| Underwater Offence Group Command | |
|---|---|
| Su Altı Taarruz Grup Komutanlığı (SAT) | |
| Active | 1963–present |
| Country |  Turkey |
| Allegiance | Turkish Armed Forces |
| Branch | Turkish Navy |
| Type | Special Forces |
| Mottos |
|
| Engagements | |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | SAT |
 |
| Components |
|---|
| History |
| Special Forces |
| Equipment |
TheUnderwater Offence (Turkish:Su Altı Taaruz), abbreviatedSAT, is thespecial operations force of theTurkish Naval Forces. They are affiliated with the Naval Operation Directorate.[1]During wartime, these units are responsible for carrying out stealthy attacks, sabotage, and raids on enemy strategic facilities including those located under water, over water, on land, or in the air. They also target floating platforms. The SAT participates in coastal reconnaissance tasked with obtaining information on coastal areas before deploying forces and maintaining control over foreign ports and underwater areas.[2]
The first SAT course was conducted on 1962 in the city ofIskenderun, with its first trainees graduating in 1963. The original name of the SAT unit wasSu Altı Komando (S.A.K.) ("Underwater Commando") and was bound to theKurtarma ve Sualtı Komutanlığı (K.S.K.), orRescue and Underwater Command.
In 1974 the SAT group command became bound to the Turkish Navy's General Command, and participated in theTurkish invasion of Cyprus later that year. They conducted the beach reconnaissance missions prior to the amphibious landing of the Turkish Armed Forces at Pentamili beach near Kyrnia (20 July 1974). Other publicised operations of SAT commandos are as follows:[3]
The SAT's main tasks are:[7]
To specialize in SAT, individuals must successfully complete the 50-week SAT (Marine Commando) course. The first phase of the course is eight weeks dedicated to physical and fitness development. Trainees who pass the rigorous physical and sea exams move on to the underwater phase, which lasts eight weeks. During this phase, they undergo frog-man training.[8] After these phases are successfully completed, the land phase begins. In the land phase, it is called "hell week" after training on gaining a high level of land condition, swimming long distances in the water and getting on the boat, practicingVBSS, performing the task under pressure, getting rid of captivity, sea threats, long distance in the land, and finding targets. After intensive training, the land phase is completed. With these trainings, SAT specialists have the skills to sneak, sabotage and raid the enemy's coastal and floating targets.[9][10] Then, the training mostly consists of tactical floating platforms and aircraft. SAT trainees will train for about 15 hours a day.[11]
Underwater Offence Command specialists' equipment includes:[12]
Handguns
Submachine Guns
Assault Rifles
Machine Guns
Sniper Rifles
Rockets & Explosives
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