History

The History of Paskal or "Pasukan Khas Laut" began in 1975, when The Royal Malaysian Navy saw a need for a security regiment trained in modern maritime warfare. It's main purpose is to protect naval bases all over Malaysia. The first batch of 30 officers, led by Captain Sutarji Kasmin (now Admiral, retired), was sent to the Malaysian Army's Special Warfare Training Center (Pusat Latihan Peperangan Khas) located at Sg Udang Military Camp, Melaka, Indonesia KOPASKA (TNI-AL/Indonesian Navy Underwater Combat Unit), Royal Marine Commando, UK and BUD-SEAL, USA. On 1st October 1980, PASKAL was officially established when the Government started to enforce the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) which covered 200 nautical miles off Malaysian waters. Other than that, there was also a requirement to protect Malaysian offshore stations near the disputed Spratly island. Therefore, "Pasukan Khas Laut" (PASKAL) an elite navy commando team was formed on 1st October 1982 that able to execute military combat in total at sea, air and land.

PASKAL has an associate training program abroad such as the SAS/UK, NGSLO , BUD/SEAL, EOD - USA, Submarine Escape - Australia, Assault Swimmer - Australia, Clearance Diver - Australia/USA, Sniper Supervisor - Australia and Mountain Climbing - France, SASR Australia etc. On 26 August 1991, the National Security Council declared NAVY PASKAL is the main task force team to neutralize any terrorist attempt against oil rigs and oil tanker/ship and to act as one of the elements in Pasukan Aturgerak Cepat (PAC) or "Immediate Response Team".Today, PASKAL is equipped with the latest and most sophisticated weaponary and gadgets, such as night vision, sub skimmer (UDV), laser-guided assault rifle etc. Today, many among military personnel in the country, laud them to be the best operative special force in the region.

On April 15, 2009, PASKAL Team Command (PTC) was officially named KD Panglima Hitam in a ceremony held at the Royal Malaysian Navy HQ in Lumut, Perak by the King of Malaysia, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin to honour PASKAL's services to the nation. The name of KD Panglima Hitam or meaning in English as a HMS Black Knight has been inspired by His Majesty the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al Haj, Al Marhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al Haj as an Honor Navy Captain. A total of 34 names of Sultan of Perak and 56 common names have been proposed to the RMN and eventually only the three main names are considered the most feasible, it is the KD Panglima Hitam, KD Halilintar and the KD Maharaja Lela. The decision was then made to choose a name KD Panglima Hitam since it is a name synonymous with a hero who always give undivided service to defend the sovereignty and security of the Sultan, the palace and the government. Panglima Hitam is the traditional nickname awarded to proven warriors during the era of the various Malay Sultanates in Perak, Selangor and Johore is a warrior who has a mystic and very powerful in the weapon tactics, and skilled in war maneuvers.The Panglima Hitam history and myth still remains a symbol of courages and characters.

Expertise–Specialist Course *source from WiKi

Insertion Techniques

• HALO/HAHO: conduct tactical high altitude via free-fall parachute insertion, employed in the covert insertion into enemy territory
• Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction: ability to rapidly insert and/or extract a reconnaissance patrol or assault team from the enemy area; conduct SPIE rig of personnel from combat zone.

Combat Technique

All PASKAL receive special training and operationally qualified to perform special operational duties. It's consists:

• Combat Tracking: conduct direct action missions in jungle terrain, employing guerilla tactics and dynamic counter-insurgency warfares and techniques.
• Pathfinding/Jungle Survival: capability to inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operations, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander. Conducts survival skills to handle an emergency situation, especially in tropical forest and the beachheads.
• Unarmed Combat: conducts mix Malay Silat and Korean Taekwondo martial arts as the hand-to-hand combat to confront and taking down the enemy without firearms or other distance weapons at very close range.
• Close Quarters Combat Tactical: conduct tactical direct action missions, as well as visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) operations or destruction of offshore gas, and oil platforms, employing close quarter battle combat and dynamic assault tactics and techniques.
• Sniper/Counter-sniper tactics: conduct direct or counter sniper in the terrain of urban warfare, or jungle warfare to reconnaissance, reduce the enemy's fighting ability by striking at high value targets and pinning down and demoralizing the enemy, as well as provide covering fire for Malaysian or designated friendly forces from enemy attacks, as well as enemy snipers.
• Explosive Ordnance Disposal: ability to defusing or demolition the explosive materials, such as time bombs, unexploded bombs (UXBs), naval mines, etc.
• Combat search and rescue: conduct search and rescue the military personnel to carried out during war or peacekeeping mission that are within or near combat zones.
• Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain: conduct military operations in a built-up area.
• Combat Medic Specialist: conduct specialized medic for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield.
• Foreign language: conduct foreign languages to communicated the friendly forces, foreign ethnics, etc.

Intelligence gathering

Besides the combat and insertion skills, the specialized units within the PASKALs are able to perform the intelligence capabilities to exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions. The intelligence capability is:

• Counterintelligence: conduct tactical counter-intelligence to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them.
• Signals intelligence – SIGINT: conduct tactical SIGINT, limited ground bases Electronic Warfare, and communications security monitoring and analysis in direct support. This is accomplished by employing organic collection and direction finding equipment as well as through connectivity to national and theater SIGINT/EW assets.
• C4-I Systems Implementations: conduct tactical C4-I techniques to provide intel to command centre. The objective is a thorough understanding of mutual command and control procedures, capabilities, and limitations developed through continual participation in joint and combined exercises.
• Special reconnaissance: conduct reconnaissance to operate at the behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detection by the enemy.
• Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol: ability with special small four to six-man teams operated on reconnaissance and combat patrols, either obtaining highly vital intelligence, or performing highly dangerous raids and ambushes.

The PASKAL tactics and organization are heavily influenced by the British Special Boat Service (SBS) and the US Navy SEAL Team Six – DEVGRU. PASKAL usually trains with GGK as well as US Navy SEALs, Indonesian Navy KOPASKA and, of course – the SBS.

Navy PASKAL teams and structure

The team with tactical BDUs conducts CQC drills.

Naval Special Operations Units

The manpower details of this unit are highly classified. It is believed to be a regiment with an estimated 1,000 mens divided into two operations units – PASKAL Unit Satu (PASKAL – First Unit) based in the Lumut Naval base in Perak on Peninsular Malaysia, and PASKAL Unit Dua (PASKAL – 2nd Unit) which is based at KD Sri Semporna, a Malaysian Royal Navy base in Semporna, Sabah. A company-strength (detachment) is also based at the Teluk Sepanggar Naval Base near Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, where the RMN's proposed Submarine Training Centre will be set up soon.

PASKAL Platoon Stuctures

PASKAL organizes itself operationally into several squadrons of at least four companies (or platoons) each. Each company is in turn organised roughly along the lines of the US Green Berets' structure of Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta Detachments. The smallest unit for PASKAL, however, is the so-called Boat Troop with seven men. Each PASKAL company consists of:-

Alpha platoon

The Versatile Special Operations Force, mainly trained for Maritime Counter-terrorism and other rescue operations into cargo vessels and oil rigs as well as urban terrain. This platoon is equipped with individual covering systems for close quarters combat.

Bravo platoon

Which consists of an oxygen combat diving team and a special air operations team both of which allow infiltration of enemy territory quietly. This squad is also trained to collect intelligence data to help the assault squad.

Charlie platoon

An auxiliary team with the role of strengthening special operations capacity from behind enemy lines.

Delta platoon

The conventional warfare team which dominated the amphibious warfare of PASKAL teams with special operation skills on the ground and sniping.

Basically each squadron contains a mixture of specialists that is usually adjusted for the specifics of the mission or area it is tasked to operate within. Each squadron normally carries a Combat Intelligence Team (Malay: Tim Risik Gempur, TRG), trained in maritime tactical intelligence, counter-intelligence and psychological operations