The Special Forces Support Group is a unit of the Arcer Army, and the newest addition to the Arcerion Special Operations Command. It provides an enhanced infantry battalion and key enablers to the other two special forces units in ASOC. While technically multi-service, it predominantly draws its personnel from the Army. It provides logistical, command and control, signals, airlift, and special operations-capable infantry to ASOC in support of deployed operations.
The SFSG also provides a cadre for SERE training within the Arcer Air Force and Arcer Army. It is primarily based around two infantry battalions, 1st Battalion, Arcerion Parachute Regiment and 3rd Battalion, Royal Easthampton Borderers.
During the Fourth Bush War, several important lessons regarding the employment of special forces were learned and implemented. Although the SFSG's implementation was almost three decades after cessation of hostilities, the lessons learned for a dedicated regular infantry force to provide support to special task forces was identified. Provisional examples existed such as the Royal Moorden Regiment providing several platoons in support of the Special Arcer Service Regiment, however nothing was codified until 2004, when the SFSG was created by decree of the Confederate Parliament. The SFSG supported various lower intensity missions around Ixnay during the years that followed, however its first major deployment was in support of the Arcerion military's involvement in the Final War of the Deluge.
Operation Archibald
Under the auspices of Operation Archibald, members of the Arcerion Special Operations Command undertook a variety of special forces missions ahead of conventional Arcer units engaged in Operation Pullman. These included long range patrols and long-distance reconnaissance in lightly armoured wheeled vehicles through the Varshani outback. Usually, the infantry companies from 1 Arco Para at the time provided screening, flanking, and cordon forces for the members of the SASR and Marine Commandos involved in direct action missions.
Northwest Border Security Zone
A member of the Special Forces Support Group wearing an irregular uniform conducts a patrol in the Northwestern Border Security Zone, 2024.
The second major operation in the SFSG's history is as part of ongoing counter-terror and counter-insurgency operations near Oakham in the Northwestern Border Security Zone (NWBSZ). There it has provided support to the Task Force deployed conducting raids, reconnaissance, and support to civil authority missions in the region. During this time, the SFSG was involved in numerous missions against compounds or villages associated with Varshani-aligned insurgent groups attempting to infiltrate through the Telekonese and Kelekonan borders with Arcerion. The Arcer government confirmed that on at least two occasions Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) from the SFSG conducted air strikes on insurgent groups Northwest of the Innis River Basin.
Formation and Selection
The Special Forces Support Group was established in 2004 to finally implement lessons learned form the Fourth Bush War on the need to provide the commandos from Arcerion's Special Operations Command with regular infantry support. During the Fourth Bush War commandos were often outnumbered by factors as high as 12:1, highlighting the need for a quick reaction force that was ready to respond with additional assets and firepower for deployed commandos.
Since 2004, as in keeping with the Arcer government's policy of nondisclosure on sensitive missions or special forces operations, the SFSG's publicly acknowledged missions have remained limited, although it is speculated that they have grown in size and institutional ability. At a minimum, psychological and fitness standards are more rigorous than the rest of the Arcer military, to ensure that while being conventional, these soldiers are closer to being special operations-capable. Additionally, members of the SFSG are indoctrinated through additional specialist training courses not normally offered to regular members of the Arcer military.
Structure and Organization
The organization of the unit has not been publicly disclosed, therefore the below is as of the unit's announced creation in 2004.
Special Forces Support Group
HQ Company
Joint Terminal Attack Controller Platoon (attached from Arcer Air Force)
1st Battalion, Arcerion Parachute Regiment (attached from Arcer Army)
3x Infantry Companies
Troopers of 1 Arco Para while attached to the Special Forces Support Group while on operations in Varshan, 2022.3rd Battalion, Royal Easthampton Borderers (attached from Arcer Army)
3x Infantry Companies
Combat Support Company
Sniper Platoon
Signals Platoon
Field Ambulance Detachment
Assault Boat Detachment
Service Support Company
Maintenance Platoon
Quartermasters
Transportation Platoon
Intelligence Detachment
The SFSG also maintains a limited mairitime capability using assault boats and rigid-hulled inflatable boats, giving it the capable to support the Marine Commandos of the Royal Arcerion Naval Service when conducting littoral operations or coastal raiding.
Tactical Flash
Members of the Special Forces Support Group sport either the usual Arcerion military lion-and-bayonet tactical flash, or in some cases have been seen wearing tomahawk flashes. This is a heritage symbol that is likened to the Arcerion Loyal Militia from the First Bush War, who often used looted tomahawks from indigenous peoples as their own personal weapons. The SFSG adopted it as part of their Regimental History and Regimental Colours, and it has been adopted into patches on deployed operations.
Arcerion
