Commandos Add Firepower with Cobra Strike Battalions

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

04.30.2018

Story by Martha Schaeffer 

Resolute Support Headquarters

By: Martha Schaeffer, NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan (NSOCC-A) Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps (ANASOC) introduced Afghanistan, and the world, to its newest formation, the Cobra Strike Kandak (CSK), at the inaugural Cobra Strike Maneuver Course (CSMC) class’ live fire exercise at Pol-e Charki, April 30.

"The Afghan people have only one goal...it is peace,” said Lt. Gen. Abdul Hamid, Afghan National Army Deputy Chief of Staff. "Everyone across the country and in government know Commandos are strong and have good morals to defeat the enemy. The majority of achievements are by commandos. They see our progress. The process is going well and will be complete by 2020. We will reach our goal, step by step.”

To become part of the 6th Cobra Strike Kandak, soldiers were selected from a conventional Afghan National Army Mobile Strike Kandak and had to pass the 14-week Commando Qualification Course to earn a slot at the Cobra Strike Maneuver Course. The three-month Cobra Strike Maneuver Course tested the Commandos’ mastery of combat maneuver skills in Mobile Strike Force Vehicles (MSFV).

Mobile Strike Force Vehicles (MSFV) are both heavily armored and mine-resistant.

The Mobile Strike Force Vehicles provide additional lethality for Commandos, and were used to eliminate five IS-K fighters during a failed attack in January on the Marshall Fahim Academy in Kabul.

As part of the Afghan Roadmap, Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps will establish six additional Cobra Strike Kandaks. The additional mobile capability allows Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps to use the Cobra Strike Kandaks nationwide, in concert with existing Commando forces, and provides an unprecedented level of mobility and firepower for the Commando force.

Established in 2015, Resolute Support (RS) is a NATO-led, non-combat mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), who assumed nationwide responsibility for Afghanistan’s security following the conclusion of the previous NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission. Its purpose is to help the Afghan security forces and institutions develop the capacity to defend Afghanistan and protect its citizens in a sustainable manner.

• Date Taken: 04.30.2018
• Date Posted: 05.04.2018 11:58
• Story ID: 275316
• Location: KABUL, AF