April 26, 2006: Noting the success of the U.S. Army Rangers in supporting American commando operations, Britain has formed a Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) battalion. This unit has about 500 troops, all of whom are either British paratroopers or marines. One company (about a hundred men) has been operating in Iraq, in support of British commandoes. For the last few years, there has been a debate in the SAS over the wisdom of using many SAS commandoes for operations that require more than a small number of SAS troops. The SAS have, traditionally, operated in small teams. The debate is apparently over, and the British has decided to adopt the American solution to the problem. Canada is also forming a battalion similar to the SFSG. Some other nations already have elite light infantry units that operate to support commandoes, and this concept apparently is becoming more widely accepted and adopted.
