101 Battalion was a quick-reaction unit of the South West African Territorial Force. The unit was formed in January 1976 as 1 Owambo Battalion, renamed to 35 Battalion in January 1978, 35 Battalion recruited exclusively among the Owambo. and were only given basic training, but this changed after 1978 when the training intensified with an emphasis on rural counterinsurgency operations.
A significant development in 101’s operations occurred during 1982 with the adaption of Koevoet tactics to a military context. The Reaction Force concept or Romeo Mike developed into two Special Service Companies (901 and 903) in 1984 and a further two (902 and 904) by 1985
