Korps Speciale Troepen

Korps Speciale Troepen (KST) was a Dutch special forces unit involved in the Indonesian National Revolution. Two KST companies fought together with the RMS (Republik Maluku Selatan or South Moluccas Republican) forces (considered by some as pro-Dutch).

The Indonesian nationalists who confronted them were amazed with the KST troops' ability and skill, especially their sniping. This later inspired the Indonesian generals involved to emulate KST and build a special forces unit for Indonesia, which came to be knowns as Kopassus.

The first commander of the new unit was Major Rokus Bernadus Visser, who had defected from the Dutch service towards the end of the war. He remained in Indonesia, married an Indonesian woman and was known locally as Mohamad Idjon Djanbi. Eventually he was contacted and recruited by the Indonesian Army, in whose ranks he created the new unit modeled on the KST - which finally named as Kopassus with the same red beret as with the KST.

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