Osprey Elite 22 : World Special Forces Insignia

Despite arguments against the maintenance of elite forces - leadership drain, the selection-destruction cycle, resource over-allocation, misutilisation, politically-backed origins, resentment among conventional forces - there exists among the world's armies a proliferation of special forces groups. Today's smaller armies, especially those of developing nations, demand maximum efficiency in force structure and employment. Mountain, jungle, Arctic and desert areas require special purpose units trained, conditioned, and equipped to master these environments. The pace at which conflicts develop today does not permit the luxury of the time needed to raise, develop, train, and condition conventional units for the rigours of combat in these extremes. Parachute, scuba/swimmer, helicopter and amphibious landings also require specially trained and equipped units. While general purpose units can be trained to use the latter two means with equal effectiveness, specifically trained forces are maintained to perfect and advance these skills, as well as to spearhead the assault by trained general purpose units. Recent history has also witnessed the creation of various special operations forces intended to organise behind-the-lines guerrilla forces, and to execute small scale direct action operations and strategic reconnaissance missions. This book by ex-weapons specialist in the US 7th Special Forces Group, Gordon L. Rottman, details the insignia of a myriad of special forces groups from all parts of the globe, from Portugal's Commando Regiment to the North Yemen 'Al Mithalaat' Brigade, with a wealth of illustrations and photographs, including 12 full page colour plates by Simon McCouaig.

Contents

• Introduction
• Western Europe
• Northern Europe
• Southern Europe
• Middle East
• North Africa
• Central & Southern Africa
• Far East and Asia
• Latin America
• The Plates