Humvees killed them. The apprehension of the most wanted man in Iraq, Saddam Hussein in Operation Red Dawn directly involved Task Force 121 (which was created after TF20) operators and members of the Army 4th Infantry Division.



source


Wow and this is just one unit, I never knew we had real joint SF units really. I'll post about more units later.

DINOPS is a parachute trained combat diver unit assigned to the Legion Etranger's 6eme Regiment Etranger de Genie (6 REG- 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment). The unit is assigned to the Regiment's Recce and Support Company. It is tasked with conducting underwater explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), conducting beach reconnaissance missions, conducting sabotage attacks, and assisting in river crossings.
Unit members undergo some of the most intensive training in the French armed forces, undertaking both the Navy's combat swimmer course, and the Army's parachute school. Unit members receive additional training at a number of Foreign Legion and Army technical training schools. They are trained in the use of closed circuit diving systems, EOD, and hydrographic survey techniques.

DINOPS "para-sappers" are capable of being inserted by aircraft, submarine, surface or subsurface swimming, inflatable boats, or by the use of two man Klepper kayaks.

During the Gulf War, DINOPS operated in support of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division, and provided its EOD services to the division. After the cease fire took hold they conducted a joint mine clearing operation along side an Australian Navy Clearance Diver Team.

source

Sounds a lot like Sweden's team, also the way its organized reminds me a little of Indoneshian Special Forces, they probably have a connection. Can some one look into that for me?

Special Operation Aviation Squadron, doesn't exist does it?

Not that I've heard, in less your thinking of SOAR (special operations aviation regiment( .

Sweden's strategically located coastline presents a ripe target for any potential enemy. To prevent an enemy force from exploiting this perceived vulnerability, the Swedish Navy maintains an elite commando force with which to strike at any attempted amphibious assault directed at its shores. Known as the Kustjagare, or Coastal Rangers, this specially selected and highly trained group of men is tasked with conducting operations in support of the Swedish Navy. In the event of hostilities Kustjagare units would disrupt enemy lines of communications by conducting raids and ambushes against enemy units operating near the coastline, perform coastal reconnaissance missions, retaking territory that had been captured along the Swedish coastline, and act as shock troops during an amphibious landing conducted by Swedish naval forces.
Coastal Rangers are selected from the top 10% of the 18 year old conscripts reporting for their mandatory 1 year period of national service. Those conscripts wishing to volunteer for service with the Coastal Rangers must first pass stringent medical and physical exams before being allowed to continue on with their training. Upon passing their initial selection, the new trainees then report to Vaxholm Coast Artillery Regiment 1 for ten months of training.

The first phase of Kustjagare training lasts six months and consists of basic military and assault training. Students also undertake an intensive physical training program to prepare them for the harsh environment that they will be required to operate in.

To advance to the next phase the prospects must successfully complete a "Ranger march". The Ranger march is actually a week long series of long distance endurance marches and physical tests similar to the Swedish Army's Eagle march. During the march students are pushed to their physical and mental limits. Those students surviving the Ranger march are awarded the commando green beret adorned with the golden Neptunes Trident qualification badge, and the remainder of the trainees then advance to the more specialized portion of their training.

During the next phase of Kustjagare training students will receive instruction on the use of kayaks, long distance kayak paddling, urban combat training, long distance land navigation, demolitions, CQB, while physical training is conducted to keep troops at their peak.

Upon completion of their training Kustjagare are released to the reserves, and war posted to one of the six Amphibious Battalions assigned to coastal defense duties. Extensive training exercises are conducted to allow troops to maintain their level of proficiency. Joint training is conducted with the other units assigned to the Amphibious Battalion, the Bassak counter SOF unit, and with other military units.
source


Defintly intresting, I'm sure we conducted many exercises with this unit during the cold war, here is another site that I found does anybody have a translation machine thingy? I just realized you can do it in english, nevermind.

[edit on 16-9-2005 by blue cell]

Okay this is for the Brits on this board, do you have any info on Britain's Air Force Special Forces? The unit is called 47 Squadron
SF Flight.

Okay guys I was reading about the Weapons SS. And the stuff they had to go through was crazy, hech it was brutal. One thing they had too do is to try and dig a foxhole in five minutes then a tank came and if it wasn't deep enough the tank would crush them! Once I get my home comp back up, I'll give you guys more info.