Inside New KDF Marine Commando Unit Securing Kenya's Shoreline Kenya's Marine Commandos pictured during a training exercise... File In 2020, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) began training an elite first-of-its-kind group of marine commandos, a special unit with very special skills. The unit is an addition to the list of small but highly trained forces whose numbers have drastically gone up since the start of Operation Linda Nchi, when Kenyan military entered Somalia nine years ago. On January 5, 2020, three Americans were killed when al-Shabab attacked the Manda Bay military base in Kenya. This among other attempts by the outlawed militia necessitated the formation of this new elite force specialized in neutralizing threats at sea.