The Amphibious Commandos Group (, APCA) is a

special operations Special operations or special ops 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 ma ...

force of the Argentine Marine Corps.

Role

Trained to perform quick and objective amphibious

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

, assault raids, and

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

operations.

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 Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

). In 1960 the group received its first advanced

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

course of amphibious

, airborne, and HALO/HAHO parachuting in the Military Diving School and in the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, 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-in-chief of the Armed For ...

. With the personnel of the 7th Marine Corps Company, formed in 1966 the Amphibious Reconnaissance Company, it took new tasks and responsibilities. The

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

course was incorporated in the

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 Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

, in the course of the Beagle crisis, executing many

missions. During the late 1980s, the group was moved from Mar del Plata to its current base in Puerto Belgrano. 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 population o ...

, taking part in the battle of Government House and the assault on Moody Brook barracks. Members of the group also saw action of at

South Georgia Islands South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands known as the S ...

and carried out a couple of

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

Training

The unit in action 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.

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 (, ) is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s by German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It uses a similar modular design to the Heckler & Koch G3, and has over 100 variants and clones, including selective fire, Se ...

* Daniel Defense M4A1 *

FAMAS The FAMAS ( French: ''Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne'', lit. 'Assault rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory') is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978. It is known by ...

* M249 SAW *

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

Heckler & Koch HK21 The HK21 is a German 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, developed in 1961 by small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and based on the Heckler & Koch G3, G3 battle rifle. The weapon is in use with the armed forces of several ...

* M24 SWS * Barrett M95 *

AT4 The AT4 is a Swedish unguided, man-portable, disposable, Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank weapon manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics (formerly FFV Ordnance; later, Bofors Anti-Armour Systems). ...

References

External links