It is a brigade-level unit adapted for guerrilla warfare and counterterrorism, forming part of the Strategic Rapid Action Force, capable of responding to both conventional and unconventional threats.

The special forces and commandos studied counterinsurgency tactics within the context of the Cold War and the armed struggle against the Brazilian military dictatorship.

The Amazon region remains a key area of interest for special operations, with plans to use these forces for indirect action against conventional invaders by organizing resistance among the local population.

Since the 1990s, special forces have also been employed in securing major events and combating organized crime in Rio de Janeiro.

Army commandos and special forces operators use advanced equipment and undergo more rigorous selection and training than regular military personnel.

The commandos, identified by the emblem of a dagger in a skull, are recruited from voluntary service members outside the 1st Command Actions Battalion (1st BAC).

Both commandos and FEs rely on specialized vehicles, the Brazilian Air Force, and the Army Aviation for mobility, often entering hostile territory through infiltration.

They are highly sensitive to enemy counterintelligence and electronic warfare, present significant logistical challenges, and face difficulties in replacing casualties due to the extensive time required to train new operatives.

[16] Due to budget constraints, in 2002 the 42nd and 43rd Battalions of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade in Goiás were deactivated, reflecting a broader trend of indirect downsizing within the Brazilian Army.

[17] The Brazilian Army draws parallels between the current missions of commandos and special forces and historical precedents during the Pernambuco Insurrection in the mid-17th century, particularly the actions of Portuguese military leader Antônio Dias Cardoso.

[11] At the start of the Cold War, military theorists in Brazil and the Western Bloc emphasized special forces for anti-communist counterinsurgency.

These soldiers were also expected to surpass the traditional morality of warfare and fight "dirty" and violently, mimicking their opponents' tactics.

While the qualification of special forces personnel and the operational unit remained with the paratroopers, from 1970 to 1978, the training of commandos was conducted at CIGS, in Manaus.

[29] After 1975, with Brazil's redemocratization and the end of guerrilla movements, the Paratrooper Brigade shifted its focus back to conventional warfare.

[33][29] The brigade serves as the vanguard of counterterrorism within the Brazilian Army,[34] enabling responses to unpredictable threats and non-state adversaries.

Under the direction of the Ministry of Justice, the battalion and the Federal Police prepared an invasion of Comando Vermelho's stronghold in the Morro do Alemão, Rio de Janeiro, similar to the operation carried out in 2010.

[39] In the 2010s, Army Special Forces were deployed in high-risk operations against drug traffickers and militias in Rio de Janeiro.

They returned to Alemão from 2010 to 2012, participated in the occupation of Complexo da Maré in 2015, and were involved in the federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro in 2018.

However, they have faced accusations of excessive violence, such as in the case of eight deaths in São Gonçalo, where the army denied that special forces were involved.

Its 20 personnel, rotated every six months, were employed in reconnaissance and search-and-seizure operations targeting gang leaders in Haiti's slums.

[43] The Commando Actions Course (CAC), held at the Special Operations Instruction Center (C I Op Esp) in Niterói, is open to officers and sergeants with at least one year of service.

[49] To emerge as part of the institution's elite, trainees are subjected to intense physical and psychological stress, enduring hunger, cold, pain, and other exhausting conditions.

[50] The sheer desire to wear the distinctive badge on their chest is a significant draw, but many voluntarily drop out after failing to find what they expected.

The Commando Actions Battalion uses an insignia featuring a skull pierced by a red dagger, symbolizing the enemy’s blood, with a green background representing the jungle and black for nighttime operations.

[57][8][50] The Special Forces Battalion uses an insignia featuring a gloved hand, representing discreet actions, holding a red dagger, once again with a black background, along with a parachute.

Commandos can work on reconnaissance and intelligence, combat against irregular forces (including counterterrorism), fire support observation, among other activities.

[52] The Special Forces (FEs) have duties similar to those of commandos and also operate in hostile territory, where they must survive for long periods.

Brazilian special forces would work through indirect action among the local population, building a resistance movement against a foreign invasion as part of an attritional war, especially in the Amazon.

[70] The Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Company (DQBRN) supports other units by monitoring vulnerabilities to weapons of mass destruction, providing safety equipment, and carrying out decontamination.

[71] A special forces operative may carry a radio, explosives, night vision, thermal or low-light goggles, first aid supplies, and up to 35 kilograms in their backpack.