Special forces of Australia

An Australian Special Operations Task Group patrol in Afghanistan during October 2009

Since 1941, the Australian military has raised a range of special forces and special operations units, including:^[1][2]

1. Commando units such as the Independent and Commando Companies raised during World War II, and the 1st and 2nd Commando Regiments which were raised post-war.^{[Note 1]}
2. Reconnaissance and intelligence gathering units such as M and Z Special Units of the Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) and the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) during World War II,^[4][5] and later the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) and Regional Force Surveillance Units (RFSU)s.^[6]
3. Counter-terrorism units such as the Tactical Assault Groups (formed from elements of the SASR and 2nd Commando Regiment).^[7]
4. Non-special forces support units such as the Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER),^{[Note 2]} Special Operations Logistics Squadron (SOLS),^[8] No. 4 Squadron RAAF,^[9][10] 171st Aviation Squadron^[11] and No. 200 Flight RAAF.^[12]

All of Australia's special forces units have been grouped together under the Special Operations Command since December 2002.^[8]

See also

• List of special forces units

Notes

Footnotes

1. The 2nd Command Regiment was previously called the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando).^[3]
2. SOER was previously called the Incident Response Regiment (IRR).^[8]

Citations

1. Horner 2002, pp. 19–35.
2. Kuring 2004, pp. 259–260 & 432–435.
3. "New Name for Sydney Commandos" (Press release). Department of Defence. 19 June 2009.
4. Kuring 2004, p. 259.
5. Horner 2002, p. 25.
6. Lord & Tennant 2000, p. 27.
7. Hill, Robert (25 May 2004). "Australia's Response to Terrorism". Department of Defence (Australia). Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
8. Blaxland 2014, p. 328.
9. Allard, Tom (17 March 2008). "New squadron will aim to cut civilian deaths". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
10. Air Power Development Centre (June 2014). "Combat Control in the RAAF". Pathfinder: Air Power Development Centre Bulletin (Royal Australian Air Force) (Issue 224). Retrieved 8 June 2015.
11. "6th Aviation Regiment". Department of Defence. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
12. RAAF Historical Section 1995, pp. 174–175.

References

• Blaxland, John (2014). The Australian Army from Whitlam to Howard. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107043657.
• Horner, David (2002). SAS: Phantoms of War. A History of the Australian Special Air Service (Second ed.). Sydney, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-647-9.
• Kuring, Ian (2004). Redcoats to Cams: A History of Australian Infantry 1788–2001. Loftus, New South Wales: Australian Military Historical Publications. ISBN 1876439998.
• Lord, Cliff; Tennant, Julian (2000). ANZAC Elite: The Airborne and Special Forces Insignia of Australia and New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: IPL Books. ISBN 0-908876-10-6.
• RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force. A Concise History. Volume 4 Maritime and Transport Units. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42796-5.

Further reading

• Macklin, Robert (2015). Warrior Elite: Australia's Special Forces - From Z Force and the SAS to the Wars of the Future. Sydney, New South Wales: Hachette Australia. ISBN 9780733632914.