I was thinking of running a spec/covert ops game a la Rainbow 6, but I realised that I didn't have enough special ops groups. I had many PCs from Sioux Wildcats, Tir Ghosts, Renraku Red but little from other countries/corps. And the mix ups involving the Navy SEALS... are these guys from UCAS or CAS? Is there any Canon references(sourcebooks, not novels)? I was glad one of my players made an Australian spec ops formerly from AISE.

I came up with a short list of spec/covert ops groups from Canon sources, I'll be much obliged if you guys could fill in the blanks or correct any mistakes or add to the list.

UCAS
Green Beret
Delta Force
Navy SEALS ?

CAS
Marine Ferrets
Navy SEALS ?
CDO

Sioux
Wildcats
Warband
OMI

Tir Tairngire
Bratach Falan
Mistish Farad

Australia
AISE

Tir na nOg
Reach Fuileach

Others??

There's a lot of broken links at this site, but it has a lot of interesting info that might be of use to you, including special ops groups like the Carribean League Tigersharks and the Russian Spetsnaz Unit "Vympel."

Shadowrun Military Site

OMI and AISE are intelligence services, so if you want to count them you have to add the CIA and all the other.

There is a reference in Corporate Download, page 117, to UCAS Navy SEALS. I don't remember any indication concerning a continuation or a replacement of the SEALS in the CAS armed forces.

AISE = Australian Intelligence & Security Enforcement
OMI = Siouw Nation's Office of Military Intelligence. The "Warband" is their decking unit.

Although I'm sure that many people twitch when they hear the name "GURPS", one could look to their Special Ops sourcebook for inspiration about 'mundane' special forces...

Generic
"SWAT" (P) would be found in most police organisations throughout the world.

United States of America
Airborne Rangers
First Special Forces Operations Detachment - Delta
Force Recon
SEAL
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

Frace
Deuxieme Regiment Etranger de Parachutistes (2e REP)
Group d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GIGN)

Germany
Bundesgrenzschuntzgruppe-9 (GSG-9)
Kommando Spezialkrafte (KSK)

Israel
Kommando Yami
Sayeret Matkal

Russia
Spetsnaz
Special Operations State Militia (OMON)

United Kingdom
22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS)
3 Command Brigade, Royal Marines
Special Boat Squadron and Raiding Squadrons (SBS)

Those are palamilitary and special forces units from select countries which are listed in some detail. A further list which is by no means definitive would be (P = Paramilitary, M = Military):

• Argentina - Brigada Halcon (P), 601 and 602 Commando Companies (M).
• Australia - Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) (M).
• Austria - Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando (GEK) (P), Jagdkommando (M).
• Bahrain - U-Group (P).
• Belgium - Escuadron Special d'Internvention (P), 1st Special Reconnaisance Company (M).
• Bosnia (Muslim) - Black Swans (M).
• Brazil - 1st Special Forces Battalion (M).
• Cambodia - "Battalion 911" (M).
• Canada - Joint Task Force Two (M).
• Chile - Grupo de Operaciones Especiales (P), Unidad Anti-Terrorista (P).
• China - 6th and 8th Special Warfare Groups (M), 12th Special Warfare SF Detachment (M).
• Colombia - Fuerzas Especiales Anti-terroristas Ubanas (M).
• Denmark - Aktions Gruppen (AKS) (P), Froemandskorpset (M), Jaegerkorpset (M).
• Egypt - Task Force 777 (M).
• Finland - Osasto Karhu (P), Utti Light Infantry (M).
• India - Special Counter-Terrorist Unit, Special Frontier Force (P).
• Indonesia - Satgas Gegana National Police (P), Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus) (M).
• Iran - 23rd Special Forces Brigade (M).
• Iraq - Special Forces Brigade ("Green Berets") (M).
• Italy - Gruppo di Interventio Speciale (P), Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sizurezza (P/M).
• Jordan - 101st Special Forces Battalion (M).
• Kenya - General Support Unit Recce Company (P).
• Malaysia - Special Strike Unit (P).
• Myanmar - Special Forces (M).
• North Korea - Special Purpose Forces (Commando Brigades) (M).
• Pakistan - Special Services Group (M).
• Paraguay - Antiterrorist Unit (P).
• Phillipines - Anti-Terrorist Unit, Crisis Response Battalian (P), Alpha Two-Zero (A-20) (M), First Scout Regiment (M), Special Forces Regiment (M).
• Poland - 4101st Paratroop Battalion (LRRP) (M).
• South Africa - SAPS Special Task Force (P), Recce Commandos (M).
• South Korea - Korean National Police 868 Group (P), 707th Special Mission Battalion (M).
• Spain - Gruppo Especiales des Operaciones (P), Unidad Especial de Intervencion (P/M).
• Sri Lanka - Army Commando Squadron (M).
• Thailand - Royal Thai Navy Seals (M).
• Turkey - Ozel Inithar Kommando Bolvya (M).
• Ukraine - Berkut Detachments (P).
• Vietnam - "Dac Cong" (Special Forces) (M).

With reference to specific units in the Shadowrun game world, one might also add:

United Kingdom
Templars (analogous to magical SWAT).

Erm, fingers are now tired so I shall leave it at that. Hopefully that will be of some use. If it was way off base, my sincere apologies.

Kage

From the top of my head, Sprawl Survival Guide and Black Madonna refers to the British SAS (dunno about the most logical place, the London SB). The Cannon Companion mentions the SBS. BTW Black Madonna also involve a special units of ex-SAS members acting of the most unofficial behalf of the Foreign Affair. If you want to put a name on it, RL rumors call it "The Increment".

I've been thinking about the same kind of campaign. Too much SOCOM 2 I suppose. One thing to consider is having the team as a task force that combines elements of special forces, intelligence, and traditional forces.

Task Force 20, now somewhere in Iraq is a good example of this. Actually, this group is the basis for my campaign, although if I can dig up more info on Grey Fox, I might go with that.

It also appears the now famous ID 4 has various Special Forces elements attached to it.

This would allow the players to keep their own group small (a strike team, for example) but also allow the GM to develop what kind of support elements they can come to expect.

Don't forget Consular Operations (ConsOps), from the Aztlan sourcebook. They do all the truly dirty things the CIA used to do.

Actually, with regard to the SAS, presumably ANZAC and Canada also have their own SAS units in the 2060s (they do in 2003 at least). Probably SBS as well, if I remember right. Possibly other Commonwealth countries as well, but Australia and Canada are the only ones I am sure about.

Also, if you count Germany's GSG-9 (which is actually a branch of the German national police force, I'm pretty sure), you might want to include things like the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team.

other things to consider:

Whatever SEAL Team 6 turned into (it's a naval military hostage rescue unit)
UCAS Special Boat Crews (the guys who get the SEALs in and out)
UCAS/CAS Marine Expeditionary Forces
The SR translation of the Combat Search And Rescue boys (CSARs, air-droppable search and rescue teams with enough firepower and tactical training to rival most special forces units)
Jagerkorpset (Danish)

Special Forces Search Engine has lots of information, if you dig through some of the not-so related items that come up.

CSAR (That is, the PJs--Pararescue Jumpers) might be a "support" SpecFor unit, but I can't imagine something more covert than having to deploy a Special Tactics team of PJs and Combat Controllers into hostile areas to recover and support units already in place. Which also brings up the fact that AFSOC also has Combat Controllers who are often times deployed with other SpecFor units and expected to pull their own weight, whether its with SEALs, SF, or other.

I admit I might have been a bit hasty with the PJs and CSAR in general. They could certainly be part of a covert operation when the primary operational unit requires such assistance. I was probably thinking that if you need CSAR, something has probably gone badly wrong, and your mission isn't going to stay covert (or at least clandestine) -- that's not fool-proof logic, but it might slightly restrict the amount of covert (or at least clandestine) operations where CSAR-units will actually take action.

As for "uninteresting" support units: There is no doubt that they have extremely important roles in SpecOps, but they are probably not much fun to actually play. Interesting NPCs they might be, and quite crucial for succeeding in missions, but usually not the kind to capture imagination -- hotshot SpecOps pilot-riggers (160th SOAR especially) might be an exception.

UCAS - White Lions

From DNA/DOA

BTW, I just wanted to commend Szeto for his work in "clarifying" the whole CSMC Ferret situation.

He did? When did that happen?

SoNA, p. 66. The Ferrets are CAS Marine Corps A Company, 1st Recon Bn. And apparently there are other "special ops forces" in the Corps (probably similar to
these ones).

BTW, the Quebec Gendamerie special forces are mentioned on p.112.