The 116th Operational Maneuvers Regiment (116th RMO) (, ) is a

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

regiment of the Algerian Land Forces.

History

Indeed, the 116th RMO is a recent regiment because it was created in 2015, a few months after the dissolution of the Groupement d'Intervention Spécial (GIS), this regiment was created to directly replace this unit. Following the dissolution of the GIS, the land forces of the Algerian Army decided to create a new elite unit to replace the GIS. However, the 116th RMO has a different status because it does not depend directly on the Algerian intelligence services, as was the case for the former GIS, but it belongs directly to the command of the land forces. They are under the direct orders of the Chief of Staff of the People's National Army, and their missions are followed up to the highest military level (the army's high command). Moreover, the 116th RMO is the descendant of the GIS, so this regiment has naturally taken over the same missions as the latter, and is therefore capable of extremely diverse and varied operations. The majority of operators and most of the material was transferred to this regiment.

Missions

The 116th RMO specializes in

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

, counter guerrilla actions, and the hunting of terrorists in hostile and complex areas, as well as in hostage rescue. However, it is also capable of extremely diverse and varied operations. It can be tasked with protection of high military authorities, various special operations such as special reconnaissance and raids behind enemy lines, and other types of special missions. The missions of the 116th RMO are therefore: * Anti-guerrilla warfare *

Counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

and hostage rescue * Hunting terrorists in hostile and complex areas * Special reconnaissance * Capture or neutralization of HVTs, insurgents, or criminals * Close protection and escort of high-profile individuals *

Direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

Special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

* Destruction of strategic targets,

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

* Intervention in the marine environment * Technical operations

Organization

The regiment has several companies with several specialized groups such as HAHO/ HALO groups, hostage rescue groups, combat swimmer groups or

search and destroy Seek and destroy (also known as search and destroy, or S&D) is a military strategy which consists of inserting infantry forces into hostile territory and directing them to search and then attack enemy targets before immediately withdrawing. Fi ...

groups. The 116th RMO therefore has several specialized companies: * A general staff * Special Company: with assault groups specialized in

(

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

, tracking and neutralization of terrorists), HALO/ HAHO groups,

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

and

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

groups. * Intervention Company: with intervention groups specialized in

and hostage rescue, and marine intervention groups ( combat swimmers), support groups with

marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized telescopic sight, scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper ri ...

s, close protection groups with

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

s. * Technical intervention company: with

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

groups, intrusion and dog groups.

Equipment and Armament

Operators have access to several types of weapons that are chosen according to the needs and nature of the mission. Each operator is equipped with a primary weapon (usually an assault rifle), a handgun, and in addition to this, various types of grenades (fragmentation, smoke, blinding, etc.).

Marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized telescopic sight, scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper ri ...

s and snipers have a multitude of choices with regard to their weaponry, ranging from small and medium calibers to large calibers used for immaterial fire, which allows them to destroy light equipment, especially with heavy calibers such as the .50 caliber.

Handgun

* Glock 17&18 *

Caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized Felidae, wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long ...

Submachine gun

* Beretta M12 * HK MP5A5 * MP5SD3 * MP5K * MP5A3 * HK MP7

Assault rifle

* AKM * AKMS * HK G36 * M4

Machine gun

* PKM

Sniper rifle

* Zastava M93 Black Arrow * Sako TRG 22

Shotgun

* Beretta RS 202 * SPAS 12

Personal equipment

* Special Forces uniform (

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

, desert

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

, and desert MARPAT) * Footwear: Tactical boots * Helmet: Fast ops core Helmet * Plate carrier * Tactical vest * Tactical thigh plate * Tactical belt * Elbow and knee pads * Protective goggles * Hood * Protective gloves * Thigh Holster * Camelback * Ghillie follows (for

s and marksmen)

Special

* CBRN Alert Protective Mask *Bullet shield *

Night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night v ...

apparatus * SWORD T&D viewfinder * Night and infrared sights * Individual transmission apparatus * Radios * Headset * Demining apparatus * Silencers (which they place on their armaments) * EOTech viewfinder, Aimpoint. *Gladius 2.0 system

Vehicles

* All terrain vehicles

Toyota Land Cruiser The , also sometimes spelt as LandCruiser, is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than 1 ...

Mercedes-Benz G-Class The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, colloquially known as the G-Wagon or G-Wagen (as an abbreviation of Geländewagen), is a four-wheel drive luxury SUV manufactured by Magna Steyr (formerly Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in Graz, Styria, Austria, and sold by Mercede ...

, Unmarked vehicles

Special vehicles

* Mercedes-Benz Vario demining van * Ford F-150 All Terrain Vehicle with Mobile Adjustable Ramp System (MARS) *

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of armoured personnel carrier that is designed specifically to withstand land mines, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, and ambushes to save troops' li ...

(Mine Resistant Ambush Protected)

International Maxxpro The International M1224 MaxxPro Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) is an armored fighting vehicle designed by American company Navistar International's subsidiary Navistar Defense along with the Israe ...

* 4x4 jamming vehicle

and

Aerial

* Mil Mi-171Sh of the

Algerian Air Force The Algerian Air Force (, ) is the aerial arm of the Algerian People's National Army. History The Algerian Air Force was created to support the fight of the People's National Army against the French occupying forces. It came as part of the ...

* Transport aircraft belonging to the

( C130, Casa C295,

Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. ...

...)

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations of Algeria Special forces of Algeria