Afghan National Army Commando Corps

The Afghan National Army Commandos (formerly ANA Commando Brigade;^[5] ANA Commando Battalion and Afghan National Army Commando Corps^[4]) was a commando (special operations capable) force of the Afghan National Army. During the Taliban insurgency, the commandos comprised 7% of the Afghan National Security Forces but conducted 70% to 80% of the fighting.^[6] The structure of the unit was based on the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment.^[7] Upon the fall of Kabul and the collapse of both the ANA and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Commando Corps was dissolved but subsequently restored by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Afghan National Army Commandos
ANA Commando patch
Active	24 July 2007 – 15 August 2021[citation needed]
Country	Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Branch	Afghan National Army
Type	Commando
Size	21,000 commandos (2017)[1][2] 30,000 commandos (2021)[3]
Part of	ANA Special Operations Command
Headquarters	Rish Khor camp (Camp Morehead), Kabul Province, Afghanistan[4]
Motto(s)	Khoda, Watan, Wazifa
Engagements	War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Islamic State–Taliban conflict

After the fall of Kabul the new regime claimed it reactivated the unit with a new flag and a new emblem, but it is unknown if any of the previous units personnel or training got transferred.^[8][9]

Selection and training

The first commando battalion was formed from existing infantry battalions. In early 2007, a program began to take one conventional infantry kandak battalion from each of the regional ANA corps, give them special training and equipment, and reorganise them based on the 75th Ranger Regiment of the United States Army. Each battalion was assigned to one of the six regional corps.

Training was conducted at the Morehead Commando Training Center (Rish Khor camp), a longtime former Afghan Army installation located ten kilometres (six miles) south of Kabul. The camp was reported as being in either Wardak Province or Kabul Province.^[10]

The 12-week course ran three separate training programmes for different parts of the nascent unit at the same time. The primary and bulk of the training was geared for the infantry toli (company), with a focus on individual skills and small unit tactics. To support the fighting companies, the headquarters and headquarters toli received other training such as in mortars, medical care, and communications. The third section focused on the kandak staff and their command and control functions.^[11]

The unit recruited from various ANA units all over Afghanistan, taking in prospective Pashtuns, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, and Turkmen to prevent forms of tribal allegiance and bias.^[7]

The first commando kandak graduated on July 24, 2007, with Colonel Fareed Ahmadi as its commander.^[12] Upon graduation, each commando kandak returned to its designated corps area along with an embedded U.S. Army Special Forces A-Team, and began going through an 18-week cycle: six weeks each of train-up, missions, and recovery. Both the U.S. 3rd Special Forces Group and 7th Special Forces Group rotated responsibility to train and advise in Afghanistan.^[13]

While the original plan by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was for one brigade with six kandaks, the ANA wanted a full division with three brigades and 15 kandaks.^[14]

The ANA Commando Corps is still part of the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate Army, with a new flag and sleeve insignia. The tradition of wearing a maroon beret has still been retained, previously worn by the Afghan Commando Forces and similar formations since 1970.^[9][15][16]