Special Forces of Zimbabwe
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According to Jane's Special Forces Recognition Guide Special Forces in the Zimbabwe National Army consists of:
- One Commando Regiment (formerly One Commando Battalion)and base at Cranborne Barracks, Harare
- One Parachute Regiment (sometimes refered to as Parachute Group) at Inkomo Barracks just North of Harare.
- Combat Diving Unit.
- Special Air Service (which includes the Boat Squadron)- based at Kabrit Barracks, adjacent to Harare Airport.
- 1 x independent Armored Reconnaissance Squadron
- Anti Terrorism Unit which is part of the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
Not mentioned in Jane's Special Forces Recognition Guide are
- Zimbabwe Mounted Infantry or Grey Scouts, a horse a mounted reconnaissance unit. The main unit used to be based at Guinea Fowl. The battalion conducts border patrols and anti-poaching operations.
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[edit] Past Operations
[edit] Mozambique
- 5-9 December 1984 the Parachute Group and Special Air Service (SAS)spearedheaded Operation Lemon.
- 20th of August 1985 in Operation Grape Fruit the Parachute Group and One Commande Battallion supported 3 Brigade in taking over the MNR Muxamba base.
- 28th of August 1985 SAS and Commando Regiment units lead raid on Casa Banana.
- 24th January 1986 in Operation Octopus, Paras and Commandos were dropped near Marromeu to secure the town and the sugar refinery. 27th January 1986 several Para drops were made in support of the operation.[1]
[edit] Congo
Zimbabwean commandoes defended Kinshasa at the last minute when it was on the brink of falling to rebels to invading Ugandan and Rwandan army units. Due to the river networks in the DRC, the Boat Squadron saw extensive use during the course of Zimbabwe’s involvement.
The Parachute Regiment suffered a heavy blow when 15 soldiers and together with their CASA 212 were captured after landing on an airstrip already controlled by the invading forces. It is believed the DRC government army unit they were supposed to join had defected to the rebels.
For more on past opreations please see the Zimbabwe National Army page.
