KDF special operations regiment unit soldier carrying the FN scar rifle.
KDF has over 10 elite units in the army, airforce and navy. The most secretive are the D 20th Company Paratrooper Commandos (Green berets). This unit is said to be an exact replica of the celebrated British crack unit, the SAS. Journalists are not allowed to publish their photographs. Their work and activities are classified.
During a recent joint training with Jordan’s Quick Reaction Force, a military source said the Jordanians were taken aback by the Kenyans’ superior skills.
According to multiple Western sources, who spoke to the Sunday Nation in confidence for a special report, US special operations forces have played a crucial role in infrastructure investments for the Kenyan special operations teams.
The military support has also included the establishment of a Ranger School.
Kenya’s Special Forces are also being trained by the British Marine Commandos on Counter-Insurgency Operations (COIN), Operations in Built Up Areas (OBUA) and sniper training, which includes stalking, marksmanship in long-range shooting, observation skills in scanning and searching, camouflage and concealment, gathering information from Observation Posts (OPs) and counter sniper drills.
Others are taken to various places around the world where they conduct intelligence gathering, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance.
Fewer than 50 young and agile elite KDF soldiers entered Kismayu from the Indian Ocean, in the first and only seaborne (amphibious) attack to have ever been undertaken by an african military.
The 40th Ranger Strike Force which is the most deployed of the special operations unit, is good in sustained warfare. It is modelled after and trained by the elite US 75th Ranger Regiment. The 30th Special Forces (30SF), a closed special mission team, was trained by and modelled after the British Special Air Service/US Army Green Berets.
Since October 16, 2011, the day that Kenyan soldiers crossed over the border to Somalia, the elite forces have grown in every conceivable way — from funding and personnel to deployment.
Another unit is the Long Range Surveillance (LRS) team that is highly secretive. Its men and women carry out difficult long range secret military missions, often in small units. The objective includes gathering information behind enemy lines. The missions involve tracking and identifying enemy camps for bombardment or special forces attack.
LRS missions are typically draining physically and psychologically and only the best are deployed. Units report back to HQ using radio’s, satellite phones, photographs, GPS transmitters and laser pointers for drones or helicopter gunships to locate. The units provide pin point information for KDF rangers, special forces and long range artillery units.
The KDF personnel from the elite forces pride themselves as among the best trained and equipped on the continent. Most of the specialised teams are trained by Americans and Britons.