ANA Commando Brigade The ANA Commando Brigade are part of the Afghan National Army and were formed from existing Infantry battalions . The program was established in early 2007 with the intent of taking one conventional battalion from each of the ANA corps , giving them special training and equipment and reorganizing based on a United States Army Rangers battalion . Each battalion is assigned to one of the seven military corps . The training is conducted at the Morehead Commando Training Center , a former Taliban training compound located six miles south of Kabul , Afghanistan . The training center is named after 5th Special Forces Group soldier MSG Kevin Morehead , who was killed in Iraq in September 2003 . The training of supply , logistics and operations has been conducted by mentors from Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan , United States Army Special Forces , French Special Forces , ANA cadre and Military Professional Resources Inc . ( MPRI ) . The 12 week program has three concurrent training sections for the entire course . The primary and bulk of the training is geared for the Infantry line companies with a focus on individual skills and small unit tactics . To support the line companies , the Headquarters and Headquarters Company receives special training in specific skills such as mortars , medical care , and communications . The third section focuses on the Battalion staff , their core areas of responsibility and function as the Command and Control ( C2 ) . Upon graduation , each Commando Battalion returns to its designated Corps area along with an embedded Special Forces A - Team and begins using an 18 week training cycle that breaks down to six weeks each of train - up , missions and recovery . Of the five active duty Special Forces Groups , 3rd Group and 7th Group have been rotating responsibility as the main effort for continued training and advising in the Afghanistan theater . The Future . A recent ISAF news article reports that while the original plan was for one Brigade with six Battalions ( Kandaks ) the ANA want a full division with three Brigades and 15 Battalions . As of April 2012 the reported strength of the ANA Commandos is 8 , 500 men organized into 8 Battalions ( Kandalks ) and one group of 500 Special Operations troops . However other reports state that as of 12 April 2012 there are 11 , 000 active Afghan Commandos . Graduating Classes . The 1st Commando Battalion ( Kandak ) - from the 201st Corps , graduated on July 24 , 2007 - Afghan 201st Corps ' Kabul ' . The 2nd Commando Battalion - from the 203rd Corps " Tandar " ( Thunder ) , graduated on October 16 , 2007 - Afghan 203rd Corps ' Gardez ' The 3rd Commando Battalion - from the 205th Corps " Atal ( Hero ) , graduated on January 30 , 2008 - Afghan 205th Corps ' Kandahar ' The 4th Commando Battalion - from the 207th Corps " Zafar ( Victory ) , graduated on May 8 , 2008 - Afghan 207th Corps ' Herat ' The 5th Commando Kandak - from 209th Corps " Shaheen " ( Falcon ) , gratuated on October 2008 The 6th Commando Kandak - from 1st Commando Brigade , gratuated on May 2009 The 7th Commando Battalion - from 215th Corps " Maiwand " , graduated on January 21 , 2010 The 8th Commando Battalion " Lamer & Sun " - from 1st Commando Brigade , graduated on May 6 , 2011 The 9th Commando Battalion " Cobra " - from 1st Commando Brigade , graduated on August 17 , 2010 Combat training and special operations . September 2007 : The first ANA Commando Battalion graduated on July 24 , 2007 , with Col . Fareed Ahmadi as the battalion commander . This ANA Commando Battalion conducted its first operation , a two day mission in September 2007 , 30 miles southwest of Jalalabad in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province . There they captured two large weapons caches , over 80 kg of opium and detained Haji Shir Khan , a known improvised explosive device maker . November 2007 : 3rd Company , 1st Commando Kandak ( 201st ) , conducted an air - assault raid at dawn on the compound of a high - level Taliban facilitator , kicking off a four - day offensive operation named Operation Commando Fury in the Tag Ab Valley , Kapisa Province , Nov . 10 - 14 , 2007 . A joint effort by the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army assisted the Commando battalion in disrupting the Taliban hold on the Tag Ab Valley . December 2007 : The second ANA Commando Battalion , originally from the 203rd Corps , conducted a series of raids throughout the Sabari district in Afghanistan ' s Khowst province , Dec . 27 – 28 , 2007 . During the operation , the force arrested a suspected major insurgent facilitator primarily associated with the Hizb - i - Islami Afghanistan terrorist organization and believed to have ties to the Haqqani network terrorist group , the Taliban and al - Qaida . The combined Afghan force conducted the two - day operation without a shot being fired . January 2008 : The third ANA Commando Battalion , originally from the 205th Corps , along with Coalition forces , conducted a four - day operation to disrupt insurgents activity in the volatile Tag Ab Valley of Kapisa Province January 19 – 23 , 2008 . The 205th Commandos patrolled the Naghlu Reservoir to the village of Jangali in order to disrupt insurgent activities in the center of the valley as the combined force moved north . This operation served as a graduation exercise to providing confidence in the abilities of the newly formed Commando Kandak . February 2008 : The second ANA Commando Battalion ( 203rd Corps ) , along with Coalition forces , captured a key insurgent facilitator in Khost Province February 9 , 2008 . The Ministry of Defense announced that ANA forces captured a known Taliban commander , Nasimulla , during a combined operation in the Dand Faqiran area of Yaqubi District . February 2008 : 1st Company of the first ANA Commando Battalion ( 201st ) , conducted a night air - assault raid in the Helmand Province to capture the Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Bari . Bari was one of the top remaining Taliban field commanders able to launch deadly attacks in Helmand and Uruzgan province . He led Taliban operations against the British in northern Helmand province in the Kajaki , Musa Qala , and Baghran districts . Bari was the former governor of Helmand under the Taliban regime . The operation , named " Say Laab " , meaning flood , utilized multiple helicopters and put over 100 commandos onto four separate targets simultaneously . The operation captured 11 combatants as well as destroying six enemy vehicles containing thousands of pounds of weapons and munitions , as well as nearly $ 8 million of illegal narcotics . Bari and 29 Taliban fighters were killed during the five hour long operation . The exact date of the operation wasn ' t given , but was reported by CJTF - 82 media center on March 1 , 2008 . April 2008 : one Commando Battalion ( unknown designation ) conducted operation s in Nuristan Province on April 6 , reportedly netted several members of the terrorist group Hezb - e - Islami Gulbuddin ( HIG ) . The mission led to a coalition airstrike that , along with the ground fighting , left as many as 20 insurgents dead . See " Battle of Shok Valley " In July 2012 , the Afghan commandos conducted their first successful night operation . Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told the media that : " Last night in Afghanistan , US special operations joined Afghan commandos from the first special operations battalion in a full mission exercise demonstrating a night air assault . This was an Afghan plan , an Afghan - led mission . Afghan pilots flew four helicopters during the exercise , which involved more than 50 Afghan commandos , and US special operations forces acting in an advisory capacity . In the exercise , the commandos successfully discovered and apprehended a person of interest , recovered weapons and intelligence . " In March 2013 , U . S . special operations forces handed over their strategic base in Wardak Province to local Afghan commandos . Afghan commandos gradually began taking over the lead from NATO forces the fight against insurgents . In April 2013 , Afghan commandos killed 22 insurgents in Nangarhar Province and captured another 10 insurgents .