Professional and organizational development dates back to the mid 80s of the 20th century. The starting point for the development of special forces was the conclusion made in June 1985 by the Military Council of the Central Committee of the CPC, headed by Deng Xiaoping, about the absence in the foreseeable future of the possibility of large-scale armed conflicts using conventional armed forces. The next powerful impetus for the reassessment and reform of military concepts was given by the war in the Persian Gulf.
The most likely was an intense, short-lived and high-tech conflict on the periphery of China.
The first most functionally completed unit was formed in 1988 in the Guangzhou Military Region.
Organizational structure
Each military district of China (there are seven in total) has its own special-purpose regiment subordinate to the command of the district (3 battalions, totaling about 1000 people), while at each level there is its own special forces division: corps - battalion (a total of 18 battalions, each 300-400 people each), brigade - company (about 120 people), at the regiment level - platoon (30-40 people) Level of training, as well as equipment from regiment to brigade, from brigade to corps, and from corps to district increases significantly.
Spetsnaz regiments in military districts (VO) are painted as follows:
1) Shenyang VO - 'Dongbei Tiger' ('Dongbei' in Chinese Northeast, Manchuria, which has become a household name for the three northeastern provinces of China);
2) Beijing VO - 'The Magic Sword of the East';
3) Nanking VO - 'Flying Dragon', formed in 1992;
4) Guangzhou VO - 'Sharp sword of southern China', formed in 1988;
5) Lanzhou VO - 'Night Tiger';
6) Jinan VO - 'Hawk';
7) Chengdu VO - 'Falcon', formed in 1992.
In addition, the Special Forces forces include the Strike Marine Troopers and the Sharp Blue Sky Airborne Troopers.
They do not belong to spetsnaz, but they are trained under the lightweight special forces program, which is nevertheless much more difficult than the training program for ordinary PLA soldiers 162nd (as part of the 54th Army), 63rd (as part of the 21st Army) and 149- I (in the 13th Army) of the high-readiness division. The next in terms of training are 1st (Hangzhou, Nanjing VO), 38th (86 thousand people, Baoding, Beijing VO), 39th (75 thousand people, Yingkou, Shenyang VO) and 54th army (89 thousand people, Xinxiang, Jinan Military District) of the rapid reaction army (readiness time from 2-7 days). Moreover, the last groupings are the three most equipped and combat-ready armies in China.
In addition to the army special forces, there are also the Special Forces of the Armed Militia (hereinafter referred to as the VM, one of the components of the armed forces of China) and the units of the Special Forces of the Public Security Forces subordinate to the Ministry of Public Security (hereinafter referred to as the MOB).
There are also special units about which there is only fragmentary information in the public domain, and even that has appeared only recently - the Panther anti-terror units (according to some sources, it may have been attributed to the Chengdu VO, may have been a predecessor or in some way included in the Falcon), 'Snow Wolf' (subordinate to the VM, at the moment, together with the Beijing special forces, the MOB is involved in the preparation of ensuring the security of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, by the way, the total number of security forces at the Olympics will be more than 10 thousand people) and others …
The elite of China's special forces, which has assembled only the best of the best from all over the country since 1982, is the Vostok anti-terrorism unit stationed near Beijing airport, the full name is the special anti-terrorist militia unit 722 MOB of the VM Special Forces Training Institute … The Institute itself was founded in 1983. Over the 23 years of its existence, he has graduated more than a thousand people, most of whom became instructors for special forces. The strictness of the preparation can be indirectly evidenced by the fact that during all this time, almost half a century, 3 (three) graduates received a 'complete distinction'.
Appointment
Chinese Special Forces are one of the main components of the China Rapid Reaction Force, which must wage war in a limited regional conflict and the use of the latest military technologies, incl. point strikes outside the zone of vulnerability for the enemy.
The functions of special forces include: reconnaissance, short and / or small-scale military operations and anti-terrorist activities, incl. and the destruction of separatist formations.
So in October 2002, special forces units took part in joint anti-terrorist exercises with Tajikistan.
Equipping special forces units
Military transport helicopters MI-17, unmanned aerial vehicles, KBU-88 assault rifles, model 95 sniper rifles plus secret types of small arms. Mufflers. Machine guns, grenade launchers. Flamethrowers. Cannons, incl. ATGM HJ-37 / PF-89. GPS / GLONASS positioning systems with positioning accuracy up to 1-3 m in China, including Taiwan, body armor, kevlar helmets, tactical radios, night vision devices, laser rangefinders, special teleimaging systems, for operations in low visibility and illumination conditions, etc. …
Preparation
The training of army and police special forces is carried out according to the methods developed by the General Staff of the PLA, taking into account the peculiarities of the use of each separate unit, with the removal of the complexity of training at the level of the psychological and physical limit of human survival.
The leadership of the Chinese special forces believes that the physical, psychological and professional training of their fighters is unmatched in the world.
The training of fighters is divided into two parts: basic and professional.
The basic one includes: the whole range of ordinary physical exercises for strength, dexterity and endurance plus hand-to-hand combat and self-defense without weapons, survival skills in field and extreme conditions, climbing training, crossing the water space in full gear, all types of small arms, as well as setting up tents, digging for shelters in snow and ground, providing medical assistance and rescue in the field, weaning weapons, methods of ambush and surprise attacks, actions in the mountains, in the forest, in the water, in the snow. Plus amphibious training. Ski training is carried out in the northeastern provinces of China in all weather conditions, incl. at an air temperature below 40C. Orientation with or without compass, map reading.
It's hard to believe, but there is also training in survival (breathing rhythm and body movement) in the water with hands and feet tied! (how much is necessary to be in the water and why is not specified; as far as I understand, this should apply to the units 'Night Tiger', 'Sharp Sword of Southern China' and 'Falcon', at least given their area of responsibility).
Survival skills training (on the example of the 'Falcon' unit)
Group of 6 people. Equipment: army boots, knife, lightweight machine gun and helmet. A fighter can take with him 1 kg of rice, 5 pieces of pressed biscuits, salt and matches. Before leaving, the group is thoroughly searched, literally shaking out the pockets - no unnecessary unauthorized items, incl. there should be no money or water (although some sources say that they give out a flask of water, 2 pieces of cookies, but no rice)..
Conditions of the march: in 7 days the group must walk through the virgin forest for more than 200 km (according to other sources - 300 km), and part of the route (about 3 days of travel) runs through mountainous terrain with an altitude of 2700 m above sea level. that most water sources are unfit for drinking or simply life-threatening, fighters must determine from the tracks of birds and animals those reservoirs that are suitable for use, or use trees and plants to obtain water. An additional difficulty is created by the fact that, despite the heat, the clothes must be tightly buttoned, because the area is full of poisonous snakes and insects. The mountainous section of the route (about 3 days' journey) is so poor in terms of plant and animal life that the group will have to be content with ants, mice and snakes. In addition, on the way, the group must complete about 20 training tasks (assaults, capture of 'tongues', bypassing outposts and ambushes of a conventional enemy, etc.).
Such training can take place from 3 to 6 months a year.
Physical training:
This part of the preparation is affectionately called … 'descent to hell'.
Wake up at 4:30. General 'hard' qigong. Dan Tian Qigong - 30 min. Climbing the mountain or running long distances at 6:00. When running, each fighter collects 10 bricks in his backpack. The distance of 5 km must be covered in no more than 25 minutes. The same cross - in the evening. What happens to the back in this case, or rather the skin on the back, is not hard to guess. After the run, the iron palm exercise begins. The fighter must strike 300 blows with his palm on the bag, and in total for the initial training cycle - 15,000 blows, first with beans, and then with iron filings. Gradually, 2/3 of the length of the palm will be covered with calluses, hard as a stone, and the thickness of the palm will increase by almost 100%. Bleeding and wounds are healed by soaking the hands in a special healing solution. Fists, elbows, knees and feet are practiced in exactly the same way and with the same standards.
After breakfast the practice of breaking wooden blocks with the head begins. They start with soft and end with hard trees. When a callus 2 mm thick forms on the head, you can proceed to breaking bottles and bricks. Having undergone proper training, a fighter can strike a tree or a wall (this is hard to believe, or a mistake in the sources, but the standard is 500 times a day). Headstand - 30 minutes a day..
Then lunch, a short rest and hell continues …
Several standards …
Climbing the brick wall of the building to the 5th floor without any improvised means in 30 seconds.
With full equipment, incl. with 4 grenades and a machine gun, with a total weight of 10 kg, swim 5 km in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
With your legs tied, with 4 hand grenades on your belt and other equipment, with a total weight of 4.5 kg, ride 10 km in a bag.
With full equipment in the rain on a broken mountain road (more precisely, on clay), cover a distance of 3300 m in 12 minutes (grade - 'satisfactory'), 3400 m (grade - 'good'), 3500 m (grade 'excellent')
Parallel Bar Curls and Parallel Bars Dips - each exercise 200 times a day.
Passing a 400-meter obstacle course with 14 targets in a group of 4 people - twice. The first is for warming up, the second is for a time - no more than 1 minute 45 seconds.
An emphasis lying in front - 100 times, no more than 60 seconds.
Lifting a dumbbell weighing 35 kg - 60 times, no more than 60 seconds.
Throwing a grenade - 100 times at a distance of at least 50 m.
Defeat a human target from a distance of 200 m from a car moving at a speed of 50 km.
Throw a grenade through the car window from a distance of 30 m.
Professional training:
Sabotage and subversive training, training in working with explosives (understanding the types and characteristics of explosives, methods of installation and disposal, assessment of the optimal installation site). Wiring, signals. Penetration into a given place in camouflage equipment, as well as through water - using inflatable boats or logs, empty barrels as camouflage means. Scuba diving skills.
Depending on the role of this or that subdivision, the emphasis is on actions in urban conditions, sabotage and subversive work, foreign languages, computers and communications, operations in (sub) water environment.
Participation in military operations and competitions:
Since 1998, Chinese special forces have received invitations to the international special forces competition 'ERNA' held in Estonia. Participating in the competition for the first time, Chinese special forces received 8 first places in 20 types of programs, one second and 4 thirds. Taking 3rd place in the overall standings.
Later, the Chinese team received the Best Foreign Team prize - the Karev Prize (I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the transcription of the surname of this Estonian "hero", according to Chinese sources).
According to circumstantial information, 32 members of the Falcon unit were sent to aid the Afghan government's special services to free the hostage Chinese workers. fight against terrorist groups. The Islamabad Times claimed (according to the Internet) that the Chinese special forces released the hostages at night without firing a single shot and detained the 21 terrorists who were holding them, which was highly praised by the representatives of the US intelligence services in Afghanistan.
