101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion



The 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion, known as the Sea Dragon Frogmen; not to be confused with other frogman unit within the ROC Armed Forces which is the Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit of the Republic of China Marine Corps, is a SCUBA trained combat swimming & diving as well as underwater demolitions focused special operations forces of the Republic of China Army.

The members of the 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion are commonly known as Sea Dragon Frogmen. The unit specializes in underwater, amphibious, and coastal reconnaissance operations.

Although they along with their ROC Marine counterpart (the ARP) often gets compared to the United States Navy SEALs because of their shared "Frogman" moniker, their role is quite unique being the only known official, relatively high-profile “frogman” unit under the branch of the Army. The closest analogous comparison for the 101st to their US counterpart would be the combat divers of the US Army Special Forces "Green Berets" or any other US Army special forces soldiers (e.g: US Army Ranger RRC) who have completed the Combat Diver Qualification Course. Along with other Taiwanese special operations forces they are expected to play a key role in any conflict with China especially in regards to land warfare.

History
The 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion was founded in 1949 with American assistance as a special purpose coastal surveillance, infiltration, and covert operations unit.

Unit members received a pay raise in 2017.

In 2019 the MoD commenced construction on two new bases on Kinmen and Penghu to support rapid deployments by the 101st.

In 2020 the US Army 1st Special Forces Group released a video which showed themselves training with the 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion in Taiwan.

Training
Applicants undergo a 15-week training course known as "the iron-man road" which follows a five-day qualification course. Only twenty percent of applicants make it through training. Inducted recruits receive their unit badge pinned to their bare chest.