The Commandement des Opérations Spéciales (Special Operations Command, COS) is the French organisation which coordinates the use of the French special forces of all military branches (Army, Navy, Air Force and Gendarmerie). The COS was created after the Gulf War, the 24 June 1992. The role of the COS is to direct and coordinate missions for special forces, which are put under its direct command and are immediately available.
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Organisation
It is organised in two circles; first circle units are permanently under COS command, while second circle units may be called in if necessary. COS can also "requisition" any unit of military of France (Army, Air Force, Navy and Gendarmerie) for his missions.
First circle
COS is the exclusive (Army units) or main (Navy units) user of these special forces :
Armée de Terre (Army)
The French Army special operations forces are under command of Brigade des Forces Spéciales Terre (BFST, army special forces command).
- 1er régiment parachutiste d'infanterie de marine : SAS-type unit for direct action
- 13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes : long range recon unit
- Détachement ALAT des Opérations Spéciales (DAOS, Army aviation detachment for special operations) : helicopter support unit, equipped with Gazelles, Pumas, and recently EC 725 Cougar HUS; will be the first unit to receive Tigre helicopters.
Marine Nationale (Navy)
- Commandos-Marine : organised in five "commandos" (each having a specialization) and a naval counter-terrorist team
Armée de l'Air (Air Force)
- Commando parachutiste de l'air n°10 (CAP 10, Air Parachutist Commandos No.10)
- Division des Opérations Spéciales (DOS, special operations division)
- Division des Opérations Spéciales / Transport (DOS/T, special operations division, airlift), which uses C-130 Hercules and C-160 Transall
- Division des Opérations Spéciales / Hélicoptères (DOS/H, special operations detachment, helicopters), which uses helicopters
Second circle
The COS frequently uses special operations forces or special operations capable forces of the second circle :
Armée de Terre
- Groupement des Commandos Parachutistes (GCP, parachutist commandos grouping) : pathfinders of the 11e Brigade Parachutiste (11e BP, 11th parachutist brigade)
- 17e Régiment du Génie Parachutiste (17e RGP, 17e parachutist engineering regiment), the only engineering regiment of the 11e BP
Gendarmerie Nationale
Special forces of the Gendarmerie are under Groupement de Sécurité et d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GSIGN, grouping of security and intervention of the national gendarmerie), which includes :
- Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GIGN) : gendarmerie counter-terrorist unit
- Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (EPIGN) : gendarmerie special forces unit, charged to intelligence gathering, VIP and special events protection, and supporting the GIGN
- Groupe de Sécurité de la Présidence de la République (GSPR)
Third circle
The COS can use any unit of French Military, some having interesting specializations.
- paratroopers of the 11e BP
- units of the Brigade de Renseignement (BR, intelligence brigade) : units of the 54e Régiment de Transmissions (54e RT, 54th transmitters regiment, in fact a communications intelligence unit) was used to provide intelligence to the units which arrested Momčilo Krajišnik
- Plongeurs de Combat du Génie (PCG, engineering combat divers) : combat divers acting in riverine and brown waters, on the contrary of Navy's Commando Hubert
- recon units of other conventional forces :
- Unité de Recherche Humaine (URH 27, human recon unit) : recon unit of the 27e Brigade d'Infanterie de Montagne (27e BIM, 27th mountain infantry brigade)
- Équipes d'Observation dans la Profondeur (EOP, long range observation teams) : forward observation teams of artillery regiments
The Police Nationale and the Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (intelligence service) have special units but these are not included in COS circles.
External links
- (Spanish) Specwarnet.com
- (French) Le.cos.free.fr
- (French) Netmarine.net
