The Tactical Divers Group ( es, Agrupación de Buzos Tácticos, APBT) is the premier special operations force of the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

. The Buzos Tácticos are based 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 ...

(BNMP) on the Atlantic coast of Argentina. Its men are highly qualified

combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

divers Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...

, EOD/demolition technicians, and paratroopers.

History

The APBT was the first

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

division created in South America. The unit was established in 1952 on board LST ARA ''Cabo San Bartolomé'' with instructors who were former X-MAS Italian diver commandos. In those times a reduced Tactical Divers Group was operating in the ''Cabo'' ''San Bartolomé''; years later the Navy created a second group assigned to the Escuadra Naval del Plata. In 1966 both services were merged, creating the actual Tactical Divers Group. In the

1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands The Invasion of the Falkland Islands ( es, Invasión de las Islas Malvinas), code-named Operation Rosario (), was a military operation launched by Argentine forces on 2 April 1982, to capture the Falkland Islands, and served as a catalyst for ...

, the main landing at Yorke Bay to the east of Port Stanley on 2 April, was preceded by an amphibious reconnaissance party of the APBT. They had been landed by the submarine ARA ''Santa Fe''. They successfully secured the beach and the lighthouse, and set up beacons to guide the amphibious vehicles of the assault group, which had disembarked from the landing ship ARA ''Cabo San Antonio'' some distance offshore. Some sources assert that ''Buzos Tácticos'' units attacked the

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 and besieged Government House, however these troops were mainly units of the

Amphibious Commandos Group The Amphibious Commandos Group ( es, Agrupación de Comandos Anfibios, APCA) is a special operations force of the Argentine Marine Corps. Role Trained to perform quick and objective amphibious reconnaissance, assault raids, and direct acti ...

(''Agrupación de Comandos Anfibios'', APCA). The error was due to hearsay reported by a journalist from the Argentinian magazine ''Somos'', which was the first to publish an account of the operation, although a number of individual APBT members assisted the Commandos in both actions, specially around Government House. Both the APBT and the APCA teams had returned to Argentina by nightfall, on the same aircraft which had brought in the first Argentine Army reinforcements.

Organization and training

The APBT is trained to operate in diverse environments, such as jungle/riverine, maritime and extreme cold weather. All members are top niche

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

s and

. The APBT course takes place mostly in the

area. Topics include HALO/HAHO parachuting,

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 ...

, unconventional warfare, underwater demolition, and counter-terrorism. The course is open to line officers and NCOs, and is very selective, with a high attrition rate. The members of this unit wear brown berets with unit badges. The unit is attached to the Submarines Force Command, which comes under the Chief of Naval Operations. This unit is one of the two special operations forces' units of the

, the other being the (APCA), under the

Marine Infantry Command 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 ...

.''Buzos Tácticos''

History

Organization and training

Notes

See also