Defence recreates legendary ‘Z Special’ regiment to fight China

The ADF is developing a Special Forces unit based on a legendary World War II regiment in response to the threat China poses. See what it means.

THE Australian Defence Force is developing a Special Forces unit based loosely on the legendary “Z Special” whose exploits in World War II redefined the Pacific conflict.

The move is in part a response to China’s coercive military drive through the region and recognition of an urgent need for deeper ADF engagement with Pacific nation peoples.

But is also being seen as a way to recast Special Forces post the Brereton war crimes inquiry with the “Special Warfare” force to sit alongside 2 Commando and SAS regiments.

Critically the re-purposed regiment will be made up largely from 1 Commando reservist troops, trained up ahead of what is being described as a “significant modernisation journey”.

An Australian Army soldier from 1st Commando Regiment jumps from a RAAF C-130J off the Sydney coast. Picture: Defence

Last month a Special Operations Command (SOC) internal memo titled “update on the development of the Special Warfare Capability”, confirms a “new trade category that will be the core workforce of 1 Commando over the next few years”.

“It is intended that the Special Warfare trade category be established as one of the three Special Forces operator trades and sit alongside the current Commando and the Special Air Service categories,” it states, with clearly defined roles for each.

“A case for remunerating the Special Warfare trade is now being prepared for consideration by the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal in later 2023.”

An Australian Army Special Operations soldier from the 1st Commando Regiment at RAAF Base Williams, Point Cook, Melbourne, Photographer: SGT Jake Sims

Also under review is the colour of the beret they will wear and insignia; the 1 Commando Regiment are currently based in Sydney and Melbourne and has about 500 troops of which a fifth are regulars.

Defence would not answer questions but confirmed SOC had done a workforce review.

“This work is continuing and is focused on ensuring Special Operations Command is organised and ready for the tasks required of it by the Australian Government,” a spokesperson said.

Australian Army special operations force soldiers from the 1st Commando Regiment rendezvous in a wheat field near the You Yangs after parachuting from a Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules aircraft as part Exercise Star Leopard on Saturday, 20 November 2021 Picture: Supplied

Special Warfare is part of a significant strategic shift in Army thinking after a generation of Middle East campaigns and mentality.

Foreign interference, active misinformation campaigns and subterfuge had been allowed to alter the narrative about Australia for some in the Pacific and through ADF engagement it is hoped balance can be restored.

Members of the top secret Z Special Unit, pictured in early 1945 on the HMAS Tigersnake, Chinese junk sailing boat going up river on their way to Long Akah in Borneo.

The Z Special was a joint allied Special Forces unit that during World War II operated behind enemy lines in the Pacific to rally and covertly work with local guerrilla forces on reconnaissance and sabotage.

Operation Jaywick and Operation Semut were pivotal in retaking Borneo and Dutch East Indies (now part of Indonesia).

Members of the Z Special Unit in Borneo during WWII.

Just how the regiment will operate in peacetime is not clear but fostering deep Pacific relationships sits at the heart.

Discussion of the organisational shift, notably to Special Forces and Special Operations Command, began in 2015 with a classified memo to the then Defence Minister Peter Dutton making clear the ADF need “to reconstitute capability, strengthen governance and prepare for a rapidly changing strategic environment”.

Members of the Z Special Unit prepare on board the Krait in an operation against the Japanese in Singapore Harbour.

But it took on greater urgency post the 2020 Brereton inquiry, the 2021 fall of Kabul and China’s clear move on the Pacific with Beijing aid and investment tied to security pacts -notably with countries like the Solomon Islands. It has since evolved as part of a broader agenda to reflect the changing face of modern warfare and likelihood of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

“It is about getting back to basics, doing what we do best in the unconventional space, thinking outside the square,” one Special Forces soldier said.

“In the Middle East we were backed by military superiority but we have to shift from that thinking, become more versatile …. reiteration of a Z Special type is a way.”

Originally published as Defence recreates legendary ‘Z Special’ regiment to fight China