The British S.A.S
Why does the British S.A.S seem so tough to many other countries? These men have to go through weeks of training is the blistering heat and freezing cold to prove that their bodies and minds can endure the harsh conditions. Warrant Officer Lofty Wiseman, the man who ran the course make a remark to the commanding officer stating, “The way I see it, sir, is that it’s Nature’s way of telling them they’ve failed.” The British Special Forces take some of the best men and push them to their limits, mentally and physically to test combat readiness and turn the average soldier into a undercover, war fighting machine.
The beginning of the S.A.S started in 1941. Their primary focus was undercover, reconnaissance, and classified
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missions. S.A.S stands for “special air service regiment.” They were originally used behind enemy lines during World War 2 under the name "L" Detachment. The regiment got off to a rough start but in the end became some of the most dangerous men of their time. This began Britain’s new era of an elite fighting force. The S.A.S was involved in a variety of different missions by the time World war 2 had ended they had been in action in italy, france, the Netherlands, and Germany. By the end of the war the regiment was no longer needed and was soon gotten rid of on october 8, 1945. Not to long after the S.A.S. got signed back as the “21 S.A.S. Regiment” on January 1947. This was the new begining to and this elite fighting group. The most recently ,well known operation that the S.A.S. was involved in was the Iraq War. They also joined forces with the Green Beret and Delta Force when seizing anti-aircraft guns and a very large amount of ammunition. They are an active force still to this day. They are involved in many country like, Libya, Iraq, and Syria. Many special forces groups model their forces off of the British S.A.S. tactics and training. The S.A.S.
has some brutal training that everyone must go through to be in the special forces. Their motto is, “who dares wins.” Only about 10% out of each class will pass and go on to be in the special force group. The rest has to either go home or have met their match within the training program. They only accept the best of the best and have no room to slack off.
The test starts out with a summer and winter course. They are both alike and not very easy. It begins a basic pft test just to make sure you have met basic requirements. Soon after they undergo a “beast march.” to the highest point in the Beacons with a 45 pound pack, an issued rifle, and water bottle. Next comes the 3 week land navigation course running the courses with an increase in weight and a decrease in endurance. Officers get hit even harder than the rest during officers week. The remaining are then placed into continuation training. This weeds out the group even more down to the last few men standing.
Men have been known to even die during training from heat exhaustion, dehydration, and other key factors. This course is excruciating to all but a dead set goal to others. This was never made for the faint at heart. It was designed to find the best of the best and weed out the rest. There are men that are very fit but the S.A.S. training is to push them past soreness and in to bone chilling pain and intense mental
training. Not only man power is applied but machine power as well. The S.A.S. has a wide variety of weaponry to be used in different situations they are applied to. They have used a lot of on ground equipment and have advanced dramatically due to modern technology advancements. They most often use weapons make by HK (heckler and Koch) arms. They use everything from short range to long range weapons and also many different explosives. The explosives could also be improvised if no explosives are one hand to deter the enemy. The most common bombat rifle is the m8 cabine. It is used for close, medium, and semi- long range. The next is the uciw or “ultra compact individual weapon”. This rifle is just a very short m4. They use m16, and m16 variants that are chambered are 5.56 nato. The sub-machine guns are used for high rate of fire in close quarters. They consist of the HK g3, HK33/53, hk mp5, and the mac-10. Another popular rifle among the group is also make by HK arms it is the HK G36. Now for long range and explosives! A good tactic is to pick off their enemy at a distance to keep from being captured the weapons of choice are the hk417, L96A1, and the AW 50 snipers. Each are designed to take shots at enemies and armed vehicles at long range and then quickly moving to a new location to keep from being detected. Now we get into things that make a boom! The mk19 which was used in the gulf war is a 40mm grenade launcher that can be mounted to an S.A.S vehicle. For air defence a shoulder- fired surface to air missile launcher named the stinger is used and so many more hand held grenade launchers and anti- personnel explosives to go along with it. These things make a British S.A.S soldier who they are. The brutal training makes the man as if they were the only one of their kind. The reason other countries model their special forces around the S.A.S is for these very reasons. They have the training, the experience, the weaponry and skill like no other. This is the reason their saying is “ who dares, wins”. If other counties would shape the way their special forces units run around the S.A.S. the world would be unstoppable. A lot of controversy has come about on how the soldiers are treated though. Their people say it's cruel or inhuman how they are forced the the point of almost death. They even put through simulated torture test and humiliation. How are they one of the best special forces in the world? They are the best for these very reasons. Pushing people to their limits and knowing how far you can go is how these men have got to where they are now. They wanted a challenge and that's what they got. It isn’t like they didn't know what they were getting into. These men wanted to know their limits and that's why who dares, wins After completing this course these people are no long man. The are man and machine willing to take on and overcome any obstacle in their path. Stuffing these extreme conditions has helped them know what they are actually capable of. These reasons are what makes a British S.A.S soldier. Now here is the real question are you up for the challenge? 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Collins, Tim. “Tested to Destruction: An Ex-SAS Officer Reveals the Terrifying Selection Process for Special Forces and Says That, despite This Weekend's Tragedy, Standards Must Not Slip...” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 16 July 2013, www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2364723/Tested-destruction-Ex-SAS-officer-reveals-terrifying-selection-process-special-forces.html. Coughlin, Con. “The SAS: a Very Special Force.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 30 Jan. 2013, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9837238/The-SAS-a-very-special-force.html. Ernst, Douglas. “British SAS Battle Requires Hand-to-Hand Combat; ISIS Fighter Drowned in Puddle.” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 3 July 2017, www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/3/british-sas-battle-requires-hand-to-hand-combat-is/. “SASRegiment.” About the SAS Regiment, www.sasregiment.org.uk/. “Special Air Service (SAS) Special Forces Weapons (Britain).” Military Weapons, www.militaryfactory.com/special-forces/british-sas-weapons.asp. “Unit History: 23 SAS (R).” 23 SAS (R) - Regiment History, War & Military Records & Archives, www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/4377/23-sas-r/. wikiHow. “How to Join the SAS.” WikiHow, WikiHow, 26 Feb. 2018, www.wikihow.com/Join-the-SAS. Wikipedia contributors. "Special Air Service." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 6 Mar. 2018. Web. 8 Mar. 2018
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Your physical exam from within 2 years from the time doing the a Rifle marksman ship
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