Military equipment use by the Colombian Joint Special Operations Command at ExpoDefensa 2015 13011152.

Special Operations Forces (SOF) have never been so highly recognized, professionally developed, and in such high operational demand as they are in the contemporary operational environment (OE). Colombia is forever indebted for their invaluable service to their nation. Following the disclosure of operations "Jaque" and "Odiseo" over eight years ago, it became evident that conventional military units and SOF could continue to work together in order to sustain the operational success that has become the standard in Colombia's military history.

"Operation JAQUE" was a deception operation that led to the rescue of 15 hostages including military members, politicians and three foreign citizens. It is widely considered as one of the most significant and successful rescue missions in the world.

The AFEAU is a specially selected and elite unit used exclusively in operations of strategic value and receives orders directly from the Colombian Joint Forces Command. The AFEAU are specifically trained for responding to time-sensitive crisis situations such as terrorist attacks, hijackings and hostage taking. The AFEAU are on constant alert and are prepared to execute special operations that are considered vital to national security by the President of Colombia.

The AFEAU is one of the operational units within the CCOES that specialize in urban combat and crisis situations with strategic implications. The AFEAU staff is selected by members of the Colombian Military Forces, which includes one detachment from each branch of the military (Army, Navy, and Air Force).

As Colombia's elite Anti-Terrorist unit, all members of the AFEAU participate in an extremely demanding and rigorous training and selection process. The AFEAU have a continuous training cycle and are able to execute time sensitive operations with no margin of error. The difficulty and complexity of the training is meant to exceed the expectations for real world operations.

Members of all branches of the Military of Colombia and the National Police are eligible to join AFEUR. Such personnel are required to have no criminal record, and have likely to have already received previous special training such as Colombian Army’s Lancero course, or other training abroad.

Lancero is a military course and a denomination within the Colombian Army. The course is mostly dedicated to train soldiers against guerillas warfare.