History
La Unidad ("The Unit"), as it was informally known in Spain, traces its roots to the Amphibious Climbing Company (Compañía de Escaladores Anfibios), established in 1952 as an all-volunteer unit tasked with coastal assaults and infiltration. In 1967, using the US Navy SEALs and British as its guides, the unit expanded its mandate and range of skills to include combat diving, underwater demolitions, airborne insertions and direct action missions. In 1985 the UOE was re-designated COMANFES (Comando Anfibio Especial), but reverted to its original name in the early 1990s. Today, the unit is one of two operational elements within the Spanish Navy's Naval Special Warfare Force.
The UOE collaborated and trained closely with similar NATO units, such as the United States Navy SEALs, the Italian Navy's COMSUBIN, the French Commando Hubert, and the Portuguese DAE, as well as with special intervention units of the Spanish police forces (UEI and GEO).
The UOE and its parent Naval Special Warfare Force are one of only three units in the Spanish military formally tasked with Special Operations, along with the Army's MOE and the Air Force's EZAPAC.
Read more about this topic: Unidad De Operaciones Especiales
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