special forces profiles

The Time of a Secret"

Michel Bernard, member of the body of elite of the national french police force, goes back over the body of his career and redraws by the detail its missions to the Basque country, to Ouvéa, in former yugoslavia

To the Heart of Action
This constituted book of an astonishing series of photographs induces the reader to the deepest one of the different action perimeters of the GIGN, retranscribes in the four environmental elements: the earth, water, the air and the fire.

POLICEMEN - "To The heart of the action"

The National French police Force is composed many unities of operational elite. This work is the first one kind to do you to penetrate, to the assistance of an authentic and spectacular iconographie to the cœur of this institution

source




These books are about the GIGN! They look very interesting! Thats all I can really say! Sorry guys..... just giving you an idea of what books are out there.

About french special forces :

Inspired mainly by british sf, at it was the closest in terms of materials and ressources (size and economic limits), but also by various other countries sf.
The "COS" for special operation command was born in 1992. Units comes from army, air force, navy and gendarmerie (controling the GIGN, gendarmerie is in the second circle of the cos)

1st circle units :

- 1er RPIMA (specialized para and marine infantry regiment)
- FORFUSCO (commando marine, about 5 commando units : Hubert, jaubert ...)
- Air para commando : CPA 10 , 20 , 30 (Combat SAR ...)
- DAOS : Helicopters det. for special operations
- 13e RDP : Regiment Dragons Parachustistes
- a special force command unit (division des operations speciales)

Others :
- GIGN
- GIPGN (gendarmerie para unit! equivalent to gign!)
- units from 27e BIM, the mountain brigade

And enventually :
- DIN (for Nautic) Group of engineer divers, special detachements from an engineer regiment
- EOP deep observation special teams from some artillery
regiments and Artillery brigade
- ELGE Electronic warfare and signal teams from signals regiment (from the BR : information brigade)
- GCP : para group from various units under the 11 BP (para brigad), about 20x10 men...
So some small teams that are "hiden" in "normal" regiments

there was also a DAO (operationnal assistance detachement) at the 2e Rima (2nd marine infantry regiment, army) : a det that has participate to many actions in africa, but it doesn't existe anymore...

The new structure of the forces has create the BFS : Special Forces Brigad (Army) with in it : 1er RPIMA, 13e RDP, DAOS

Some pics :



















As you can see the "foreign legion" is not "special force", like many people think, it's a regular and active force (not only composed of foreigners)
of about 9 regiments (as foreign, training, infantry, para, cavalery, engineer).

in conclusion, As GIGN and COS have been metionned before this post :

The GIGN is controlled by the "Gendarmerie", it's not the Police (police control the RAID and regionnal intervention group : GIPN). the gendarmerie is an entire corps, gendarmes are military troops, it's like air force, army and navy (+ gendamerie), but they do quite te same job as the police.

www.acig.org... : this picture has been posted before in the topic, i have ever seen it and it's a gign member, with diver suit, i can only tell you it's an old pic! this diver is the only gign member i see with an uzi.

Good Topic, good continuation

Okay I got the book on Koppasus and here is my review of the book so far.



There is a lot of politics involved in it! They don't give to much specifics about the units training in its early stage. But they do give a little, they talk about key people that helped form it. Talk about how certain people went to America and Britain for training. All in all, so far its an okay book! And i'm about half way through it. Also very good book on Indoneshian history. They tell about the conflict between them and the Dutch, and the Malaysians. And a lot of other interesting stuff, seeing thats its the only book in American on Idoneshian Special Forces I would recommend it!

[edit on 2-1-2006 by blue cell]

HISTORY: Soon after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the security of our eastern borders was assigned in respective areas of Punjab Border Police Force i.e Bahawalpur State Police, Khairpur State Police and Sindh Rifles. As this force was neither properly organized nor equipped for the assigned task, therefore, in 1958 it was re-organized and named as West Pakistan Rangers. After the 1971 war, this force was federalized under the Ministry of Defence as Pakistan Rangers and later in 1974, it was made part of the Civil Armed Forces (CAF) under the Ministry of Interior.

ROLE: Rangers are basically framed to undertake defensive tasks along the international border, thus their grooming remains very close to that of the Army. Most of its departmental officers are ex Servicemen and having served in the Army, they had opted to join Rangers. Moreover, roles/tasks of Rangers also demand altogether a different culture and organizational set up. Basing on these employment parameters, Command of Rangers Troops 'is mostly entrusted to officers of Pakistan Army (on deputation to Pakistan Rangers) and thereby standards of discipline and conduct are maintained as close to the Army as possible.

Protection of persons and property in the border areas.
Apprehension of persons unlawfully entering into or going out of Pakistan territory.
Prevention of smuggling.
Collection of intelligence in the border areas.
Reinforce the Police for the maintenance of law and order whenever it is necessary.
Federal Government may by an order at any time declare a state of emergency on entire border of the Province or a part thereof and thereby place under the operational control of the Army all or any of the units or members of the force for the time being serving within the Province.
Organization of village defence in border areas.
Provision of assistance to the police to prevent and detect crime in the border area.
Reinforce the police for the maintenance of law and order.
Collection of intelligence and provision of early warning about smugglers movement/concentration.
Organization of village defence in the border area.

ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Pakistan Rangers fall under Ministry of Interior. Rangers are commanded by Major General as Director General. In Punjab province four border corps are commanded by Colonels and each wings by a Lieutenant Colonel. Presently Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) consist of approximately 5000 all ranks who are deployed at over 300 Border Out Posts along 1300 kilometers of the eastern border. Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) Academy is located at Mandi Bahauddin. In Sindh province Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) consist of approximately 23,000 strong, of which about 10,000 are deployed in or near Karachi Pakistan's largest city they guard 40 consulates and many other important places and installations of strategic importance. Some 13,000 rangers operate in the interior of Sindh, patrolling the border with India and protecting foreign companies’ oil installations and gas explorations. Their job is also to maintain a vigil on the railway. Departmental officer of Pakistan Rangers can be promoted to the rank of Superintendent Rangers.

source





Well these guys remind me of India's Frontier Force. And at the same time they remind me of the US's Marine Guard Battalions. Interesting tho, they seem like more conventional then special forces would be. Like elite troops kinda like the American Rangers except our Rangers are an elite striking force also. Interesting!

NEW DELHI - The Indian army will send thousands of special forces troops to Israel for training to fight Islamic militants in troubled Kashmir, and the two countries have signed a multimillion-dollar weapons deal, a news report said Sunday.

An Indian Defense Ministry delegation will visit Israel next week to discuss anti-insurgency warfare training for its special forces, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted unidentified ministry officials as saying.

India and Israel have also signed a $30 million agreement to arm special forces with advanced light weapons systems, the news agency said.

Brigadier Shrutikant, an Indian army spokesman, gave no immediate comment on the report

Israel will train about 3,000 selected Indian soldiers in batches, the news agency said.

source


Very interesting I wonder what special forces units will go there my guess if men from the Special Frontier Force. Although it could be a mix of many units. I will try and find more info on this.

ive heard about the 'delta force' before, but its a well known fact the SAS are the best trained special forces in the world (even if i wasn't british i would be saying that)!!

noone knows who they are until they are retired (then SOME come out) even the govenment haven't 'officially' confirmed the regiment exists.

but put it this way before the alfgan war and iraq i bet sas soilders were in the country dressed as muslims, they are trained for everything (learn all languages).

they can live of the land FOR MONTHS (infact thats part of their training) they get dumped in the jungle for 3 months and all they get is a compass.

they can eat foods that would make (anyone of us) pass out, they are the real life rambos!!

do a search on google about SAS training, i watched a documentry about it once, scary stuff.



[edit on 21-2-2006 by st3ve_o]

Originally posted by blue cell
Okay I got the book on Koppasus and here is my review of the book so far.



There is a lot of politics involved in it! They don't give to much specifics about the units training in its early stage. But they do give a little, they talk about key people that helped form it. Talk about how certain people went to America and Britain for training. All in all, so far its an okay book! And i'm about half way through it. Also very good book on Indoneshian history. They tell about the conflict between them and the Dutch, and the Malaysians. And a lot of other interesting stuff, seeing thats its the only book in American on Idoneshian Special Forces I would recommend it!

The Kopassus are mainly trained by the Australian SASR, it was a major issue here after E Timor if, the SASR should resume training of the Koppasus. I guess it makes sense since the SASR are probably the preeminent jungle warfighters in the world.

Originally posted by rogue1

The Kopassus are mainly trained by the Australian SASR, it was a major issue here after E Timor if, the SASR should resume training of the Koppasus. I guess it makes sense since the SASR are probably the preeminent jungle warfighters in the world.

Yeah i read about East Timor, it was an amazing process of how they started to invade the country a lot of politics involved. I think the commandoes were used more as elite infantry then unconventional warriors.



Also on a side note do you think Iraq will have naval special forces? I think its definitly a possibility I mean think of how the US wants Iraq to be a beacon of freedom in the middle east also there is the global war on terror it is gonna help us in, in the future. And correct me if i'm mistaken but dosen't water cover 80% of the globe, so with Iraq having naval special forces they could cover (aka search suspicous vessels and the like) the water around them.


reply!

Basic Info

Marinejegerkommandoen (MJK) is a Norwegian maritime and coastal-oriented special forces unit formally established in 1951. It is divided into two operative units, one of which is located in Ramsund in the northern part of Norway and the other at the Haakonsvern Navy base in Bergen.

As is expected from any special forces, the training to become a MJK operative is long and arduous, taking two years and then further augmented by courses taken during the following four-year contract period, such as field medical training, sniper training and forward air control (FAC) training. As of recently, all MJK personnel are assigned as officers and are put through the required courses in order to qualify. This is to maintain a level of authority and operational independency in relations to other, non-special forces units

International Operations

MJK has participated in a number of international operations, most notably and most recently in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, not once, but twice. First deployed in 2002, and then subsequently in 2003, MJK’s contribution is primarily unknown, but from what is available, its missions have included DA (Direct Action), Forward Air Control (FAC) and SR (Special Surveillance and Reconnaissance), assisting US troops in the fight against Taliban.

source





So basically there like Norway's Navy SEAL's, pretty cool that their supporting the war on terror in Afghanistan! I mean there not that powerfull of a country and I don't hear about them in the news to much so to know their making a contribution is good!

I will try and find more info on them.

The Australian SAS are also highly regarded by the US navy seals. Quote from a book I'm reading by a US navy seals commande in reference to the Aussie SAS after working together in Afghan/Iraq: "I'd gladly storm hell itself with your boys".

The Aussie SAS were the first troops in Iraq with the US navy SEALs doing ops behind enemy lines.

No special forces from any country can really be called "the best". Competition between CT units is usually within the country itself. Marine Recon units (I recently enlisted in the Marines. my MOS is Recon) and Navy SEALs are probably the biggest rivalry in the U.S. And besides, no one knows the true extent to these soldiers training. My uncle is a SEAL and still refuses to tell me the full extent of his SERE's training (its pretty much ineterrogation training).

Originally posted by blue cell

Marine Corps to Join U.S. Special Operations Command
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2005 – The Marine Corps will soon officially join the special operations community with a new Marine Special Operations Command to become a component of U.S. Special Operations Command, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced here today.
Rumsfeld announced his approval of the plan, part of a sweeping range of transformations under way to strengthen the U.S. military and its special operations forces, during a Pentagon news briefing.

It will increase Special Operations Command's ability to field highly skilled special operators in the numbers required to support of the war on terror and other missions, he said.

The command's members will train foreign military units and carry out other Marine Corps missions traditionally associated with special operations work: intelligence, logistics, fire-support coordination, direct action and special reconnaissance, among them, Powell said.

The 2,600-member command will have three subordinate elements: a special operations regiment, foreign military training unit and special operations support group.

A portion of the command will train and deploy with Marine expeditionary units, enhancing those units' special operations capability, officials said.

source


Oh my goodness I know they had a spec ops unit in SOCOM, but now they have their own command. Rock on Marines! Any comments would be welcomed.

actaully this is truely great news because the marines were the only branch of the military that didnt have a unit under SOCOM. This is very good news.

well, in my opinion, the Polish GROM and FORMOZA, along with the 1st SPK are some of the best special forces there are.

Grom are prolly the best of the 3. They train with Navy Seals in Poland and undergo some of the most intense mental abuse in training that is possible. when is comes to combat history, they have helped in Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, and so forth. They've only been around since the early 90's but they can kick some a**

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GROM


i met a Navy SEAL b4 and he said that GROM are some of the most highly respected men in the world, because of their endeavour to spread Freedom and Democracy, much like the US. ties between the GROM and SEALS are very tight and they often refer to each other as brothers.

here's my list:

1. SAS
2. Delta Force
3. Spetznasz
4. Israeli SF (can't spell it don't want to butcher it)
5. SEALS/GROM - same training physically, but Polish undergo more mental training, while the US has better technology

GROM members prefer to use the MP5 assault rifle in combat and are very highly equipped.

well, in my opinion, the Polish GROM and FORMOZA, along with the 1st SPK are some of the best special forces there are.

Grom are prolly the best of the 3. They train with Navy Seals in Poland and undergo some of the most intense mental abuse in training that is possible. when is comes to combat history, they have helped in Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, and so forth. They've only been around since the early 90's but they can kick some a**

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GROM


i met a Navy SEAL b4 and he said that GROM are some of the most highly respected men in the world, because of their endeavour to spread Freedom and Democracy, much like the US. ties between the GROM and SEALS are very tight and they often refer to each other as brothers.

here's my list:

1. SAS
2. Delta Force
3. Spetznasz
4. Israeli SF (can't spell it don't want to butcher it)
5. SEALS/GROM - same training physically, but Polish undergo more mental training, while the US has better technology

GROM members prefer to use the MP5 assault rifle in combat and are very highly equipped.

I fail to see why so many people a=rate teh Spetnaz so highly. Is this still the result of some Cold War mythos ?
Couls someone please tell me why they consider them so ood. The only response I seem to get is " they are so good because they beat each other up in training ". Hardly a qualifying comment.

its because they have been around for so long, much is kept secret about them, and they are effective.

4 things all SF need is experience, secrecy, effectiveness, and modern weapons and tactics

Man how many times do we have to have these "Our special forces are better than your arguments" here on ATS.

I have worked alongside many SF men during my military days including SAS, SEALS, SPETZNAZ.

I have sat on a ferry as a passenger hostage which has been raided by Joint SAS, SBS and Australian SF.

I have sat on a Jumbo Jet as a passenger hostage which was raided by SAS which also included a attachment of 4 SEALS who had swapped places with four SAS blokes for 12 months

In the Military my Ski training was given to me by an ex Spetznaz guy.

All are equal in their own field of expertise. Yes some are better at other things but its a vice versa thing all the way. You would be suprised at how many SF teams from around the world are based with Foreign SF regiments for a few months to learn a "Trade" as it where.

And whoever said something along the lines that one force who specialises in Mountain Warfare whould whip ass of a force that specialises in Marine Warfare out in the Alps or something is completely wrong.

A special forces team is selected very carefully usually of 8 men in UK.
One of these men will be a specialist in Explosives and driving foreign vehicles and a multitude of other vehicles. Another will be a Medical specialist as well as a Mountain warfare specialist. Another will be a Radio/Comms specialist aswell as a Jungle warfare specialist another will be a expert linguist in a particular foreign language as well as a Survival specialist. etc etc etc

Of course they all receive that training but a team is made up of specialists in each field basically the best of the best in each team covering every scenario they could encounter as much as possible.

And selection for most special forces is not the hard part. The hard part is staying in.

Now whilst on the subject who knows of the super secret regiment which is higher than the SAS within the UK. You wont find this regiment on any lists but they exsist believe me

Originally posted by thesaint
Man how many times do we have to have these "Our special forces are better than your arguments" here on ATS.

I have worked alongside many SF men during my military days including SAS, SEALS, SPETZNAZ.

I have sat on a ferry as a passenger hostage which has been raided by Joint SAS, SBS and Australian SF.

I have sat on a Jumbo Jet as a passenger hostage which was raided by SAS which also included a attachment of 4 SEALS who had swapped places with four SAS blokes for 12 months

In the Military my Ski training was given to me by an ex Spetznaz guy.

All are equal in their own field of expertise. Yes some are better at other things but its a vice versa thing all the way. You would be suprised at how many SF teams from around the world are based with Foreign SF regiments for a few months to learn a "Trade" as it where.

And whoever said something along the lines that one force who specialises in Mountain Warfare whould whip ass of a force that specialises in Marine Warfare out in the Alps or something is completely wrong.

A special forces team is selected very carefully usually of 8 men in UK.
One of these men will be a specialist in Explosives and driving foreign vehicles and a multitude of other vehicles. Another will be a Medical specialist as well as a Mountain warfare specialist. Another will be a Radio/Comms specialist aswell as a Jungle warfare specialist another will be a expert linguist in a particular foreign language as well as a Survival specialist. etc etc etc

Of course they all receive that training but a team is made up of specialists in each field basically the best of the best in each team covering every scenario they could encounter as much as possible.

And selection for most special forces is not the hard part. The hard part is staying in.

Now whilst on the subject who knows of the super secret regiment which is higher than the SAS within the UK. You wont find this regiment on any lists but they exsist believe me

i agree with everything u said, but most if not all the members of SF teams are certified battle medics. in units like the SEALS, DELTA, GROM, etc, etc, usually 70% of the total members are certified battle meds. this is just in case that one medic they have with them gets hurt.

Thats why i said:

"Of course they all receive that training but a team is made up of specialists in each field"

Most soldiers are trained up to field medic status. In my troop we were all trained medics but we had one guy who specialised in it to the max at least if we lost him we had a chance of figuring a casualty problem out ourselves.

Like in Bosnia we all were educated in the language but we had in our troop a guy who could speak it fluent. Poor bloke had to spend 6 months on a very intense course then when we left bosnia because he was so good he had to stay for another 6 month as they were short of men who could speak the language

Many years ago, a Yank with a typical skull hair cut with an ego to match, went to Stirling Lines in Hereford.

He stayed at Stirling Lines for 6 months, eventually passing the 22 Regiment Special Air Service Selection.

On passing and receiving his certificate, he is reputed to have said,'God! If we'd have had guys like you in 'Nam, we'd have never have lost!'

His name was Charlie Beckwith. A few months later, he founded Delta which he based on the Special Air Service and used their selection process.

Nuff said, don't you think?