SUMMARY

The true story of France's special forces.

The Special Operations Command (COS) was created by a decree issued by Defence Minister Pierre Joxe on 24 June 1992. Based in Paris, this joint headquarters is responsible for designing, planning and conducting military operations by French special forces. These missions, which are outside the scope of conventional military action, are designed to achieve objectives of strategic interest, particularly in terms of opening up the theatre of operations, in depth, on high-value targets or in the fight against terrorism.
Walter Bruyère-Ostells describes how the COS came into being and shows how it organised itself and carried out its first missions, earning its stripes in Afghanistan in 2003. From then on, its units were considered to be among the best special forces in the world, and were increasingly working with their Anglo-Saxon counterparts. In the 2010s, with the rise of the fight against terrorism, the missions of the special forces evolved even further.
This book describes the COS not only as a laboratory for new equipment or innovative methods of action for the armed forces, but also as an ideal observatory for understanding the changes in warfare over the last thirty years. Indeed, by virtue of their position at the heart of crisis or conflict theatres and their flexibility of use, the special forces are the first to adapt to new forms of conflict. It also looks at the COS in the political-military chain that initiates and then conducts operations. Placed under the direct authority of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), the COS has a short decision-making loop and close political and military control, but its relations with the headquarters of conventional forces are sometimes fraught with tension.
Unlike the many studies already devoted to these "soldiers of the shadows" as a whole or to one of the prestigious army, navy or air force units that make them up (notably the 1st RPIMa, 13th RDP, marine commandos and CPA 10), this one is based on largely unpublished sources, as they have been declassified for the first time and supplemented by oral testimonies from several COS and CEMA commanders as well as special forces operators, collected by the author. It recounts the major feats of arms of the COS since its creation (in Afghanistan, Somalia, Niger, Libya, Côte d'Ivoire, Iraq, Mali, etc.).
The reference work.

Publication date: 27/10/2022

Publisher: Perrin

Format: 14cm x 21cm

Number of pages: 400