Arthuristan Special Forces
The Arthuristan Special Forces refer to those units of the Arthuristan military and other security forces which are trained and tasked with accomplishing special missions.
These units are split into two 'circles' - 'strategic' and 'tactical'.
'Strategic Circle' units are directly under the command of the Joint Commando Force, which comes under the direct purview of the Chief of Defence Staff, although they may be parcelled out under the operational control of theatre commanders where necessary. 'Tactical Circle' formations, on the other hand, are ordinarily included within the order of battle of a higher headquarter and are 'loaned' for strategic operations to the JCF on an ad hoc basis where necessary.
Unique features
Compared to analogous forces worldwide, the Arthuristan special forces community has two distinguishing features.
1. Due to the overwhelmingly conventional, peer-warfare focus of the Commonwealth Defence Forces, the capabilities of the vast majority of the Joint Commando Force are biased towards providing special reconnaissance and long range infiltration capabilities for the headquarters of maneuver units, with an emphasis on gathering actionable intelligence and targeting information for long range interdiction assets such as deep fire artillery, ballistic missiles and fighter bombers. Nevertheless, all Arthuristan special forces formations are fully capable in carrying out counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare and direct action operations, especially the units of the Strategic Circle.
2. Unlike the tendency of other armed forces to designate units strictly by function, Arthuristan special forces are organised for versatility and the avoidance of duplication. All units, whether from the strategic or tactical circle, are capable of both direct action and special reconnaissance, with the former being the emphasis of the strategic circle and the latter of the tactical circle. Nevertheless, all units possess clandestine and covert action capabilities to some degree, with specialists trained in foreign languages, HUMINT intelligence gathering and unconventional warfare. This, planners believe, increases the JCF's flexibility and allows for a more efficient use of resources.
Arthuristan SF units, like all combat formations of the Commonwealth Defence Forces, accept women among their ranks. The same extremely stringent physical and mental requirements are tested in the selection process and, if a recruit passes them, he or she is inducted regardless of gender.
Joint Commando Force
The Joint Commando Force is an integrated administrative and operational structure, which comes under the direct purview of the Chief of Defence Staff. Together, they constitute the 'Strategic Circle' of Arthuristan special forces. Although funded and administered by their parent services, they are normally tasked directly by the cabinet or intelligence agencies for the most important, politically-sensitive missions, although in wartime elements of the Strategic Circle may also be temporarily attached to operational headquarters to conduct certain missions.
Arthuristan Special Air Service (SAS), Commonwealth Army
The SAS was formed during the Great Fascist War from the best veteran operators of the Para-commandos. Experts in counter-terrorism, direct action and long range special reconnaissance, inductees come from a variety of backgrounds, although the majority were members of the SRC before they joined the SAS. All personnel are thus parachute trained and are considered specialists in HALO and HAHO insertion techniques.
In addition to its direct action capabilities, the SAS also contains members trained in foreign languages, tradecraft and Clandestine HUMINT methodologies, allowing them to assist Arthuristan intelligence agencies in joint operations or lead local resistance groups in unconventional warfare campaigns.
The SAS is organised along cavalry lines, with two battalion-sized regiments, each divided into squadrons and troops. There are an additional two regiments composed of reservists.
A regiment is subdivided into four squadrons. In turn, squadrons are organised into troops, each containing three eight-men patrols, a command element, and a weapons troop with sniper rifles, light mortars, ATGMs and machine guns. Each squadron's troops have the following specialities:
(A) Jungle Troop
(B) Mountain/Arctic Troop
(C) Desert Troop
(D) Urban Troop - counter-terrorism/hostage rescue experts
(E) Air Troop - HALO specialists
Prospective members must undergo a 20-week selection process before they are eligible for consideration. Upon induction, they are entitled to wear the sand-coloured beret of the SAS.
Junior enlisted personnel revert to the rank of trooper upon entry. The first year is considered probationary and he/she may be returned at any time to their original unit with the original rank restored. Commissioned inductees retain their current rank, although in reality the command of small units is primarily exercised by senior NCOs, due to their far greater expertise and professional knowledge of 'the trade'.
After serving for three years, commissioned and warrant officers are typically returned to their original unit as a mechanism to prevent the loss of veteran personnel from other parts of the military. They may reapply for the SAS (upon completing a simplified version of the original selection process) for a second three-year stint, at the completion of which they are entitled to be transferred to the permanent cadre and will not be returned to their original unit.
The SBS was constituted from veteran Marine Raiders operators around the same time as the SAS, with a similar expertise in direct action, long range reconnaissance and counter-terrorism, albeit with a maritime or amphibious focus. For example, they are experts in VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) operations, a specialisation not shared with other units. They are similarly subdivided into the four speciality groups of the SAS and organised on similar lines. The standard of selection and training are nearly identical, though with a greater emphasis on swimming, diving and other related aquatic skills. Their personnel and ranks policy are also identical to the SAS and most inductees were former members of the Marine Raiders. Their beret colour is green, similar to that worn by the Commonwealth Marines.
The 1st SBS Regiment is its main active components, with the 2nd Regiment constituted by reservists.
1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment ('1 PARA' or 'Para-Commandos')
In 1985, the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment was permanently detached from the 6th Airborne Brigade, and assigned to the Joint Commando Force. It is a highly-trained light infantry force, capable of airborne and air assault operations, raids and direct action, straddling the threshold between conventional infantry and unconventional warfare capabilities. The Para-Commandos, as the battalion was soon nicknamed, provides the JCF with an integral heavy combat capability. It is typically tasked with providing heavy support to SAS or SBS operations, as well as serve as a Quick Reaction Force or blocking force. It may also be utilised on its own as a highly versatile unit of elite light infantry. The Battalion tends to absorb the best of the annual intake of parachute-qualified commissioned and enlisted personnel, many of whom proceed to join the SAS.
The 1 PARA is organised into a battalion headquarters, four rifle companies, a combat support company with a scout/sniper platoon, a mortar platoon with nine 81mm weapons, an anti-tank platoon with Vesper missiles, an anti-air platoon (armed with Stinger missiles, rather than the more common Starstreak in Arthristan service), an assault pioneer platoon (which provides basic combat engineering functions) as well as a logistics support company.
Counter-Terrorism Command (CTC), Loweport Metropolitan Police
Although the operators of this unit are technically civilians, they are considered to be among the top special forces of the nation. The unit recruits widely from former serving members of the military's special forces and other elite formations. They are regarded as the premier hostage rescue and urban counter terrorism unit in the country, experts in storming extremist-held buildings and the protection of VIPs. Not merely a glorified SWAT team, it possesses a wide range of specialist support capabilities, including electronic warfare, cyber warfare and ELINT, cryptography, psy-ops and negotiation tactics.
Tactical SF
Units of the Tactical Circle are directly attached to the headquarters of operational units in the regular military, providing unconventional capability to conventional warfare formations. Where necessary, they may also be 'borrowed' to support the Strategic SF.
Special Reconnaissance Companies, Commonwealth Army
Special Reconnaissance Companies are light infantry special ops forces capable of being deployed by parachute, helicopter or light wheeled vehicles. The primary task of SRC's is to provide division commanders with long range infiltration, deep reconnaissance, surveillance and fire direction capabilities beyond the Forward Edge of the Battle Area ('FEBA'). In this role, they complement regular armoured cavalry units, whose mission profile is focused on 'loud' reconnaissance in force, aggressively moving forward and hunting down enemy reconnaissance units to gain information dominance over the battlefield. They operate under the direction of, but are not directly subordinated to, the division's military intelligence regiment.
While focused on supporting conventional warfare formations with special reconnaissance capabilities, SRC units are versatile enough to be capable of conducting counter-terrorism, hostage rescue and direct action in a wide variety of terrains where more specialist units are unavailable. All who pass selection may join, although the vast majority have a background in the airborne forces or other specialist light infantry formations.
Unlike the SAS Regiments, which are organised on cavalry lines, SRC units are modelled after the army's airborne and light infantry formations. As of 2014, there are five active and two reserve Special Reconaissance Companies in active service, one per each division, plus the 6th Parachute Brigade's Pathfinder Company.
Maritime Raiders, Commonwealth Marines
The Maritime Raiders are a special ops force with similar capabilities to the army's SRC, albeit with a maritime and amphibious focus, tasked with performing long range covert reconnaissance and surveillance for their parent marine brigades. They also possess secondary direct action, counter-terrorism and unconventional warfare capabilities.
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Ground Intervention Group, Commonwealth Air Force Regiment
The Ground Intervention Group is a special forces component of the Commonwealth Air Force Regiment. They are trained to provide specialist terminal air control and targeting support to Arthuristan special operations.
Assault Retrieval Group, Commonwealth Air Force Regiment
The Assault Retrieval Group is a specialist formation tasked with combat search and rescue operations.
Aviation/insertion formations
Special Operations Command, Commonwealth Air Force
The Commonwealth Air Force's Special Operations Command provides fixed wing air support for JCF operations.
Commando Helicopter Group, Commonwealth Army Air Corps
The Commando Helicopter Group of the Commonwealth Army Air Corps supports special operations with helicopters and UAVs, providing infiltration and exfiltration capabilities, as well as close air support and reconnaissance.
Maritime Special Aviation Group
The Maritime Special Aviation Group is the Fleet Air Arm's counterpart to the army's Commando Helicopter Group.
Specialist equipment
Arthuristan special forces frequently utilise weaponry not fielded by the rest of CDF. The primary weapon of the SAS and SBS in direct action scenarios is the Model 35A1 Rifle, which is used instead of the L87 due to the latter's poor ergonomics. Commando formations engaged in black ops regularly use foreign small arms as untraceable deniable weapons. All SF personnel are regularly trained in the handling of weaponry and equipment commonly available throughout the Third World.
See also: Sansusul