Khmer Special Forces
| Khmer Special Forces Forces Speciales Khmères |
|
|---|---|
| Active | October 1971 - 17 April 1975 |
| Country |
 Cambodia
|
| Allegiance | Khmer Republic |
| Branch | Cambodian Army |
| Type | Special Forces |
| Role | Commando, Special reconnaissance, Pathfinding |
| Size | 350 men (at height) |
| Part of | Khmer National Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Phnom Penh |
| Nickname(s) | Khmer SF (FSK in French) |
| Engagements |
Battle of Kampong Cham Siege of Kampong Seila Fall of Phnom Penh |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Brigadier General Thach Reng
Colonel Kim Phong Captain Sok Thach Captain Thach Saren |
The Khmer Special Forces, also designated 'Khmer SF' for short or Forces Speciales Khmères (FSK) in French, were the elite Special Operations unit of the Khmer National Armed Forces (commonly known by their French acronym, FANK) during the 1970-75 Cambodian Civil War.
The history of the Khmer Special Forces began in October 1971, when the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) was organized at Phnom Penh under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel (later, Brigadier-General) Thach Reng. The Khmer SF were actually a creation of Lt. Col. Ronnie Mendoza, a Special Forces-qualified US Army officier assigned to the American Military Equipment Delivery Team, Cambodia (MEDTC) assistance program earlier in June 1971. A prominent member of the MEDTC’s Plans and Programs Section, Mendoza focused on providing the Cambodian Army unconventional warfare units capable of carrying out guerrilla operations in the northern and eastern Cambodian provinces under the control of both the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and their Khmer Rouge allies. Two other SF groups, the 2nd Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) were activated in the following year.
Under the auspices of Operation “Freedom Runner” – a FANK training program set up in November 1971 by the United States Special Forces (USSF) –, Khmer Special Forces teams began to be sent to South Vietnam to attend Parachute courses at the ARVN Airborne Training Centre in Long Thành, and the Special Forces’ (SF) course at the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces (LLDB) Dong Ba Thin Training Centre near Cam Ranh Bay. Manned by the USSF Detachment B-51, assisted by New Zealand Army instructors from the 2nd NZ Army Training Team Vietnam (2 NZATTV) and modelled on the USSF/LLDB own training programs, the course began with four weeks of basic SF skills followed by training in one of six SF job skills: operations and intelligence, demolitions, light weapons, heavy weapons, radio communications, or medical. Other advanced additional courses included psychological warfare, political warfare, anti-tank warfare, and Taekwondo. A two-week ‘live-fire’ field exercise (sometimes complemented by a field operation against NVA/Vietcong (VC) forces in the surrounding areas of the training centre) completed the SF course.
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Wikipedia