Opposing force

Canada The Canadian Armed Forces has OPFOR units from the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre. China France In the French Army, a FORAD (, enemy force) is used to train the army, in both the (CENTAC, Combat Training Center) of Mailly-le-Camp Declassed AMX-30 tanks were used to simulate Soviet T-72s, until 2018. Republic of Korea Japan United States replicating a Mi-24 at Fort Irwin in 1985 There are three major training centers that utilize home-based OPFOR units for the US Army: • The National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California—home unit is the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (the Blackhorse) • The Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana—home unit is the 1st Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (the Geronimos) • The Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC)—formerly known as the Combat Maneuver Training Center (CMTC)—at Hohenfels, Germany—home unit is the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment (Separate) (the Warriors) Over time, the Army has patterned the OPFOR units after real or imagined opponents and given them various fictional names, even though the US Army denies any resemblance. "Circle Triagonists" - patterned after the Wehrmacht from 1947 to 1978. "Krasnovians" - patterned after the Soviet Red Army from 1978 to 1990 at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin. The People's Republic of Pineland - a make believe foe for Army Special Forces candidates to face in their final test. The Island of Aragon - an invasion scenario for troops to play out at the US Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Attica - a crisis to handle at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Various US military installations or major units have their own local versions of opposing force used for training exercises. The joint Australian–US military exercise "Crocodile '03" featured an Australian-led opposing force in which soldiers from a range of Australian units worked together with a US Marine Corps contingent. Several state defense forces have served as OPFOR units when training with the National Guard. The California State Guard, the Georgia State Defense Force, and the New York Guard have provided OPFOR services to their respective National Guard counterparts. In 2018, the Georgia State Defense Force established the OPFOR Battalion to assist National Guard Soldiers with pre-deployment training. Ranks Officer ranks Circle Triagonist rank and collar tabs came in various colors - Red (rifle), White (artillery), Yellow (armor), Light Blue (airborne), Black (engineer), Tan (signal), Purple (chemical corps), Orange (propaganda) Other ranks Often, the colour of the epaulette shows what specialisation the particular OPFOR soldier has. Green is worn by everyday soldiers, red by fusiliers, and blue by airborne forces. == Gallery ==

Personnel File:Militairen van 11 Pantserinfanteriebataljon Garderegiment.jpg|Dutch soldiers of 11 Pantserinfanteriebataljon Garderegiment Grenadiers wearing mohawk-style additions on their helmets to denote opposing force status. File:Multinational forces tackle Exercise Kiwi Koru challenges 141113-F-AD344-172.jpg|New Zealand Defence Force soldier denoting opposing force status by wearing Desert Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) in a temperate environment. File:Royal Marine Commando Display Team at Bournemouth Air Festival 2009 (3852794973).jpg|Scene from a simulated Royal Marines beach landing during the 2009 Bournemouth Air Festival; "opposing force" Marine is bareheaded and wears Desert DPM, "blue force" Marines in the background wear berets, camouflage face paint, and woodland DPM. File:Royal Marines, commando assault demo, Viking vehicle (28167968570).jpg|Royal Marine "opposing force" members during a 2016 assault demonstration; they wear Tropentarn uniforms and soft hats while the assaulting "blue force" Marines would be wearing MTP uniforms with Mk 7 helmets. File:Multinational forces conducts a culminating training exercise for Justified Accord 2024 (8279875).jpg|British Army soldier denoting opposing force status by wearing a blue-and-grey version of DPM (this version of the pattern being the only one to see continued use in British service). File:CENZUB-FORAD.JPG|A sniper from the French CENZUB opposing force wearing a blue-and-gray version of Camouflage Central-Europe. File:Exercise BEVERLY BULLDOG DF-SD-03-17733.jpg|51st Fighter Wing airman denoting opposing force status by wearing his Battle Dress Uniform back to front (note the contrast of the uniform with the individual integrated fighting system vest that is also being worn). File:U.S. Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment conduct a change of command ceremony for incoming commander Lt. Col. Barry Carlson and outgoing commander Lt. Col. Mitchell Watkins at Warrior Field 130702-A-WB953-454.jpg|4th Infantry Regiment soldiers wearing United States Army opposing force uniform (Battle Dress Uniform in black with olive 'OPFOR' shoulder title) File:Northern Strike 23-1 "OPFOR" builds readiness, challenges visiting units 230126-Z-ZH169-1005.jpg|Michigan National Guard OPFOR wearing tiger stripe camouflage uniform and carrying a simulated RPG-7. File:OPFOR Shirt GRN and Shoulder Boards GRN, BLK, RED.jpg|OPFOR rank insignia mimicking the Soviet style (used during the Cold War) Vehicles File:The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H14956.jpg|49th Royal Tank Regiment Matilda II with swastika and Iron Cross markings to denote opposing force status during a 1941 exercise in Dover. File:Operation force Surrogate Vehicle.jpg|An , visually modified M113 APC replicating a Soviet BMP at NTC, Fort Irwin, CA File:MT-LB US Marines.jpg|US Marines using a former Soviet MT-LB vehicle as part of the OPFOR during an exercise File:OPFOR T-72 at Camp Pendleton, USA.JPEG|T-72M1 used by the 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 1st Marine Division of US Marines at Camp Pendleton during Kernel Blitz 1997 exercise File:Warrior_Infantry_Fighting_Vehicle_MOD_45149219.jpg|FV510 Warrior and other British vehicles in a green-and-tan paint scheme; while normally associated with BATUS, the paint scheme denotes opposing force status if used on the British mainland (as in this photograph). == Notes ==