Encyclopedia of Special Forces Units
A
Accident Response Group or ARG. A volunteer unit of the US Department Of Energy that responds to nuclear accidents.
Agrupación de Buzos Tácticos or APBT. Premier special operations force of the Argentine Navy.
Agrupación de Comandos Anfibios or APCA. Special operations force of the Argentine Navy.
Air Force Special Forces Command or AFSOC. Special Forces command of the U.S. Air Force.
Alamo Scouts. Reconnaissance unit for the U.S. Sixth Army in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.
Amphibious Recon Battalions. Thai Royal Navy Special Forces Unit.
Amfibisch Verkennings Peloton or AMFVERKPEL. Dutch Navy Special Forces unit.
Anti-Terrorist Assistance or ATA. A program operated by the US State Department to train foreign law enforcement agencies in counterterrorism techniques. The U.S. Marshals Service SOG provides the tactical training at its Tactical Center in Louisiana.
Anti-Terrorist Alert Center or ATAC. Located in Washington, D.C., and operated by the Navy, the center monitors terrorist activities worldwide and sends out alerts of impending attacks.
Army Commandos. British Army World War II Special Forces unit.
Armed Offenders Squad. New Zealand Police Special Weapons and Tactics Team.
B
Bassak. Royal Swedish Army Special Forces.
Bijzondere Bijstands Eenheid. Dutch Navy Special Forces Unit. Part of the Korps Mariniers.
Bureau of Alcohol, tobacco and Firearms. A federal agency that controls the movement of these three controlled items, as well as explosives.
Brandenburgers. German World War II Commando Unit.
C
Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei ed Incursori, Teseo Tesei. Italian Navy Special Forces
Commandos de Recherche et d'Action dans la Profondeur or Les Crap,. Old special forces unit of the 2ème Régiment Etrangér Parachutiste of the French Foreign Legion. The unit is now known as the Groupe de Commandos Parachutistes.
Commando Formation. Elite branch of the Singapore Armed Forces.
Counter-Assault Team or CAT. U.S. Secret Service's Special Forces Unit.
Counter-Sniper Team or CST.. U.S. Secret Service's Counter-Sniper Team.
Counterterrorism Center or CTC. Centre staffed and operated by the US CIA, the centre monitors the whereabouts and actions of terrorists worldwide.
Chemical & Biological Defense Command or CBDCOM. A US Army command whose units respond to chemical and biological incidents.
Chemical/Biological Incident Response Force or CBIRF. A US Marine Corps unit specialised in Chemical and Biological incidents.
Critical Incident Response Group or CIRG. A component of the US FBI that oversees the deployment of the Hostage Rescue Team and negotiators to crises.
D
Detachement d'Intervention Operationelle Subaquatique or DINOPS. Combat Divers unit of the 1er Régiment Etrangér de Génie of the French Foreign Legion.
Detachment 1 (MCSOCOM Det 1). Special Forces unit of the US Marine Corps.
Development Group or DevGroup. The new name for SEAL Team Six. Devgroup is the SEALS counterterrorism unit. Also known as the Jedi after the movie Star Wars. This nickname is based on the uniforms and equipment the unit wears. Another nickname for this unit is the Mob.
Diplomatic Protection Squad. New Zealand's Police VIP protection unit.
E
Eidikes Katastaltikes Antitromokratikes Monades or EKAM. Counter Revolutionary Warfare force of the Greek Police.
Eidiko Tmima Alexiptotiston or ETA. Pathfinder and Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol of the Greek commando forces.
El Paso Intelligence Center or EPIC. Centre operated by the US DEA, EPIC tracks and interdicts the movement of drugs, aliens, and weapons. Numerous federal agencies participate at EPIC, including the FBI, Secret Service, and Customs Service.
Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale. French Gendarmerie Special Forces parachute unit.
Escadron Special d'Intervention/Speciaal Interventie Eskadron or SIE/ESI. Belgium Police Special Forces Unit.