Special Operations Troops Centre The CTOE - Centro de Tropas de Operações Especiais ( Special Operations Troops Centre ) , based in Lamego , is a unit of the Portuguese Army with the mission of instructing troops in unconventional warfare and Counter - Terrorism . Until 2006 , it was known as " CIOE - Centro de Instrução de Operações Especiais " ( Special Operations Instruction Centre ) . The CTOE contains an operational unit called DOE , its the Special Operations Detachment , popularly known as Rangers , tasked with performing missions similar to the US Army ' s Delta Force or British Special Air Service . Some of these missions include conducting Long - Range Reconnaissance Patrols ( LRRP ) , raids against high value targets , locating enemy command and control centres , targeting and destruction of enemy air defences and radar systems , and POW rescue operations . The unit can be infiltrated by parachute , helicopter , small boat , or by foot . History . The CTOE , heir of the historical traditions of " Regimento de Infantaria 9 " ( 9th Infantry Regiment ) , was created on 16 April 1960 to form units specialised in counter - guerrilla operations , psychological operations , and mountaineering . These special , light - infantry units were called " Caçadores Especiais " ( Special Hunters ; the regular army light - infantry units were just called Hunters ) and were the first units in the Portuguese Army to wear a beret ( brown ) and camouflage . They were elite units , with highly - motivated , hand - picked personnel , whose instructors had taken courses on counter - insurgency and counter - guerrilla operations in France , Algeria , the United States , the United Kingdom , and Spain . When the Portuguese Colonial War began in 1961 , there were already four companies of Special Hunters in Angola . Early in the fighting , the " Caçadores Especiais " received updated 7 , 62 mm NATO small arms such as the Espingarda m / 961 ( Heckler & Koch G3 ) and the FN / German G1 FAL rifle ( known as the m / 962 ) ; the FAL was a favored weapon of the " Caçadores Especiais " due to its lighter weight and better practical accuracy compared to the m / 961 G3 . The 4th Company Caçadores Especiais in particular was a very active one ( their website contains lots of photos and detailed mission chronology , ) . Still , by the end of 1961 , the Special Hunters had been disbanded : some of their training was incorporated into the instruction of the regular army Hunter companies , and the brown beret and camouflage spread to the whole Army . The CTOE remained , now tasked with giving their courses to officers and NCOs , and to form commando troops . After the creation of the special operations unit in 1981 , the CTOE ceased to be just an instruction facility but also served as the HQ for the new Portuguese special operations unit . The unit members wear a grass green beret and are the heir of the Special Hunters : the beret badge includes a trumpet — a symbol of the Special Hunters ; and the unit is known as Rangers because the instructors of the Special Hunters completed the Ranger Course and adapted the characteristics of that training to the Special Operations Course . The unit has operated in Bosnia and Herzegovina , East - Timor , Kosovo , Afghanistan , and Iraq . CTOE Courses . The CTOE has several courses : For those already badged as special operations soldiers , there are also courses outside the CTOE : Special Operations soldiers also take courses in friendly countries :