The People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) is from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s military force. We know it best as North Vietnam. These PAVN Special Forces are the 41st NVA Main Force Sapper Battalion. The NVA elite Sapper Battalion was so adept they infiltrated a top-secret American mountain top outpost during the Vietnam War.
What happened is, a U.S. troop battalion was stationed in Laos. It was a top-secret, illegal military camp. So secret, that for 30 years this story remained classified! Out of eighteen CIA and Air Force personnel, only six survived the North Vietnamese special forces’ sabotage. The raid went down on March 12, 1968. A nine-man Sapper commando squad backed up a 33-man platoon with guns, explosives, and rocket launchers. The U.S. troops never saw it coming.
Sri Lanka Army Special Forces Regiment
Beginning life as a combat tracker unit in 1986, the Special Forces Regiment is one of 2 Sri Lankan Army elite forces. Don’t try to find out too much about them though, as hardly any official information has been made public about the recruitment process for this highly secretive unit. What is common knowledge is that apart from their eagle insignia epitomizing strength and bravery, it also symbolizes the unit’s capacity to zoom in and hunt down their target. Yikes!
Amongst others, their main roles are believed to be Military Intelligence, Special Reconnaissance, Direct Action and Counter Terrorism.
Underwater Offence
Headquartered on the outskirts of Izmir along the Aegean coast are the Turkish Navy’s Underwater Offence special unit (SAT). Amongst others, their remit includes special reconnaissance, gathering military intelligence,, direct action, counter terrorism and visit, board, search, and seizure missions. Having developed close ties to the US Navy Seals, it is not surprising to learn that the two share similar structural and training methods.
Recent activities include the 2011 hijacking of a small ferry named Kartepe. After negotiations failed S.A.T. commandos stormed the ferry and killed the lone hijacker and rescued all 24 hostages unharmed.
The Italian 9th Parachutist Assault Regiment
This brazen regiment of the Italian Army was so formidable that Winston Churchill notably compared them to the apex predators of the Savannah. He said the 9th Parachutist Assault Regiment is “as fierce as lions.”
Known as the 9º Reggimento d’Assalto Paracadutisti in Italian, their motto is, “Della folgore l’impeto.” It means, literally, they are from the source of lightening. As powerful as Zeus, one can imagine. Training for the 9th Regiment takes at least two years where grueling exercises are conducted in the desert, woods, mountainous areas and wet terrains before enlistees can be full-fledged commandos. Today, the special ops forces are called the COFSI-Comando Operativo Forze Operazioni Speciali.
Poland’s Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosów (JWK)
One branch of the Polish Special Troops Command (DWS) is the JWK. Based in Lubilniec, they have a varied and wide skill set, comparable to the U.S. Army special forces like the Green Berets. Formed in 1961, it is Poland’s oldest special ops unit. Troops are trained for everything from air assault, helicopter and parachute operations to reconnaissance missions.
They are also trained for underwater and frogman attack missions. Recently the regiment provided support for NATO operations in the Kosovo conflict. Even more recently, troops deployed special reconnaissance missions in the War in Afghanistan.