SPECOM
| Special Commando Commando Speciale |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1972 – May 1975 |
| Country |
 Kingdom of Laos
|
| Allegiance | Royal Lao Government |
| Branch | Royal Lao Army |
| Type | Special Forces |
| Role | Commando, Reconnaissance, Pathfinding |
| Size | 412 men (at height) |
| Part of | Royal Lao Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Seno, near Savannakhet |
| Nickname(s) | Special Commando (SPECOM), CCS in French |
| Engagements | Battle of Thakhek |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Thao Ty |
SPECOM was the English acronym for Special Commando or Commando Speciale in French, the elite military unit and Special Operations force of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (commonly known by its French acronym FAR), which operated during the final phase of the Laotian Civil War from 1972 to 1975.
In late 1971 construction began on a training centre at Seno, near Savannakhet, to provide Commando instruction for the Royal Lao Army (RLA) newly-formed 2nd Strike Division (French: 2éme Division d'Intervention). The training cadre, consisting of several Laotian graduates of the US Special Forces (USSF) course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in the United States, were converted into the core of an elite Special Commando Company (French: Compagnie Commando Speciale – CCS) or SPECOM for short, directly under the commanding officer of the 2nd Strike Division, Brigadier-General Thao Ty. Initial progress was rapid and by mid-1972 SPECOM had expanded from a single understrength company to two airborne reconnaissance (recon) companies; a third was raised in mid-1973 when 140 former para-commandos were transferred from the Savannakhet-based irregular Commando Raider Teams (CRTs) and a heavy weapons company was added, bringing the unit to battalion strength.
By early 1974, SPECOM strength reached 412 Officers and enlisted men, all airborne-qualified volunteers, organized into a reinforced battalion comprising one headquarters (HQ), four company HQ sections, three recon companies – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, each broken into 12-men teams – and a heavy weapons company (4th). The unit was headquartered in Seno, near Savannakhet and was subordinated to the 2nd Strike Division until the latter formation's disbandement in April of that same year, when the former was transferred to the RLA Airborne Forces command.
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