Snow Wolf Commando Unit

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Snow Wolf Commando Unit (SWCU)
The arm patch of the SWCU
Active	December 2002 (existence only revealed in 2005) - Present
Country	People's Republic of China
Branch	People's Armed Police
Type	Special Forces
Role	Counter-Terrorism and Law Enforcement
Size	No official figures, estimated at 300+
Part of	Special Armed Police Corps
Nickname	Snow Wolves
Battles/wars	None as of 2006, is being tasked to undertake security operations in the 2008 Beijing Olympics

The Snow Wolf Commando Unit (Abbreviation: SWCU; Simplified Chinese: 雪狼突击队) is a special police unit of the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) tasked with counter-terrorism, riot control, and other special tasks such as anti-hijacking, and bomb disposal. The SWCU, along with the People's Armed Police Beijing SWAT unit, is tasked with many of the security responsibilities of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

1 History
2 Training and selection
3 Origin of the name
4 Weapons and equipment
- 4.1 Uniform
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The SWCU was revealed to the public in April 2006

The SWCU and the Beijing SWAT unit were unveiled in a demonstration at the Beijing Police Academy in April 27, 2006 as part of a public relations effort to illustrate the capabilities of the People's Armed Police to deal with terrorism issues, protection of delegates, and to enforce law and order in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Due to the highly-classified nature of their operations, the unit did not display any of their high-tech equipment nor perform particularly special small-unit tactics during their demonstration, although they did co-participate with the SWAT team in storming a building during that demonstration.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Training and selection

Only officers who have served in the People's Armed Police for a period of 1 to 2 years are eligible to apply, after which they will be put through a process of interviews, physical and psychological tests and even a cultural examination.^{[citation needed]}

The current average age (as of 2006) of SWCU officers is 22 years, as most of them entered the unit when they were about 18, thus making them amongst the youngest in the counter-terrorist community.

The officers who are eventually selected for the course go through an arduous period of physical training, vehicle driving lessons for various vehicles, weapons training, and various other tests.

The badge of the SWCU

[edit] Origin of the name

The Snow Wolf name was chosen because of the known tenacity of arctic wolves and their ability to survive (and thrive) in extremely harsh conditions, which is expected of SWCU officers.

[edit] Weapons and equipment

The SWCU was shown in the demonstrations armed with the QBZ-95 series of rifles and QSZ-92 pistols, but they will most probably also be armed with a wide variety of sub-machine guns and other weapons. They may also employ other equipment typically associated with counter-terrorism.^{[citation needed]}

The unit has spent about CNY 2 million (approximately US$ 258,000) in domestically manufactured armoured personnel carriers for riot-control and has also imported CNY 4 million worth of American manufactured vehicles and equipment[1].

Each SWCU officer is estimated to be outfitted with CNY 300,000 [2] (approximately US$ 39,000) worth of equipment, including their body armour, communications equipment, etc.

[edit] Uniform

The standard uniform layout has the arm patch sewn on the right arm, with the unit badge above the right breast pocket. The words "SPECIAL POLICE GRP" (Special Police Group) is embroidered on the right side of the tactical vest or body armour. It is interesting to note that this is a divergence from all the other P.R.C. uniformed units, which have their badges and patches embroidered on the left side of their uniforms instead.