With the constant development of warfare and military strategy, UP Manila, a young ROTC unit at that, learned
the importance of urban aspect of military operations. During the school year of 1997-1998, then Cadet Captain Tyronito Anthony
Gerard G Calo, a second classman, initiated the idea of specialization, and further, in the creation of a team of specially
trained cadets in urban and guerrilla warfare. The first classmen supported the idea, and the Commandant of Cadets approved
the formation of another unit. This is the start of the Strike Force.
The Strike Force was conceptualized to be the most combat-ready unit of the UP Manila ROTC, if not the ROTC
program. Only the UP Diliman Rangers unit could compare with their training. They were trained by specialists in military
tactics and technical procedures (such as explosives and ordnance disposal), and their program of instruction is not the usual
(UP Manila ROTC units have more lessons than the usual POI, for unit specialization, but SF POI is even tougher) for ROTC
cadets. As such, their training methods are, again, unconventional and above-the-ordinary.
