Maroon Berets

Maroon Berets Bordo Bereliler
Active
Country	Turkey
Branch	Turkish Armed Forces
Type	Special Operations
Colors	Maroon
March	İstiklâl Marşı

Special Forces Command also known as the Maroon Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the Turkish Armed Forces. Currently, the force is under the command of the Special Forces flank (Old Special Warfare Unit). They also work along with Attack Search & Rescue Teams (SAT) and Underwater Attack Teams (SAS) (Marine Search Teams).

The Maroon Berets are the special forces organization of the Turkish Army.
The unit was created to counter any interior or foreign attacks on the Turkish Republic. MB officers receive extensive training and are expected to survive in all environmental conditions. There are three categories of education and training that a MB will undergo. These are a) Domestic b) International c) Specialty
Within these three categories, there are 47 different subjects. Domestic training takes 72 weeks of basic training; International training takes 10 to 52 weeks of specialized training in different countries. It takes 3.5 years to become a MB.

The Trust Shot (in Turkish "Gūven Atışı") is a part of the MB's training program. It is exercised on the last month of the training and is to ensure that the soldiers can trust each other with their lives. The Trust Shot consists of two members of a squad standing next to paper target boards, while another member fires on the targets with a handgun while walking towards them from 15 metres (49.2 feet) away.During the exercise the men standing next to the targets are not allowed to move or wear body armor.

The Maroon Berets (MB) came into the public spotlight when they captured the PKK Terrorist Organisation leader Abdullah Öcalan in Kenya. The identities of MB personnel is classified.

Equipment

• AK47
• SIG P226
• SIG P229
• Colt M4A1
• AR-15
• M249 SAW
• Heckler & Koch HK69A1
• Heckler & Koch HK33
• Heckler & Koch HK416
• Kalekalip/MKEK KNT-308
• Sako TRG
• M203 grenade launcher
• TAR-21
• CheyTac Intervention
• Dragunov sniper rifle
• Accuracy International Arctic Warfare
• M16A4
• Barrett M82
• SR-25
• Arctic Warfare Magnum
• M16A2
• MP5
• M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System
• HK 417
• Tac 50