The Grupo Especial de Operaciones Federales (Federal Operations Special Group, GEOF) is a police tactical unit of the Policía Federal Argentina trained to strategically perform counterterrorist and counternarcotics missions. It is also used for VIP protection and hostage rescue situations.
History The GEOF is a specialized police unit of the General Directorate of International Terrorism and Complex Crimes.
Although the existence of special forces in Argentina begins in 1930, the unit was officially created after the 1994 AMIA bombing.
In 1994 its first section was established in Tucumán and in 1997 a second division was constituted in Rosario. In the next year the Buenos Aires group was formed.
Training The unit's main training course stands for 20 weeks and is divided in two periods, with only 15% common approvals. Topics include sniping, HALO/HAHO parachuting, martial arts, offensive driving, and explosives, known as the "brechero" one.
The GEOF constantly trains with special units of other countries like the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, the US Army Green Berets, the Israeli Yamam and numerous SWAT groups.
Power The GEOF, nicknamed 4T (todo tiempo-todo terreno, all weather-all terrain), has full powers in all jurisdictions of the country.
Equipment The basic gear for every GEOF officer is a standard sidearm and an assault rifle. GEOF would gain other weaponry including shotguns, sniper rifles, and even machine guns (in some units) depend on the situation encountered.
The following are the common weapons used by GEOF:
Firearms WeaponOriginTypeBersa Thunder 9Semi-automatic pistolGlock 17Beretta 92Heckler & Koch USPHeckler & Koch MP5Submachine gunRemington 870ShotgunSIG SG 552 CommandoAssault rifleIWI ACEFN FALBattle rifleFN MinimiMachine gunFN MAGIWI NegevM24 SWSSniper rifleH-S Precision HTRM110 SASS
Vehicles Iveco Daily Ford Ranger BDX Dongfeng CSK-131
See also
References