Editing Commando (section)

{{Short description|Elite light infantry combatant}}
{{Other uses}}

[[File:Royal_Marines_in_Sangin_MOD_45151554.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2| [[Royal Marines]] from [[40 Commando]] on patrol in the [[Sangin]] area of [[Afghanistan]] are pictured]]A '''commando''' is a combatant, or operative of an elite [[light infantry]] or [[special operations force]], specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/commando|title=Commando definition and meaning &#124; Collins English Dictionary}}</ref>

Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opposed to an individual in that unit. In other languages, ''commando'' and ''kommando'' denote a "[[Command (military formation)|command]]", including the sense of a military or an elite special operations unit. In the militaries and governments of most countries, commandos are distinctive in that they specialize in unconventional assault on [[high-value target]]s.

In English, to distinguish between an individual commando and a commando unit, the unit is occasionally capitalized.<ref name="Dobbie">{{Cite journal |last=Dobbie |first=Elliott V. K. |date=April 1944 |title=The Word 'Commando' |journal=[[American Speech]] |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=81–90 |doi=10.2307/487007 |jstor=487007}}</ref>

The term "para-commando" may be used to combine the roles of [[paratrooper]] and commando.

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