Formed in 1941 amid fears of a Japanese advance into southern Africa, the Southern Rhodesian Commandos were trained in bushcraft, guerrilla warfare, demolitions, and the kind of field skills that don’t come from a classroom. Those who made the cut earned the distinctive Cobra badge.
Drawn from men already at home in the African bush, the Cobras were built on self-reliance, fieldcraft, aggression, and the ability to operate where comfort was not an option. The unit was short-lived, but the standard carried on, with its hard-earned bush skills feeding into the same Rhodesian tradition represented in units like the Long Range Desert Group.
Their motto said it plainly: “All Together.” One unit. One standard. One purpose. Stay zero.