Syrian Train and Equip Program

The Revolutionary Commando Army is a rebel group trained and supplied by the U.S. military in the program.

The Syrian Train and Equip Program is a United States-led military operation launched in 2014 that identified and trained selected Syrian opposition forces inside Syria as well as in Turkey and other US-allied states who would then return to Syria to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The program reportedly cost the US $500 million.[1] It is a covert program, run by U.S. special operations forces, separate from Timber Sycamore, the parallel covert program run by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[2] As of July 2015, only a group of 54 trained and equipped fighters (Division 30) had been reported to have been deployed, which was quickly routed by al-Nusra,[3] and a further 75 were reported in September 2015.[4]

  1. ^ Black, Ian (9 October 2015). "US axes $500m scheme to train Syrian rebels, says NYT". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bay of Pigs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Syrian commander of U.S.-trained fighters is kidnapped by Al-Qaida affiliate". Star Tribune. July 30, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference betray was invoked but never defined (see the help page).