2016 20c Coin 'Anzac to Afghanistan' - SPECIAL FORCES

2016 20c Coin 'Anzac to Afghanistan' - SPECIAL FORCES

Elite Special Forces have made a valuable contribution to our military operations since the Second World War but they are not often widely known due to the highly secretive environment in which they operate. Since the first reconnaissance and long-range patrols by the Independent Companies in the Pacific in 1942, Australian Special Forces have generally been the first combat troops on the ground up to and including Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Australian Defence Force has raised a number of Special Forces and Special Operations units since their inception during the Second World War. Commando units are trained as elite light infantry for quick raids on high-value targets. Reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering units, including M and Z Special Units and the coveted Special Air Services Regiment, have conducted clandestine patrols deep into enemy territory. Some modern units, such as the Special Air Services Regiment and the Commando Regiment, have carried out a domestic counter-terrorism role. Recent operations in Afghanistan highlight the importance of the Special Forces in Australian military history. While there, they conducted counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, where they were involved in some of the heaviest fighting of the campaign. Three of their members, Trooper Mark Donaldson, Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith and Corporal Cameron Baird, were awarded the Victoria Cross.