Grupo de Operações Especiais (Portugal)
Encyclopedia
Grupo de Operações Especiais - GOE (Special Operations Group) is the Portuguese PSP (Police)
special operations
unit, manned slightly over 200 elements.
In 1978, Quinta das Águas Livres was acquired and the construction works of the infrastructures necessary to organise the instruction activities and to accommodate the distinct elements that would form a future operational group began.
Alongside, also began studies regarding the creation of the GOE and, with the co-operation of the British
government, thanks to the efforts of Mota Pinto's government, elements of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS)
came to Portugal
to train and start the formation of a police
group able to conduct anti-terrorist missions.
On March 29, 1982, the first COE – Curso de Operações Especiais (Special Operations Course) began (not to be mistaken with CTOE's COE). The course ended on November 18 of the same year; the unit was considered to be totally operational and with an intervention capability since the end of 1982, although it was formally created in 1979. As a result of that approach between the British SAS and the Portuguese GOE, the pictures of the first agents are hard to distinguish between British and Portuguese since their uniforms, equipment and weaponry are identical. Later, GOE, still maintaining a strong relationship with the SAS, also began training with the US Delta Force
, Germany's GSG 9
, Spain's Guardia Civil Anti-Terrorist units and Israel
i Anti-Terrorist units. GOE's capabilities were put to the test in June, 1983, when Armenian commandos
, using rented cars, invaded the residence of the Turkish
ambassador and killed a PSP officer who was part of the embassy's security team, holding the rest of the people there hostage. The Prime-Minister, Mario Soares
, gave the green light to GOE to storm the building. Before this could be attempted, the terrorists accidentally blew themselves up, resulting in 5 dead terrorists and 2 casualties (the chargé d'affaires' wife and a policeman).
Since that moment, the missions assigned to the unit became more diverse and demanding. After 1991, GOE operational elements, together with ex-operators, began missions of protection of diplomatic representatives and installations in foreign countries where there are unstable situations or armed conflicts.
The level of operators deployed to those scenarios depends of the situation. GOE also intervenes if the evacuation of Portuguese citizens is needed: in 1992 in Luanda
(Angola
), in 1991 and 1997 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(former Zaire) and in other countries like Guinea-Bissau
, Algeria
, Macau
, Bosnia
and very recently in Egypt
.
In those missions, they had to face attempts of forced entry into the diplomatic delegations by armed militants; the most serious being the missions that happened in 1997 in Zaire
and in 1998 in Guinea; in the latter a grenade
was launched into the embassy building where the security team was. In 2005 they were sent to Saudi Arabia
and Iraq
to protect the Portuguese embassies and personnel in both countries. Some were also sent into Timor-Leste in 2006. Since 2006, the unit has the support of police elements from the famous CI (Corpo de Intervenção) in the security of the Portuguese Embassies in Iraq and East-Timor. In August 2008 they were also assigned to end a robbery with hostages taking place in a Campolide, Lisbon branch of the Portuguese bank BES
, involving two illegal immigrant armed robbers with Brazilian citizenship and six hostages, successfully taking out one of the robbers with a sniper shot to the heart, and injuring the other with one shot through the jaw. All hostages were released, four of them shortly after the beginning of the negotiations, while the other two were held until the end. This intervention was generally considered very successful.
GOE is also deployed on VIP protection missions for visiting dignitaries, co-operating with other PSP units in establishing security cordons and, specially, as select snipers in missions of observation, search and detection of terrorist snipers.
Another activity for which GOE is required is in co-operation with the Anti-Crime Brigades, where they are employed in surveillance missions and in the entry of fortified installations related to weapons or drugs trafficking.
The unit is organized as follows:
Polícia de Segurança Pública
The Polícia de Segurança Pública - PSP is the Portuguese police force that works in large urban areas. Rural towns and areas are under the protection of the Portuguese Republican National Guard...
special operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
unit, manned slightly over 200 elements.
In 1978, Quinta das Águas Livres was acquired and the construction works of the infrastructures necessary to organise the instruction activities and to accommodate the distinct elements that would form a future operational group began.
Alongside, also began studies regarding the creation of the GOE and, with the co-operation of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government, thanks to the efforts of Mota Pinto's government, elements of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS)
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
came to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
to train and start the formation of a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
group able to conduct anti-terrorist missions.
On March 29, 1982, the first COE – Curso de Operações Especiais (Special Operations Course) began (not to be mistaken with CTOE's COE). The course ended on November 18 of the same year; the unit was considered to be totally operational and with an intervention capability since the end of 1982, although it was formally created in 1979. As a result of that approach between the British SAS and the Portuguese GOE, the pictures of the first agents are hard to distinguish between British and Portuguese since their uniforms, equipment and weaponry are identical. Later, GOE, still maintaining a strong relationship with the SAS, also began training with the US Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
, Germany's GSG 9
GSG 9
The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei , is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police.-History and name:...
, Spain's Guardia Civil Anti-Terrorist units and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Anti-Terrorist units. GOE's capabilities were put to the test in June, 1983, when Armenian commandos
1983 Turkish embassy attack in Lisbon
The 1983 Turkish embassy attack was an attack on the Turkish embassy in Lisbon on 27 July 1983, which resulted in death of 7 people, including all 5 attackers.-Background:...
, using rented cars, invaded the residence of the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
ambassador and killed a PSP officer who was part of the embassy's security team, holding the rest of the people there hostage. The Prime-Minister, Mario Soares
Mário Soares
Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL, KE , Portuguese politician, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.-Family:...
, gave the green light to GOE to storm the building. Before this could be attempted, the terrorists accidentally blew themselves up, resulting in 5 dead terrorists and 2 casualties (the chargé d'affaires' wife and a policeman).
Since that moment, the missions assigned to the unit became more diverse and demanding. After 1991, GOE operational elements, together with ex-operators, began missions of protection of diplomatic representatives and installations in foreign countries where there are unstable situations or armed conflicts.
The level of operators deployed to those scenarios depends of the situation. GOE also intervenes if the evacuation of Portuguese citizens is needed: in 1992 in Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
(Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
), in 1991 and 1997 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
(former Zaire) and in other countries like Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and very recently in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
In those missions, they had to face attempts of forced entry into the diplomatic delegations by armed militants; the most serious being the missions that happened in 1997 in Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
and in 1998 in Guinea; in the latter a grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
was launched into the embassy building where the security team was. In 2005 they were sent to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
to protect the Portuguese embassies and personnel in both countries. Some were also sent into Timor-Leste in 2006. Since 2006, the unit has the support of police elements from the famous CI (Corpo de Intervenção) in the security of the Portuguese Embassies in Iraq and East-Timor. In August 2008 they were also assigned to end a robbery with hostages taking place in a Campolide, Lisbon branch of the Portuguese bank BES
Banco Espírito Santo
Banco Espírito Santo is a private Portuguese bank, based in Lisbon.The Banco Espírito Santo’s origins began with the lottery, currency exchange and securities business carried out by José Maria do Espírito Santo e Silva between 1869 and 1884...
, involving two illegal immigrant armed robbers with Brazilian citizenship and six hostages, successfully taking out one of the robbers with a sniper shot to the heart, and injuring the other with one shot through the jaw. All hostages were released, four of them shortly after the beginning of the negotiations, while the other two were held until the end. This intervention was generally considered very successful.
GOE is also deployed on VIP protection missions for visiting dignitaries, co-operating with other PSP units in establishing security cordons and, specially, as select snipers in missions of observation, search and detection of terrorist snipers.
Another activity for which GOE is required is in co-operation with the Anti-Crime Brigades, where they are employed in surveillance missions and in the entry of fortified installations related to weapons or drugs trafficking.
The unit is organized as follows:
- Command
- Support Services
- UEI (Unidade Especial de Intervenção) - Special Intervention Unit, consisting of:
- Command
- Three GOI (Grupos Operacionais de Intervenção) - Intervention Operational Group (1st, 2nd and 3rd), each commanded by an officer and includes 20 to 25 elements
- One GOT (Grupo Operacional Técnico) - Technical Operational Group (4th) responsible for instruction, handling explosives, police dogs and other technical instruments, such as cameras and night vision devices.
External links
- Pictures of the GOE: http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/4909/24dd0hc.jpg http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/3510/15hg8as.jpg
- GOE course badge
- GOE unit badge
- Video of the bank robbery and the GOE action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_IAnY-R2-o
