Red Card (Special forces unit)
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Red Card, from the manga First President of Japan[1], is a fictional elite special forces unit of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces. They are based at the Narashino Ground Self-Defense Forces base at Narashino in the Chiba Prefecture. Like the British SAS and the Canadian Joint Task-Force Two, the unit is shrouded in near total secrecy.
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[edit] Appearance
The unit was first revealed in Volume 3 of the manga First President of Japan. Under the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, which became defunct in the year 2000, the unit was never called into action as the US continued to work with Japan before they decided to ally with the Russian government after terminating the treaty.
[edit] Mandate
Red Card, after its activation, had the following mandate from the Ground Self-Defense Forces, including:
- Counter-Terrorism (CT) duties
- Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) duties
- Rescuing stranded Japanese nationals from areas of conflict/war
- Assisting civil powers in times of peace (e.g. National Police Agency, Maritime Safety Agency)
- Performing direct action operations in either domestic or foreign soil in short notice.
[edit] Origin
The Japanese Ground-Self Defense Forces, for more than a decade, had raised the unit in secrecy from the public eye and undergone training with American and British special forces for more than a decade in a possible response to the rising trend of terrorist activity in the late '90s (Though it is not revealed in the manga, it's possible that Delta Force and the SAS CRW/Counter Revolutionary Wing unit had provided initial training to the team's first cadre of elite operators.). The Japanese government, before the security treaty was scrapped, did not call on the unit. It is believed that pressure from the American government was mostly responsible for this action. The unit was led by its first commanding officer, Captain Toru Katagiri.
However, it is not clear on who was the next commanding officer of Red Card after Captain Katagiri was killed in action in South Korea since First President of Japan was spanned for only 4 volumes.
[edit] Domestic Activation
In 2000, Red Card was activated for the first time by the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces after North Korean commandos had stormed the Mihama nuclear power plant located at the Fukui Prefecture in the Tsuruga Peninsula by disguising as Maritime Safety Agency officers. After the local SAT (Special Assault Team) unit had failed to neutralize the commandos and rescue the hostages, newly elected Prime Minister Kenichi Sakuragi had allowed the deployment of the unit in securing the power plant. Captain Katagiri led the unit to its first success as a special forces unit in Japan, killing the North Korean commandos, securing the hostages and disarming the Semtex bomb planted near the reactor.
Red Card, from the shadow of secrecy, soon won the admiration and praise of the Japanese people for ending the situation without any losses to the hostages, though the unit had suffered its first casualties.
[edit] Overseas Deployment
Red Card, in its first overseas operation since the end of World War II, was ordered to be deployed into South Korean territory in order to rescue Japanese nationals who were not able to escape the Korean Peninsula after the Korean People's Army had launched an attack in South Korea, starting with Seoul. This measure was done after their initial success in domestic soil.
Red Card units had entered the refugee camp in Pusan via choppers, securing the perimeter and loading Japanese nationals into Fuji Heavy Industries UH-1J and Kawasaki Heavy Industries CH-47J helicopters when soldiers of the People's Liberation Army had swept into South Korea, deep into Pusan in order to assist the Korean People's Army in securing the city's shorelines from any kind of rescue attempt.
Captain Toru Katagiri, in a heroic deed, saved a Japanese boy who was left behind before Chinese tanks rolled into the refugee camp, firing at the Red Card operators. Just as Captain Katagiri secured the boy and ordered the pilot to lift off, he was struck by automatic gunfire on his shoulder and leg.
As an act of sacrifice, Captain Katagiri orders his subordinate to leave him in the grounds of the now abandoned refugee camp in order to the departing helicopters filled with Japanese refugees enough time to escape. Though it was not seen in the manga, he was killed in the line of duty when he was shot to death by heavily armed Chinese soldiers in Pusan as he tried to fight them off with his Heckler and Koch USP 9 mm pistol.
[edit] Known Operations
1. Hostage Rescue at Mihama
Location
Mission Objectives
- Neutralize armed North Korean commandos
- Secure hostages
- Disarm Semtex bomb
Mission Results
- Success; North Korean commandos killed, hostages rescued and bomb was disarmed by explosive experts.
Casualties
- North Korean commandos
- 5 killed by Red Card operatives
- Red Card
- 3 killed by hostile gunfire
- 2 wounded by hostile gunfire
2. Rescue in Pusan
Location
- Pusan Refugee Camp, Pusan, South Korea
Mission Objectives
- Secure all stranded Japanese nationals from the refugee camp
- Protect Japanese nationals from People's Liberation Army soldiers
Mission Results
- Success; all Japanese nationals evacuated from the Pusan refugee camp
Casualties
- People's Liberation Army
- None (Red Card operatives did not take any hostile action against them)
- Red Card
- Captain Katagiri was killed in action by hostile gunfire.
[edit] Arsenal and Gear
Red Card uses the following weapons in their arsenal:
- Primary Firearms
- Colt M16A2 assault rifle (Unconfirmed due to questionable appearance in Volume 4).
- Colt M4 assault rifle (Some Red Card operators had their M4 rifles armed with the M203 underbarrel grenade launcher.)
- Howa Type 89 assault rifle (Though not seen in the manga, actual Japanese military special forces such as the Western Army Infantry Regiment and the 1st Airborne Brigade are equipped with this rifle, both with solid and folding buttstocks).
- Heckler and Koch MP5A3 submachine gun with flashlight grip.
- Heckler and Koch MP5SD6 submachine gun (Unconfirmed due to same reasons).
- Minebea PM-9 submachine gun.(Same as the Howa Type 89 assault rifle).
- Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun.
- Heckler & Koch PSG-1 sniper rifle.
- Secondary Firearms
- Heckler & Koch USP 9 mm pistol - only known sidearm.
The unit also employs a number of grenades, including fragmentation and concussion grenades.
As for their gear, they use standard CT gear including Defender ballistic helmets and mini ballistic shields.
[edit] Uniform
When off duty, they wear standard Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces uniform used in formal occasions. For their headgear, they are allowed to wear either a formal officer's cap or a red beret.
When involved in combat operations, operators are required to wear olive Battle Dress Uniforms (BDUs) and black combat boots. They also have their vests zipped on their chests, in addition to the pistol holster and pistol mag pouch strapped on their legs. For their headgear, they use Defender ballistic helmets and use assault goggles to cover their eyes with a headset worn over their heads. It is in the discretion of the unit on whether to wear a balaclava or not. The unit patch is sewn on the left shoulder of their BDU. The red beret is only worn with their combat gear when an operation is finished.
[edit] Influences
It is presumed that the creators of First President of Japan were influenced by modern special forces units that engaged in Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) operations like the American Delta Force, the British SAS's CRW Division, the French GIGN, the Canadian JTF2 and the German GSG-9, which led to the creation of the fictional Red Card unit.
This was also possibly based on the real-life Japanese Special Operations Group, though not much information has been revealed about them.
