5 Commando (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
The 5 Commando was a mercenary unit of the Congolese National Army (Armée Nationale Congolaise, or ANC) formed in response to the Simba rebellion. They were trained to be commandos, and had their own air support unit. 5 Commando was active from 1964 to 1967. Mercenary recruitment In December 1963, a Communist-inspired rebellion broke out in Kwilu Province. It was initially a tribal dispute that grew to a challenge against the Central Government. Although it remained relatively minor, it marked the start of a spreading wave of rebellions against the current Congo central government. As unrest spread, leftist rebels established a Committee for National Liberation in Kivu, inspired by the late Patrice Lubumba. In 1964, Moïse Tshombe returned from self-exile in Spain and declared himself as the only person who could bring about unity between the warring factions. His popularity and political acumen led him to being appointed as Prime Minister on 6 July 1964. By August, the rebellion had turned to limited civil war, and the Simba rebels were marching on Stanleyville, taking control of the city on 5 August 1964. The routing of the ANC and capitulation of the capital city of Orientale Province came as a shock to the government, Belgium, as well as to the United States. However, unlike the secessionist uprising of 1961, the United Nations and the United States did not wish to engage in direct intervention against the rebels. Based on Tshombe's 1961 experiences in Katanga, as well as America's reluctance for direct involvement, the Prime Minister contracted mercenaries to address the rebellion. Formation In July 1964, Jerry Puren (a former mercenary officer in the Katangese Air Force) started recruiting mercenaries to support the Congolese Army on request of the Congolese Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe. Puren focused his efforts in South Africa and alerted 200 men of possible employment as mercenaries. The ex-British military officer, Mike Hoare, had known Tshombe and had served as one of his officers in 1961 and was the designated commander for the mercenary force. Puren was to be in charge of air operations. Second in command was former executive officer of the Rhodesian Special Air Services, Alastair Wicks, who had also served with both Hoare and Tshombe in 1961. Recruitment centers were established in South Africa and in both North and Southern Rhodesia. Hoare placed newspaper ads in the South African Johannesburg Star newspaper and in Salisbury newspapers (modern Harare, Zimbabwe) calling upon physically fit white men "...capable of marching 20 miles per day and who were fond of combat and were "tremendous romantics" to join 5 Commando." Contracts were for six months and basic pay was advertised at $280USD per month, plus $420USD danger pay and 37,000 Congolese francs as a monthly allowance. NCOs received basic pay of $400USD and senior officers were compensated with $1,100 in USD per month. Compensation of US$19,000 was payable to next of kin in the event of death. "Adventurers" from South Africa, many of whom had fought with Moise Tshombe in