Korps Commandotroepen

The Korps Commandotroepen (KCT) are the army special forces of the Royal Netherlands Army. It is one of the three principal units tasked with special operations in the Netherlands (the others being the Maritime Special Operations Forces (NL MARSOF) of the Netherlands Marine Corps and the Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten (BSB) of the Royal Marechaussee), and it is deployable anywhere in the world under any circumstance, conducting all conceivable missions from the full spectrum of special operations, including counter-terrorism overseas.

World War II
The roots of the KCT go back to World War II. Under the name No.2 (Dutch) Troop, the first Dutch commandos were trained in Achnacarry, Scotland, as part of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. The unit was formed on March 22, 1942, the birthday of the present KCT. Its purpose was to conduct special operations, which, at the time, were operations that were considered too complex and too dangerous for conventional military personnel. The unit was disbanded in October 1945, but its members continued fighting in the Dutch East Indies, while others formed the Stormschool (1945–1950), located in Bloemendaal. In 1949, the Stormschool relocated itself to the Engelbrecht van Nassaukazerne in Roosendaal, now the home garrison of the present KCT.

Dutch East Indies
Korps Insulinde (1942–1945) was tasked with conducting guerrilla warfare in Sumatra against the Japanese. After the Japanese capitulation, the Korps Insulinde was tasked with the search and rescue of (Dutch) POWs. In November 1945, the unit was disbanded, and its members hooked up with Depot Speciale Troepen and former members of No.2 (Dutch) Troop to form the Regiment Speciale Troepen (1945–1950). This new unit was involved in the Indonesian independence wars after World War II. After Indonesia's independence was acknowledged by the Dutch government in 1949, the RST returned to the Netherlands. On 1 July 1950, on parliamentary recommendation, the RST merged with the Stormschool in Roosendaal to form the present Korps Commandotroepen.

The modern KCT
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, much changed. Particular events shaped the organisation and capacity of the armed forces, and in particular, that of the KCT. With the threat of Cold War receding, many new conflicts appeared throughout the world. Since the 9/11 Attacks, worldwide terrorism has become the biggest threat, and there has been a very high demand for specialist counter-terrorism units, able to operate overseas. To keep up with these demands, the KCT's old role of Commando Waarnemer-verkenner (Commando Force Reconnaissance) was replaced by that of the modern and versatile Commando Speciale Operaties (co-spec-ops, or Commando Special Operations).

The KCT switched from a "part conscript, part professional force" to a fully professional unit in 1995. The last conscripts made place for professional operators in 1996, when Dutch conscription was suspended. From here, the KCT underwent drastic changes in its structure and operational capability, and with great success. It grew to a mature, professional and versatile SF unit and built up a considerable reputation. Deployments to Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Iraq and more recently, Afghanistan provided many new insights and knowledge. Successful CT operations in Côte d'Ivoire (2004) and the Middle-East (2006) proved once again that the KCT is an extremely able, highly independent and versatile unit. It consists of four (103, 104, 105 and 108) independent Commando Companies, a staff company and a training company.

KCT operators wear a Commando Green beret. This shade of green is also in use by British Commando Qualified personnel and internationally often worn by other commando units. The brass KCT beret emblem displays a Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, hand grenade and a ribbon with the unit's Nunc aut Nunquam (now or never) motto on it. The background of the emblem consist of a gothic typeface "W", indicating the name Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands from 1898-1948. The beret emblem is worn on a black background with a green border.

Selection and training
The KCT accepts applications from both actively serving army personnel (infantry) and civilians. And conform the recruitment guidelines of the Royal Netherlands Army, accepts both men and women to join their ranks in special operations, but due to the extreme conditions during the selection, it has been deemed impossible for women to complete the entire trajectory.

Phase zero In order to be considered for the KCT, all civilian and military candidates must participate in a three-day try-out. This try-out is to test each individual's physical and mental stamina, monitored by the KCT cadre and Defense psychologists, who will make a profile of each participant. The try-out's lay-out is kept secret, as a means to see how participants cope with sudden changes and stress. Military candidates additionally require certain military skills such as forced marches, obstacle course and speed march at a set time with medium load.

Phase one Once positively considered, candidates continue to the psychological and medical screening, and if these are met with positive outcomes, they commence with initial training. Civilian candidates will be taken to the AMOL, a 17-week Air Assault school indoctrination with the Luchtmobiele Brigade (Air Assault Brigade), as a means to firmly prepare them with basic military skills and drills. Military candidates will skip this part, and start with the 8-week vooropleiding (VO), the "warm-up" as a preparation for the elementary commando course (ECO), which is the selection. Civilian candidates fresh out of the Air Assault School will join the military candidates here and train together towards 8–9 weeks of hell.

Phase two With an attrition rate of 80-95% for experienced military personnel and 95-100% for civilian candidates, the ECO (elementaire commando opleiding, elementary commando course) serves as the final training phase and selection. Though secretive, one can think of almost continuous physical and mental conditioning. Most of the 8–9 weeks is done outside of Roosendaal, and some parts in the Belgian highlands and mountains. The final week is the culmination exercise, "hell week", which is 5 days of continuous activity including escape and evasion, forced marches and speed marches, coupled with sleep deprivation. It concludes with a final forced march carrying full load to the KCT headquarters. There, the remaining candidates are awarded with the green beret.

Phase three Passing out on the ECO grants temporary right to wear the green beret, and so the prospective operator continues with the vaktechnische opleiding speciale operaties (operator training course). This lasts as much as 12 months and trains the prospective operator in the full spectrum of special operations. The KCT operator is a counter-terrorism specialist, and is also trained as either a medic, a demolitions expert or sniper. New operational team leaders and senior NCOs will be trained as communications specialists. In addition, KCT teams each have a specialisation that is either operating in mountains (above the tree line), underwater or deployment by HAHO/HALO parachute. Each prospective operator will thus receive further training on team level when assigned to his team. By this stage, the operator is granted permanent right to wear the green beret. Eventually the operator will also complete the Counter Terrorism Course (CT).

Mission

 * To prepare and to conduct all conceivable missions from the full spectrum of Special Operations;
 * To participate simultaneously in two peacekeeping operations with a maximum of four teams each;
 * To be self-reliant in combat service support and administration;
 * To act as Doctrine Centre for Special Operations;
 * To provide internal and external training;

Special reconnaissance
The primary task of the Korps Commandotroepen is to conduct covert special reconnaissance operations. Operators gather and report intelligence as they infiltrate deep into enemy territory, observing, monitoring, analysing targets (enemy forces, buildings, infrastructure) and surrounding natural environment. Intelligence that would benefit the main battle force prior to an invasion, or intelligence that would benefit a direct action.

Direct action
The second task of the KCT is to conduct so-called direct action (DA): covert offensive actions that are small in size, conducted violently with surgical precision, in a (very) short amount of time. They come in the form of raids, ambush, and sabotage/demolition, to take out a specific target. This could be specific individuals, structures, weaponry, etc. DA is an unconventional method in warfare, because a specific objective is accomplished quickly and covertly, instead of a mass confrontation in the open, seen in conventional warfare. The ultimate purpose is to bring the enemy force to its knees through deprival, humiliation and sabotage, not necessarily destroying it (as in conventional warfare), though the enemy would still have the ability to fight.

Typical DA tactics:
 * capture and neutralisation, or destruction, of major facilities and material;
 * capture and/or release of particular individuals or material;
 * destruction of key infrastructure;
 * overwhelming the enemy force by surprise with superior firepower, in the form of ambush and raids;
 * sabotage of lines of communication.

The KCT is also tasked with counter-terrorism operations overseas. Domestic or maritime overseas CT operations is the task of the Dienst Speciale Interventies (DSI), a joint operations center consisting of:
 * Unit Interventie Mariniers (UIM - the CT unit of the Netherlands Marine Corps);
 * Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten (BSB - special security unit of the Royal Marechaussee)
 * Arrestatieteam (AT - the SWAT-team of the Dutch police)

Collateral activities
The third task of the KCT is to provide Collateral Activities. The most significant function is training and operating with indigenous forces, in order to conduct guerrilla warfare. Another significant function is to reinforce a battle force. This means that an operational team is part of a larger whole (for example, a main battle force), although remaining independent, providing support in firepower and other strategic and tactical advantages, as well as force protection (protection of coalition troops).

Additionally, combat search-and-rescue (CSAR), Non-combatant evacuations operations (NEO) and humanitarian aid and disaster relief are other, not unimportant tasks of the KCT.

Battle honours
Arakan 1944, Nijmegen 1944, Eindhoven 1944, Vlissingen 1944 and Westkapelle 1944.

Djokjakarta 1948 and Central Sumatra 1948-1949

Bosnia-Herzegovina(1994-2001) Macadonia(2001-2002), Afghanistan (ISAF) 2001-2003 Iraq (SFIR) 2003-2005, Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) 2005-2006 and (ISAF) 2006-2010

Weaponry

 * Glock 17M semi-automatic pistol 9x19mm Parabellum (M stands for maritime)
 * Mossberg 590DA1 pump action shotgun 12 gauge
 * Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifle 5.56x45mm NATO
 * Heckler & Koch HK417 assault/designated marksman rifle 7.62x51mm NATO
 * Heckler & Koch AG-NL grenade launcher 40x46mm
 * Accuracy International Arctic Warfare sniper rifle 7.62x51mm NATO (few arms available)
 * Accuracy International AWSM-F sniper rifle .338 Lapua Magnum
 * Sako TRG-41 sniper rifle .338 Lapua Magnum (20 arms acquired prior to the Accuracy International AWSM-F procurement)
 * Barrett M82A1 anti-material rifle 12.7x99mm NATO
 * FN Minimi light machine gun 5.56x45mm NATO
 * FN MAG general purpose machine gun 7.62x51mm NATO
 * M2 Browning machine gun heavy machine gun 12.7x99mm NATO
 * Heckler & Koch GMG automatic grenade launcher 40x53mm
 * Thomson-Brandt Commando Type V 60mm light mortar
 * M72A2 LAW light anti-tank weapon
 * Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapon
 * Special Operations Knife (SOK) Standard issue handmade survival knife by Hill Knives Holland.
 * L16 81mm Mortar

Explosives

 * C4 Charges
 * M67 hand grenade
 * M18 Smoke Gernade
 * Mecar M72 HE grenade
 * Mecar M93BG grenade
 * M6 mine

Communication

 * AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR) with headset
 * AN/PRC-117F Multiband Manpack Radio. It has NSA certification for the transmission of voice and data traffic up to the Top Secret level.