Close Quarter Battle

“Special Operations” are special divisions of military, police or intelligence services that are highly qualified in specific areas of urban warfare and in a variety of special weapons and technology. Over the past forty years, all of the world’s superpowers have built up these groups in order to better fight wars, to counter terrorism and to conduct high-stakes police actions. This episode examines the history of such organizations, from the Green Berets, WWII paratroopers and naval special warfare units through to the Seal Team 6, the British SAS, and private contractors, including Black Water and Brown and Root. Showing how these operators are trained, how they plan, and what weaponry and tactical gear they use, the introductory episode of CQB provides viewers with a fast-paced overview of the techniques, strategies and equipment that have been successfully used by Military Special Operations.

As warfare has evolved, many military techniques and technologies have been adapted for use in urban settings by police units around the world. This episode provides viewers with an intimate perspective on what it feels like to be “inside the heads” of special police personnel, and how their use of military-style strategies and equipment allows them to save lives. From riot control in South Africa and the lessons learned from its excesses, to Los Angeles Police Chief Robert Gates’ creation of an elite police S.W.A.T team, CQB will showcase how, over the past 30 years, the fight against urban crime has evolved into a military scenario, with both sides using increasingly complex weaponry and tactics.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, many countries remained in dispute in the early nineties, despite eastern Europe‘s independence. In 1994 a bitter conflict broke out between the forces of the Chechnen independence movement and the Russian regular army. Despite overwhelming manpower, weaponry, and air support, the Russian forces were unable to establish effective permanent control over the mountainous area due to many successful Chechen guerrilla raids. Improvised Explosive Devices were one of the most effective methods employed in these disastrous raids and were the back drop to many close quarter battle scenarios exchanged between the two sides.

The history of the British Empire colonial legacy in Northern Ireland is well-known the world over but a there is a largely untold story of the the firefights and close quarter battles among the provisional IRA, the British army, and the elite SAS. Although the IRA often employed "terrorist“ techniques within the city of London and on England‘s mainland, not much is said of the often guerilla-warfare techniques of the British Special Air Service in Northern Ireland since the beginning of this conflict. In this episode we will examine how the history of the Special Air Service affected the training of every elite force after it and how the close quarter battles in Northern Ireland in the late 1970s through to the millennium shaped both special forces and resistance methods.

In 1989, CIA operative Kurt Muse was imprisoned at the notorious Carcel Modelo in Panama for his role in organizing radio transmissions against dictator Manuel Noriega. That December, an elite group of the US Delta Force breached the roof of the prison, and one of the most daring close quarter battle operations in history began. From the dramatic helicopter crash and wounding of several Delta operators to the extraction of the entire team by the 5th Infantry Division, this is prime material for CQB analysis. In this episode, this raid is recreated focusing on the “sub-second” reflexes of the Delta Force team from the moment they entered the prison to their extraction from the roof by an MH-6 “Little Bird” helicopter.

Joint Task Force Two (JTF 2) is the elite Canadian Forces Special Operations unit responsible for a broad range of missions, including counter-terrorism and armed assistance to other government departments. Highly secretive, JTF 2 and its predecessor, the Canadian Airborne Regiment, have been deployed in hot-spots around the world from Haiti to Bosnia. This episode focuses on the legendary JTF sniper teams and their use in Afghanistan alongside the British SAS and the US Delta Force at “the sharp end of the spear.” A book written by an ex-JTF member explains how, in 2006, both the Pentagon and the British Foreign Office noted the instrumental role that JTF 2 played in the rescue of the British and Canadian Christian Peacemaker Team held hostage in Iraq. Unique in look, the FN P90 personal defense weapon, used by JTF 2 soldiers and special police around the world, will be highlighted in this program.