The 602 Commando Company ( es, Compañía de Comandos 602) is a

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

unit of the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

Unit insignia

The members of the unit wear green berets with unit badges. The company is divided into three assault sections.

History

Today's unit was created 21 May 1982.

Falklands War

The unit had its baptism of fire in the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. The commander of the company was 39-year-old Major

Aldo Rico Aldo Rico (born 4 March 1943) is an Argentine retired Lieutenant Colonel and politician, famous for his role in the episodes of 1987 (usually referred to as "Semana Santa", or Easter week) and 1988 (the "Monte Caseros" mutiny) where sectors of the ...

. On the night of 29–30 May, Captain Andres Antonio Ferrero's 3rd Assault Section attempted to seize Mount Kent but was beaten back in an SAS ambush from 16 Air Troop, although wounding two SAS men (Dick Palmer and Carl Rhodes) in the process. On the morning of 30 May, Captain Tomas Victor Fernandez's 2nd Assault Section from 602 Commando Company suffered two killed on Bluff Cove Peak during the Mount Kent Skirmish, First Lieutenant Rubén Eduardo Márquez and Sergeant Oscar Humberto Blas, in an action with 17 Boat Troop and Major Cedric Delves' Tactical Headquarters (including part of the Intelligence Corps) from the British 22nd

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

. First Lieutenant Márquez and Sergeant Blas showed great personal courage and leadership in the action and were subsequently awarded the ''

Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal (Spanish: Medalla "La Nación Argentina al Valor en Combate") is the second highest military decoration given by the President of Argentina. The decoration consists of a bronze circular medal beari ...

''. During this contact the SAS suffered two more casualties (Ewen Pearcy and Don Masters) from grenades (including an Intelligence NCO assigned to the SAS). The Argentine Commandos literally stumbled on a camp occupied by 15 SAS troopers. That night, Captain Peter Babbington's K Company of

42 Commando 42 Commando (42 Cdo) (pronounced as Four-Two Commando) is a subordinate unit within the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade. Based at Bickleigh Barracks near Plymouth, personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations or training. ...

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

and 7 'Sphinx' Battery from the Royal Artillery arrived nearby via helicopters. At about the same time, the 2nd Assault Section, having hidden all day, emerged from their hides intending to withdraw from the area but came under prompt and heavy fire from the SAS in the form of Mountain Troop and lost one NCO (Sergeant Vicente Alfredo Flores) captured. The SAS claim on their part, to have come under mortar bombardment while evacuating their wounded. The British artillery battery report the loss of one gunner (Van Rooyen) who suffered a broken arm while taking cover among the slippery rocks in the bombardment. During the Argentine retreat from the Mount Kent area on 30 May, Sergeant Mario Antonio Cisnerofrom 602 Commando Company ―armed with a 7.62 mm machinegun― and Sergeant Luis Alberto Kovalskifrom 601 National Gendarmerie Special Forces Squadron (also armed with a machinegun) repeatedly fired at low flying Royal Air Force fighter-bombers conducting strafing runs with the British reporting the loss of one GR-3 Harrier (Harrier XZ 963, piloted by Squadron-Leader Jerry Pook) to small-arms fire. The 1st Assault Section fought in the Battle of Top Malo House on 31 May 1982. In an action lasting 45 minutes, the Argentine Army Special Forces patrol under Captain José Arnobio Vercesi was defeated and the survivors captured in the encounter with the British

Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre The Mountain Leader Training Cadre is a training element of the United Kingdom's Royal Marines which provides instruction in mountain warfare, arctic warfare, cold weather survival and operations, and cliff assault. The En cadre, cadre has a perma ...

, a

unit, attached to the

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

that reported 3 British badly wounded in the gun-battle. Another British Marine (Sergeant McClean) suffered bone bruising when hit in the hand while attempting to fire a 66mm anti-tank rocket. On the night of 5–6 June Captain Andres Ferrero's 3rd Assault Section dislodged a platoon of Royal Marines in the form of Lieutenant Tony Hornby's 10 Troop, 42 Commando from Mount Wall. According to Ferrero: On 8 June, Private 1st Class Argentino Foremny of the 602 Commando Company Blowpipe Team that Major Rico had sent forward to Mount Harriet, with the help of the built-in zoom-in sight of his man-portable surface-to-air missile launcher, confirmed the presence of the British troopships ''Sir Galahad'' and ''Sir Tristram'' at Port Pleasant: Captain Ferrero's 3rd Assault Section suffered one killed (Sergeant Mario Antonio Cisnero) and one wounded (First Lieutenant Jorge Manuel Vizoso-Posse) while Captain Miguel Santo's supporting National Gendarmerie section suffered another dead (Sergeant Ramon Acosta) and another wounded (Sergeant Pablo Daniel Parada) in a fierce action near Murrell River on the night of 9/10 June, seizing much equipment and forcing the attacking Royal Marines platoon to withdraw, with Major Rico belatedly calling down fire support from Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Balza's 3rd Artillery Group in an attempt to cut off the British escape route and take prisoners. In this action in the early hours of 10 June, 50 Argentine commandos fought against a reinforced platoon of Royal Marines. One Royal Marine was reportedly killed by defensive mortar fire early in the approach to Murrell River. According to the British military historian

Bruce Quarrie Bruce Quarrie (1947 in London – 4 September 2004) was an English writer and author on wargaming and militaria topics. Career Quarrie studied English at Peterhouse, Cambridge University and graduated in 1968. He became a journalist with the ''Fi ...

, it was a hard-fought and costly action for both sides: Marines-OP-equipment

Captain Hugo Ranieri, armed with a .300 Weatherby Magnum bolt-action rifle, fought as a sniper in the gun-battle: The next day, a 4th Regiment patrol under ''Subteniente'' Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz collected the British equipment abandoned in the action, and these were presented as war trophies to Argentine war correspondents in Port Stanley that filmed and photographed the equipment. On the night of 12–13 June, Captain Andres Ferrero's 3rd Assault Section of 602 Commando Company took up ambush positions in the vicinity of Mount William, in support of the 5th Marine Infantry Battalion. According to First Lieutenant Horacio Fernando Lauría, a judo-black-belt"In spite of the signals intelligence intercepts indicating an entire Gurkha battalion being no more than four kilometres to the west, the judo black belt engineer First-Lieutenant Horacio Lauria was eager to come to grips with the Gurkhas in the Pony Pass area to show the conscripts that the men from Nepal were human and that he could win a man-to-man contest." Van Der Bijl, Aldea, p. 188 from Captain Ferrero's patrol:

21st century

The company is based in Córdoba Province and is under the command of the

Rapid Deployment Force A rapid deployment force is a military formation that is capable of fast deployment. Such forces typically consist of elite military units ( special forces, paratroopers, marines, etc.) and are usually trained at a higher intensity than the rest ...

as part of the Special Operations Forces Group.

References

External links