Commandos add Firepower with Cobra Strike Battalions

Photo By Martha Schaeffer | Commandos training to become Afghanistan's newest Special Operations unit, the 6th Cobra Strike Kandak, prepare for their final test, a live fire exercise near Kabul, Afghanistan, Apr. 29, 2018. The 6th CSK is the first of 7 CSKs and provides a new level of mobility and firepower for the Commandos.  

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

05.01.2018

Story by Martha Schaeffer 

Resolute Support Headquarters

The Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps introduced Afghanistan and the world to its newest formation, the Cobra Strike Kandak, at the inaugural classes live fire exercise at Pol-e Charki, Afghanistan, Apr. 30, 2018. The graduating class of 650 Commando-qualified soldiers are now the 6th Cobra Strike Kandak, soon to be taking part in offensive operations against the Taliban.

Part of the Afghan 2020 Roadmap, ANASOC will establish six additional Cobra Strike Kandaks. The additional mobile capability allows ANASOC to use the CSKs nation-wide, in concert with existing Commando forces, and provides an unprecedented level of mobility and firepower for the Commando force.

The CSKs will operate in Mobile Strike Force Vehicles. Heavily armored and mine-resistant, the MSFVs provide additional protection and lethality for Commandos, and were used to eliminate five IS-K fighters in the Jan. 2018 failed attack on the Marshall Fahim Academy in Kabul.

To become part of the 6th CSK, soldiers were selected from a conventional Afghan National Army Mobile Strike Kandak and had to pass the 14-week Commando Qualification Course to earn a slot at the Cobra Strike Maneuver Course. The three-month long CSMC tested the Commandos’ mettle and mastery of combat maneuver skills. The live fire exercise was a visible culmination of the training and tasks required to become Afghanistan’s newest lethal weapon.

• Date Taken: 05.01.2018
• Date Posted: 05.01.2018 08:12
• Story ID: 275159
• Location: KABUL, AF