Rapid Action Group
Grupo de Acción Rápida (Spanish)
Active1982–present[1]
CountrySpain
AgencyGuardia Civil
TypePolice tactical unit
Part ofJefatura de Unidades Especiales y de Reserva[2]
HeadquartersLogroño
AbbreviationGAR
Structure
AgentsApprox. 500[3]
CompaniesFour[1]
Commanders
Current
commander		Lieutenant Colonel Jesús Gayoso Rey[3]

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]

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.

Members of the unit during the staging of a mannequin challenge video.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Unidad de Acción Rural de la Guardia Civil (UAR)". Guardia Civil (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "Operations Division". Guardia Civil (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Molpereces, Diego; Martínez, Javier (23 November 2017). "Un día de maniobras con los GAR, el grupo antiterrorista de élite de la Guardia Civil". Voz Pópuli. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Special Operations Force returns to the desert with Exercise Flintlock". Ministry of Defence (Press release). 24 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "Grupo de Acción Rápida (GAR)". Guardia Civil (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 Vallejo, César; Mahia, Irene (26 October 2015). "G.A.R.: La lucha contra el terrorismo continúa". RTVE. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  7. ↑ Villamayor Jimenez, Valentin (December 1999). "The Terrorist Fighters". KFOR Chronicle. NATO Kosovo Force. p. 11. Retrieved 25 August 2020.


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