Origin of Commando term

11.1 Origin Of The Word 'Commando'.

Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 09:06:48 +0000
From: John Pinkham

"Commando" comes from the Afrikaans ( South African Dutch)word "Kommando", which describes a unit of the Boer militia. The Boers borrowed the word from the Spanish and Portuguese.

"Yankee" is probably a derivative of "Jan Kees", or John Cheese, an affectionate Dutch colonial term for English settlers in New England. On the other hand, it may have described their aroma in those pre Old Spice days.

In WWII the British had attack teams-groups that were called a "Commando" instead of saying a "squad or specially deadlier troops".

I served in the Royal Marines Commandos from 1974 till 1999 when I retired. I will dig out the characteristics of a commando. I have thought a few times that it sounds like a lot of the make up of a Norton owner.

Four elliments of Cdo Spirit.

Courage. Determination. Unselfishness. Cheerfulness in the face of adversity. Sounds a lot like owning a Cdo......

RM Cdo ethos.

Individual Cdo spirit. Collective group values. Courage. Unity. Determination. Adaptability. Unselfishness. Humility. Cheerfulness. Professional standards. Fortitude. Cdo Humour.

Sorry if this doesn't go down with some people, but, I am very proud of my Corps.

It goes down good bro, some wholesome values there and not all centered on aggression and superiority complex like I half expected.

When I was a kid in the 70's I was really into WW2 history.
Probably started off from reading WW2 comics...

Building and collecting Airfix kits...

and movies...

The Commandos were the best.

Hitler loved'em!! - all caught would be shot, says it all really.