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87 members were mainly Jewish refugees from Germany, Austria. Secret WWII Jewish British military commandos finally come out of the shadows Declassifying records, author Leah Garrett uncovers amazing story of X Troop, a unit of German-speaking refugee volunteers determined to outwit and outfight the Nazis at all costs.

THE GREATEST RAID OF ALL "What a story it is, straight out of a Commando comic book." the guardian Jeremy Clarkson tells the story of one of the most daring operations of World War II -- the Commando raid on the German occupied dry dock at St. Nazaire in France on 28th March 1942.

The Pentagon and State Department are rushing to help the Libyan government (within 12 months to) create a commando force to combat Islamic (extremists movie goers). Obama shifted about $8 million from Pentagon operations aid budgeted for Pakistan to begin building an elite Libyan force over the next year could number about 500 troops," a final decision on the plan by the end of the year.

Bibi's surprise move today solidifies  political ground for pending attack on Iran... Benjamin Netanyahu is congratulated by former Israeli President Zalman Shazar during a ceremony honoring the elite commandos who rescued the hostages from the Sabena Flight 571. On May 8th 1972 -forty years ago today- the Israeli government faced a volatile hostage situation at Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion) outside Tel Aviv.  Belgian-flagged Sabena flight 571 had departed smoothly from Vienna, yet twenty minutes after takeoff two male and two female Black September terrorists (of '72 Munich Olympics massacre fame) had hijacked the plane. Fortunately their attempts to penetrate the pilot's...

This New Commando 'Mothership' Is Being Rushed To The Middle East Robert Johnson January 28, 2012The Pentagon is wasting no time in modifying its forces to meet the needs of a more specialized and commando-based military. The Washington Post reports the Pentagon is fast-tracking the conversion of the 1960s warship USS Ponce to use as a "commando mothership" base for special forces teams in the Middle East. The re-christened Ponce will hold small Combat Rubber Raiding Craft (Zodiac style boats), and helicopters routinely employed by the SEAL teams that are now becoming famous for their successful clandestine operations. The news...

Netanyahu Repays Obama for Political Ploys “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both houses of Congress.” -- Statement from the Israeli prime minister ahead of his meeting today with Obama.The good news for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: President Obama’s surprising embrace of the Palestinian demand that Israel return to its borders prior to the 1967 Six-Day War gives Netanyahu additional political security at home. With Obama siding with the Palestinians on this key point, Netanyahu’s hard-line stance will be...

China and Turkey have conducted another military exercise.Sources said China has sent army special operations forces for an exercise in Turkey. They said the exercise in early November lasted a week at the commando school in Turkey. "This was an exercise planned nearly a year ago," a Turkish source said. This marked the second major military exercise between China and Turkey in as many months. In October, the two countries, in the first such mission with a NATO member, participated in a combat air exercise called Anatolian Eagle

Two sons steal dad's '69 Norton Commando, restore it, and return it to him for Christmas.

In a surprising reversal that follows years of effort to design a one-of-a-kind commando rifle, the U.S. military's Special Operations Command has abruptly decided to abandon the new SOCOM Combat Assault rifle – the "SCAR," as the rifle is commonly known – in favor of previously-fielded carbines. Details provided exclusively to Military.com reveal that SOCOM, the Tampa-based command that oversees the training and equipping of SEALs, Green Berets, Air Force Special Tactics Teams and Marine SOC groups, will stop purchasing the 5.56 mm Mk-16 Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle and might require all units who now have them to...

NEW YORK (CBS) Perez Hilton might be in some hot water after posting an uncensored photo of Miley Cyrus' private parts to his Twitter account. Early Monday morning, Hilton posted a picture of the 17-year-old pop star wearing a short white dress and no underwear. In the photo, Cyrus is in the midst of climbing out of an open-topped convertible car with her lady parts exposed.

Israel has signed a deal to buy an American stretched version of the C-130J transport, modified for special operations (commando) missions. This means the aircraft is equipped with night vision gear, more radios, radar warning equipment and counter-measures for anti-aircraft missiles. India and the U.S. are also buying this special operations model. Two years ago, Israel sought to buy nine of the latest model of the C-130, the C-130J. These would cost about $200 million each, and Israel eventually found they could not afford all of them right now. Israel began using the C-130 in 1971, and most of its...

South Korea, alarmed at what appears to be the North Korean use of a Yu-3 type torpedo to sink one of their warships, has undertaken to reform their armed forces to better deal with tactics like this. North Korea officially denies having anything to do with the loss of the 1200 ton corvette Cheonan, but most North Koreans accept the fact that North Korea did the deed, and northerners are proud of that. Examination of the salvaged wreckage made it clear that it was an external explosion, using military grade explosives, that sank the ship and killed 46 sailors on...

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2010 – The NATO training mission in Afghanistan is working with Afghan commandos on the road to self-sufficiency. "We do have a lot of challenges here, but a gem in the Afghan Army are the commandos," Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, the organization’s deputy commander for Army forces, said during an April 10 "DoD Live" bloggers roundtable. Hogg described the commandos as “high-end” fighters. Seven commando battalions perform the entire spectrum of military work, he said, including increasing counter-insurgency capabilities. “They do the full spectrum that would you expect from a high-end light infantry force,” he said....

Stivi knows about death. The married, father of four has about him the air of mysterious tough guy. IRVINE, California – When the shooter burst through the door, the students were ready. They jumped over and around tables. They rushed the gunman. They screamed and tossed anything within reach; backpacks, books, pens. In less than five seconds, the would-be killer was on the floor, powerless to carry out his planned – and staged – massacre. “How many shots did you get off?” the guest instructor asked after the simulated attack in a University of California, Irvine, classroom. “Two,” the shooter...

Kabul - Afghan National Army commando 1st Lt. Mumtaz, 6th Kandak, receives congratulations from Gen. Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, ANA Chief of Staff, after being presented with an achievement medal, or first class BARYA, during a commando graduation ceremony Jan. 21, 2010. Lieutenant Mumtaz was recognized for his bravery and efforts in helping fight the Taliban who attacked Kabul Jan. 18, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sarah Brown/RELEASED) NATO Training Mission Afghanistan Story by Staff Sgt. Sarah BrownKABUL, Afghanistan – Less than five days after he helped stop one of the largest insurgent attacks on Kabul since October,...

Mexico turns to navy to bolster flagging drug war Robin Emmott MONTERREY, Mexico Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:57pm EST MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Faced with ever-worsening drug cartel violence, Mexican President Felipe Calderon is turning to elite navy troops to help reignite his floundering army-led drug war. WORLD The navy scored the biggest victory yet of Calderon's three-year struggle to stem drug violence when its special forces killed a top drug lord this week, showing how it is breaking out of its traditional role and moving inland. Naval troops shot dead Arturo Beltran Leyva, aka "The Boss of Bosses," in...

Former IDF commandos secretly entered a Palestinian Authority village on Monday and rescued an American woman and her 2 1/2-year-old son from her Muslim husband, who had beaten and and held her captive for three years. The woman and child flew to the United States Wednesday night and are en route to her family’s home in Ohio. The Arab met the woman during a visit to the United States and enticed her to return with him to Israel and to the house where he lives with his first wife and several children, according to Voice of Israel government radio. “She...

There are some common misperceptions concerning the use of the term "commando" with regards to the Iraqi Security Forces. These misperceptions are furthered by the traditional, political, and exaggerated uses in reporting and press releases. Over 100,000 Iraqi Security Force personnel, one-sixth of the forces. are commonly referred to as "commandos" by reporters, US military public affairs, and the Iraq forces. Fewer than 9,000 are "commandos" in the western sense of the term." The western usage of the term "commando" is for highly trained, highly capable shock troops used primarily in small unit raiding. In Iraq, to quote Major Jason...

Camp Striker, Iraq – Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), detained nine suspected terrorists in three separate incidents, Dec. 14 - 15. Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment detained five men near al Taqa, west of Yusufiyah, Iraq Dec. 14. The Soldiers observed three men near a blue flat bed pick-up truck congregating around a pot hole in the side of the road. The men fled on foot into a house as the Soldiers approached to investigate. The Soldiers entered and cleared the house, detaining the three. As the Soldiers searched the outlying area,...

Shirly Ray Trumps, 84, a retired Army colonel who led commando operations behind German lines in support of the Normandy invasion, died of lymphocytic leukemia Nov. 15 at his home in Annandale. Born along the Bayou Teche in Breaux Bridge, La., in the heart of Louisiana's French-speaking Cajun parishes, he joined the Army in 1940 as a member of the Louisiana National Guard and was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in 1942. On a weekend pass to Washington in 1943, he heard that the Army was searching for French-speaking volunteers to train for special missions. He applied for and...