The Amphibious Commandos Group ( es, Agrupación de Comandos Anfibios, APCA) 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 ...

force of the

Argentine Marine Corps The Naval Infantry Command ( es, Comando de la Infantería de Marina, COIM), also known as the Naval Infantry of the Navy of the Argentine Republic ( es, Infantería de Marina de la Armada de la República Argentina, IMARA) and generally referred ...

Role

Trained to perform quick and objective

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

, assault raids, and

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

operations.

Training

The amphibious command course lasts 1 year and is physically and mentally exhausting. 95% of applicants do not succeed. Training course consists of the: *amphibious warfare course *mountain warfare course *parachute course Operatives are also trained as demolitions experts, multiple weapons experts and trained in Close quarters combat.

History

It was created in 1952 as the Vigilance and Security Company of Submarine Bases (at Base Naval

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

). In 1960 the group received its first advanced training course of amphibious

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

, and HALO/HAHO parachuting in the Military Diving School and in 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- ...

. With the personnel of the 7th Marine Corps Company, formed in 1966 the Amphibious Reconnaissance Company, it took new tasks and responsibilities. The commando course was incorporated in the training in 1973, and in the next year the unit was renamed Amphibious Commandos Group. The members of this group wear green berets with unit badges. The group participated in 1978 and 1979 in the Marine Corps force deployed to

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

, in the course of the Beagle crisis, executing many

missions Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion * Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. During the late 1980s, the group was moved from Mar del Plata to its current base in

Puerto Belgrano Port Belgrano Naval Base ( es, Base Naval Puerto Belgrano - BNPB) is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires. It is named after the brigantine ''General Belgr ...

. On 2 April 1982, the unit was part of the Amphibious Task Force leading the assault on Port Stanley, taking part in the battle of Government House and the assault on

Moody Brook Moody Brook is a small watercourse that flows into Stanley Harbour on East Falkland, Falkland Islands. It is near Stanley, Falkland Islands, Stanley, just to the north west, and was formerly the location of the town barracks, which were attac ...

barracks. Members of the group also saw action of at

South Georgia Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...

and carried out a couple of

missions from Port Stanley since 1 May. The group was awarded the ''Honor al Valor en Combate'' decoration.

Weapons

Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...

* Heckler & Koch MP5 * Daniel Defense M4A1 *

FAMAS The FAMAS (''Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne'', "Assault Rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978, a year after the Austrian Steyr ...

M249 SAW The M249 light machine gun (LMG), also known as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), which continues to be the manufacturer's designation, and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian F ...

FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...

* Heckler & Koch HK21 *

M24 SWS The M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) or M24 is the military and police version of the Remington Model 700 rifle, ''M24'' being the model name assigned by the United States Army after adoption as their standard sniper rifle in 1988. The M24 is refe ...

* Barrett M95 *

AT4 The AT4 is a Swedish unguided, man-portable, disposable, shoulder-fired recoilless anti-tank weapon built by Saab Bofors Dynamics (previously Bofors Anti-Armour Systems and before that FFV Ordance). The AT4 is not considered a rocket launch ...

Notes

{{Argentine special forces Special forces of Argentina Argentine Navy Mar del Plata Military units and formations established in 1952 Military units and formations of Argentina in the Falklands War Falklands War in South Georgia

Role

Training

History

Weapons

See also

Notes