THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS WORLD OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

THREAD - PART lll

The Kenyan Military, quite unlike the SANDF, has SpOps Groups established under each of the three... 1/

Pic 1: A member of the Kenyan Army 40th RSF. Pic 2: Kenyan Army 20th Airborne SpOps Grp insignia.

..service branches. The Kenya Navy has a Special Boat Unit (SBU), The Kenya Airforce has a Rapid Deployment Squadron (RDS), and the Kenya Army has 3 SpOps Groups; the 20th Airborne SpOps Group, the 40th Ranger Strike Force (RSF), .. 2/

Pic: KN SBU alongside Pakistani Navy QRF.

..and the 30th SpOps Group.

The Kenya Navy's & the Airforce's Special Units are not quite developed like their counterparts in the Army owing to a number of challenges, notably the lack of mission specific equipment. I'll be discussing the Army's 3 SpOps Units.

The Kenyan 20th Airborne SpOps Group is the brainchild of the entire Kenyan SpOps establishment. Founded in mid 70s, it is one of the oldest on the continent...4/

Pic: Kenya Army's 20th Paratrooper members donning the legendary "Green Beret" in Fort Benning, Georgia.

It was formed as a basic paratrooper academy. In the mid 80s post the 1982 attempted coup on the civilian government, the Defence Council ..5/

Pic 1: KA 20th Paras with the US 5th SpOps Grp personnel circa 1986/89. Pic 2: An assortment of several KA 20th insignias & patches.

..led by the then CDF Mahamoud Mohamed, acknowledged the skill-set employed by the Specialist Kenya Police General Service Unit (GSU) personnel in countering the Military coup & keeping the then President Moi in power. .. 6/

Pic: KA 20th SpOps Group members during training.

It was agreed that a military Unit with similar skill set was necessary. Specialised training was introduced into the then 20th Paratrooper Battalion which gave life to what we give the callsign '20th Airborne SpOps Group' - based in ..7/

Pic: KA 20th Airborne SpOps Group.

..Gilgil to this very day. The American 5th Airborne SpOps Group played a key role in the establishment of the Kenyan 20th Airborne SpOps Group circa 1987-89, with in-country cross-training exercises. 8/

Pics: a member, KA 20th Airborne SpOps Group.

Fast-forward to 2002-6; the birth of a new unit; The Kenyan Army 40th Ranger Strike Force (RSF). The Group that has changed the face of Warfare in almost all the current active military operations. Modelled after & trained by the U.S 75th Ranger Regiment; ..9/

Pic: 40th RSF.

.. It has perfected the art of sustained warfare. Its extreme mobility & superior in combat rapidity in current & past operations has drawn much attention from admirers & foes alike. It has exhibited battlefield maneuverability skills that.. 10/

Pic: 40th RSF members in Somalia.

..have led many to believe it is the Military's premier SpOps Unit.

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A number of officers from the 20th Airborne's general parachute Academy were selected to attend a Specialised Ranger school at Fort Benning, in Georgia, USA; and formed the ..11/

Pic: 40th RSF members.

..current day 40th Ranger Strike Force. The first batch of enlisted personnel were trained by the U.S 75th Ranger Regiment, which it is moduled after.

The 40th RSF has grown in skill and capability in the last one & half decade.12/

Screengrab: 20th Airborne SpOps Group members.

The 40th RSF is Kenya's premier expeditionary SpOps supplement of the general troops in active military operations. It has been specifically instrumental in the anti-terrorism campaigns in Somalia.

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The 30th Special Opérations..13/

Pic: 20th Airborne SpOps Group Operators.

..Group was established around the same time as the 40th RSF. It is a Tier 1 SpOps Unit, arguably one of the few on the continent. It is a closed Special Mission team that is staffed by invitation. Information around the 30th... 14/

Pic: KA 30th SpOps Group member (unconfined).

..SpOps Group is quite scanty. They mostly supplement the Kenya's National Intelligence Service (NIS) & the Military Intelligence Corps (MIC) in an "Intelligence Support Group" capacity. 15/

Pic: 20th Airborne SpOps Group member (R) alongside an Administration Police officer.

It was formed with specific training and operational doctrines in order to absorb some of the functions of the parent unit, the 20th Airborne SpOps Group, and supplement it oftentimes.

PS: Important note; the Kenyan parent 20th Paratrooper Battalion..16/

Pic: 20th Airborne SOF

..remains the largest specialist establishment with a wide range of functions. It is basically a Parachute School for all Parachute enlists including those from other Units of other service branches.17/

Pic: 20th Airborne SpOps members during training alongside the Jordanian QRF

Note that it maintains a Tier 1 Unit to date, which is the 20th Airborne SpOps Group. So, not every 'Green Beret' you see is a Special Operator. 18/

Pic: 20th SOF members during a training exercise alongside a British Army SOF Unit.

In my next part, I'll talk about the South African SpOps Groups and expound on individual units of other countries including those already mentioned.

Views, comments, and any other support is very much welcome.

@KDFINFO @DefenseNigeria