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Grupo de Acción Rápida
Tactical unit of the Spanish Civil Guard / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grupo de Acción Rápida (GAR) (English: Rapid Action Group) is the rural police tactical unit of the Spanish Civil Guard (Spanish: Guardia Civil).[3][4]
Rapid Action Group | |
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Grupo de Acción Rápida (Spanish) | |
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Active | 1982–present[1] |
Country | Spain |
Agency | Guardia Civil |
Type | Police tactical unit |
Part of | Jefatura de Unidades Especiales y de Reserva[2] |
Headquarters | Logroño |
Abbreviation | GAR |
Structure | |
Agents | Approx. 500[3] |
Companies | Four[1] |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Lieutenant Colonel Jesús Gayoso Rey[3] |
Tracing its origins to the Unidad Antiterrorista Rural (UAR) formed in April 1978.[5] The Grupo Antiterrorista Rural was formed in 1982 and later renamed to Grupo de Acción Rápida.[1] It is based in Logroño.[6]
Initially aimed to counter ETA, since 1998 it has re-oriented towards international deployments, taking part in NATO, United Nations and European Union missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Haiti and the Central African Republic.[6]
Applicants to GAR have to complete over five months of training with between 25% and 30% completing the course.[7]
Firearms used include the Heckler & Koch USP Compact 9×19mm, Heckler & Koch MP5 9×19mm and the Heckler & Koch HK417 7.62×51mm respectively.
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