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.
Role
Trained to perform quick and objective
amphibious 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
Close-quarters combat (CQC) or close-quarters battle (CQB) is a tactical situation that involves a physical fight with firearms involved between multiple combatants at short range. It can occur between military units, police/corrections officer ...
.
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
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
course of amphibious
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 ...
,
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
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
course was incorporated in the
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
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
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 ...
missions.
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 Be ...
.
On 2 April 1982, the unit was part of the Amphibious Task Force leading the assault on
Port Stanley
Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...
, 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
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 ...
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
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the 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
The HK21 is a German 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, developed in 1961 by small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and based on the G3 battle rifle. The weapon is in use with the armed forces of several Asian, African and Latin American ...
*
M24 SWS
*
Barrett M95
The Barrett M95 is a bolt-action rifle chambered in .50 BMG (12.7×99mm), and manufactured by Barrett Firearms Company. It has been adopted by a number of militaries around the world.
Overview
The M95 is an improved version of the earlier Barret ...
*
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 launc ...
See also
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Tactical Divers Group
The Tactical Divers Group ( es, Agrupación de Buzos Tácticos, APBT) is the premier special operations force of the Argentine Navy. The Buzos Tácticos are based at Base Naval Mar del Plata (BNMP) on the Atlantic coast of Argentina. Its men ...
*
601 Commando Company
The 601 Commando Company ( es, Compañía de Comandos 601) is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army.
History
Created on 2 April 1982, it was based on the original ''Equipo Especial de Lucha contra la Subversión Halcón 8'' created b ...
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