Wars and ConflictsΒ permalink
Specialist units
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Message 1.Β
Posted by Rusty (U11037352) on Friday, 9th May 2008
1.What of sort person joins specialist units like SAS or delta force?
2.Are these guys really elite troops?
3.What makes them elite?
4. Due to the nature of the job,are specialist troops more likely to have kill someone than regular troops? -
Message 2
Posted by Mani (U1821129) on Friday, 9th May 2008
rustybrain
I wasn't in the SAS, but I was in the Parachute Regiment Special Operations Group.
1.) People who want to push themselves; be the best they can be at a given profession.
2.) Yes. You don't get in otherwise.
3.) Training and ability. Like any job, there are some better than others. The cream rises to the top as such.
4.) Not necessarily. Special forces can be more about intel. -
Message 3
Posted by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper (U519668) on Friday, 9th May 2008
Rusty -
I would go along with Mani on this question....
Four of us were "invited" to volunteer for a special job - by a chap called Major Geoffrey Pine -Coffin - ominously enough - so we went off to Oxford - jumping out of tethered balloons - sending morse code to each other - signing the official secrets act -being looked at by various "boffins" etc -
I was sent back - the others went off and jumped into Yugoslavia where Brig.Fitzroy McLean was assisting the rebels -
Met Bob Cross later in Rome - he only lost a leg ....."couldn't find it anywhere" he said !
Met up with the two Pine-Coffin brothers in Salisbury after the war - had a few laughs ! Obviously I didn't have what was needed for the job ! Roy Farran of the SAS - my good friend in Calgary - was extra special with a DSO and three MC's.
They were all "special" -
Message 4
Posted by goz666 (U11487053) on Friday, 9th May 2008
I agree with mani also, I know two lads from my area and both served with the SAS. You wouldn't give either of them a second glance,and if told they were ex-SAS would probably laugh because one of them is only about 5'5" tall. Tough lads,that look like nobodies.
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Message 5
Posted by Mani (U1821129) on Friday, 9th May 2008
goz666
I would agree with that - All of the SAS guys I served with (A few of the guys from the Paras went on to the SAS when I went off to the SOG) - you wouldn't know at all - all average looking blokes. I was the only one in the SOG that stood out - I'm 6' 4" and heavy build - I was a rarety.
In the bars in Germany I knew some of the SAS guys, (SOG and SAS served quite close and together in a few areas)they would be the quiet ones in the corner minding their own business. -
Message 6
Posted by stalteriisok (U3212540) on Friday, 9th May 2008
funnily enough - nearly all books i have read about special services - esp sas - personal and general accounts, seem to be concentrated on the observation aspect of the job
the bits where they sit in muddy holes, collecting their own cr-p in a bag, and breathing very slowly and quietly for days on end
presumably because these troops have demonstrated their immense mental toughness in their selection process they are ideally suited for the job
anyone can pull the trigger - the hard bit is NOT pulling the trigger
st -
Message 7
Posted by Mani (U1821129) on Saturday, 10th May 2008
stalteriisok
You have summed up about three years of my life!
You almost had to meditate - infact a few of tyhe guys (myself included) took lessons in Yoga and meditation to help us. -
Message 8
Posted by WarsawPact (U1831709) on Saturday, 10th May 2008
From 'Secret Armies' by James Adams 1989:
"It is interesting to note that there is a marked physical difference between the men from Delta Force and those from the SAS. The vast majority of Delta men are superb physical specimens. By contrast, their SAS counterparts tend to be rather thin, wiry men." -
Message 9
Posted by stalteriisok (U3212540) on Saturday, 10th May 2008
Mani
iknow the military like to collect souveniours from war zones - please tell me u didnt keep any of those bags lol -(13th feb 2002 - curry)
have u a sneaky beaky tale u can tell us ??
warsaw pact
read the same sort of thing about an sas - delta force exchange
one of the delta force tests was to shin up a rope 50ft high using only the arms
so the sas lad - who had tabbed 30 miles through the brecons, could sit in a wet scrape for 3 days, passed all the selection tests - failed df tests !!
the delta force lads apparently werent too worried about this "failure" and invited him to join them (anyone read this)
st -
Message 10
Posted by U3280211 (U3280211) on Saturday, 10th May 2008
Mani is right in his replies.
If you are willing to invest a little time in research, you might enjoy Alan Hoe's book,
"David Sterling: the authorised biography of the Creator of the S.A.S."
(1992),Warner books, ISBN 0 7515 0245 6
It runs to 507 pages in pb, but will answer most of your questions about the 'type' he was looking for.
A trip to his burial place (on rising ground above the shores of Loch Morar) can be inspirational.
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