"One commando is capable to lead a 30-men infantry for any operation. This is where they show leadership and we can see the skill of the commandos,"said Malaysian Veteran Commandos club advisor Abdul Rahim Dahalan.
In Malaysiakini-subscription required. By this statement alone, it shows how a commando thinks. He will forever have the mentality of a commando, all brawn and no grey matter. Personally I have nothing against the commandos or the way they train. I myself have done the Commando Orientation for 6 weeks in the Unconventional Warfare Wing of the Special Warfare Training Centre and a further 3 months UCIS Instructors course at the same place. The Commandant was the late General Hasbullah, who was then a Colonel and his Deputy Lt Col Chua. Two of my CSMI's were WO2 Ahlal and WO2 Zahari respectively, who I highly respected-edit
I am an ex Infantryman, will always remain so, and I take offence to this arrogant has been. He claims that one commando is equivalent to 30 Infantrymen. In his dreams, that is. If you are a commando officer and the infantry men are placed under his command maybe, he can command. Otherwise I will kick the sorry arse of a commando who orders me around. We, Rangers and sometimes the Royal Malay Regiment have beaten the Commandos many times over in the
UKMHK, a platoon of Infantrymen against a Troop of Commandos. I remember that in 1993 when there was a UKMHK competition held in Mentakab, in my Camp, the Commando Troop lost, I actually asked the CO of the Commando Regiment, who were so full of themselves and over confident that they would win, whether my Regimental Intelligence Officer could provide them maps, for them to speed march all the way back to Sungei Udang. They lost and the VIP giving away the prizes was General Borhan who was the Chief of the AF at that time, who was himself a commando. The maps were to mock the CO of the Commando Regiment.
To tell off this blustering person allow me to explain what a commando is. In
military science, the term commando can refer to an individual, a
military unit, or a raiding style of
military operation. In some contexts, "commando" means elite
light infantry or
special forces. Commando units have a variety of specialist capabilities which enable them to conduct these kind of operations, most notable a broad range of deployment skills which often include
parachuting, airborne
rappelling or
fast-roping, or
amphibious landings. In the military forces of some
Commonwealth countries, there is a distinction between commando units, which specialise in offensive or assault tasks, and other special forces units, which specialise in:
counter-terrorism and/or;
reconnaissance and
sabotage missions behind enemy lines. Originally "a commando" was a type of military unit. In many languages, "commando" or "kommando" means "
command", in the sense of a military unit.
Source:WikipediaThe above describes the roles of the Commandos, here is what the Infantry does, when it comes to a real fight, when countries become victors or losers in war. The Commandos do not decide the outcome of wars, the Infantry do. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily with
small arms but are trained to use anything from their bare hands to missile systems in order to neutralize and kill the enemy in close personal combat. This fundamental principle is evidenced by the Infantryman's Creed of the
United States Marine Corps: "To locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver; and to repel the enemy's assault by fire and close combat."
[1][2][3], which is the same as that of Infantrymen elsewhere and similar to the Malaysian Infantry man's creed. Infantry training is one of the most rigorous military occupations offered by the military and is the basic component in terms of discipline and tactics for special operations units who routinely recruit from the ranks of the infantry.
Wikipedia.In modern armies, the Infantry is one of the key combat arms and many armies consider it their senior branch. In the British army, it shares this role with the Armoured Corps (Tanks and reconnaissance vehicles) and the Army Air Corps (close-support helicopters).This signifies a transition of mass infantry charges and formations of 100 years ago, to much smaller shock type units that are highly lethal, specially trained and equipped soldiers still on the jagged front lines of modern asymmetric warfare.
We, 7th Rangers, the whole battalion, did a cross country from Kampong Bonggor in Perak, in full combat gear whilst the Malayan Communist Party was still around, under the command of Lt Col George Edward Simon, to Batu Melintang in Kelantan. It took us 8 hours and 8 days, an army record. The 80 kilometers was 'as the crow flies'. I remember that very clearly as I was the last man in the column, I was ordered to bring up at the rear. The Commandos did the same route and it took them more than 9 days, that too they had the luxury of using assault boats to cross the Banding lake, we the Rangers plodded on foot across the bridge for 16 clicks. The Commandos were a squadron strong, which is equivalent to a company. Yet we, a battalion with a force numbering 5 times the commandos, were faster. The route has one of the toughest jungle terrains in the world.
Coming to combat operations, the Rangers had many, many, many more kills than the Commandos. My gripe is, do not belittle the Infantryman. Any Infantry Officer, worth his salt, would kick a sorry arsed commando, if ever he attempted to lead an Infantry platoon.
About the training seen in the video clip, it is nothing. When my intake of Cadets had orientation training, on the first day, two Cadet Officers died. In Sungei Udang at the Special Warfare Training Centre (Commando School), when we were based up in the swamp at Betutu Laut, at hightide, the water came up to our knees. We lived there and that was our quarters for 3 months. Alot of soldiers used to crap on the ground, hoping for the tide to take their crap out to sea. Well, that Friday afternoon, while the Muslim Officers and soldiers were getting ready to go for their Friday prayers, one of our Commando Instructor's made rounds around the base whence he came across turds still on the ground that the tide did not take out. That was bad, a great sin as far as field hygiene was concerned. We the Non Muslim officers and soldiers were preparing to have a nap, blissful sleep, while they prayed, as we could never get enough sleep. Opportunities like this we always used it for sleep.
The Commando Instructor who found the turds (human waste) raised the alert. There were 13 officers and 13 patrols. Per patrol has a strength of 5 men inclusive of the officers. The Commando Instructors made all of us fall in. We the Non Muslims were a bit puzzled, as we were asked to parade with the Muslims who were going for prayers. One of the Commando Instructor's brought out a red plastic bucket, made the 13 officers follow him. At each pile, one of us was asked to scoop up the pile of shit with our bare hands and dump it into the pail. When all the shit on the ground was cleared, the Commando Instructor told us to add water from a filthy brackish drain in the swamp. This drain also operates as an open toilet where beams are placed across for us for us to do our business, when the tide is low. When the tide is high, you cannot see this drain. At night when the tide was high, we had to hold it.
We were ushered back to the waiting soldiers. Then one of the Commando Instructor's asked the Muslims, whether they wanted to go for their Friday prayers. The answer from the Muslims was a resounding yes. We the Non Muslims just kept quiet wondering where all this amount of shit collection was going.
"Lt Azmi, can you please demonstrate how to do ablution, before prayers" (Lt Azmi, sila tuan, tunjuk cara nak ambil air sembahyang). That was for the benefit of us, Non Muslims. Lt Azmi was asked to stir the bucket with his hands, the shit and water was above his elbows. He then washed his face with it and washed behind his ears, along his arms. All 13 Officers did the same thing. We were then ordered to do it to the 4 men under our command. After which we were asked to stand in the sun, until the shit dried up on us. Oh, yes, there were no Friday prayers that day. The video clip is nothing compared to the shit that goes on at the Special Warfare Training Centre in Sungei Udang.
Yes, after that we had our lunch.
