Overstretched SAS calls up part-time troops for Afghanistan

[Jason Jarvis]

Here‘s a great little story from the Daily Telegraph -- I thought all you PRes types would find it interesting that the world‘s top SF unit has had to call up Territorials to meet operaitonal taskings.

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Overstretched SAS calls up part-time troops for Afghanistan

By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 28/12/2003)

The SAS, Britain‘s elite fighting unit, has been forced to call up part-time reservists to help in the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

The decision was forced on British commanders because all available full-time members of the regiment are taking part in operations in Iraq.

About 60 members of the Special Air Service‘s two territorial battalions, 21 and 23 SAS, have been taking part in operations against al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan for the past eight months.

The part-time troops were given the mission to carry on the fight against bin Laden‘s organisation just before the start of the war in Iraq when it became clear that the SAS did not have enough regular troops for both operations.

Initially, British commanders regarded the use of the territorials as a short-term solution to the problems facing the understrength and overstretched SAS, but the arrangement has remained in place.

A senior officer told the Telegraph: "Soldiers from 21 and 23 SAS were called up essentially because there was a shortage of special forces troops. The SAS are not supermen, they cannot do everything. The regiment is overstretched just like the rest of the Army. They simply did not have the manpower to conduct operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The obvious solution was to look to the territorial battalions for volunteers. This has happened before but not to the same extent. In the last Gulf war, around 15 SAS ex-service territorials did serve alongside the regulars. But this is a much larger operation."

There are about 120 full-time members of the SAS and about 80 members of the Royal Navy equivalent, the Special Boat Service, serving on operations in Iraq.

It is understood that the workload undertaken and the results achieved by the territorial SAS in Afghanistan have greatly impressed their American commanders, who are keen to keep using them on operations for as long as possible.

The SAS is composed of three battalions: 22 SAS, the regular unit based in Hereford; 21 SAS (Artists‘) Volunteer, based at the Duke of York barracks in London, and 23 SAS (Volunteer), which is based in Birmingham. The volunteers are drawn from a number of professions including, accountants, barristers and ex-servicemen.

Regular and territorial SAS units are trained in similar military techniques, such as close quarter battle, jungle warfare, demolitions and communications. The territorial‘s wartime role is long-range reconnaissance and this has been their primary function in Afghanistan.

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I guess we‘re not the only army to feel the pinch.

I‘d ask Doug if he can verify this, but I wouldn‘t expect an answer, OPSEC and all that. . . .

 

[pvandoremalen]

The SAS is the worlds most elite fighting regiment in the world. At any given time they have close to 600 soldiers including rear echelon and support troops. Overstretched is hardly the word I would use, I would rather have 600 well trained highly motivated spec ops troops rather then lower the bar on the selection phase and have double that number today. If the regiment is deployed at full strength in Iraq then that it is the priority of work before. For those who‘ve read CQB, Saber Squadron, and Bravo Two Zero you get the idea what the SAS can do when deployed on mass. They effectively put an effective stop the Scud threat in their AO as well as cause havoc and chaos to Iraqi supply lines. When I read Ultimate Risk which outlines the Regiments involvement in Afghanistan they were deployed early on during the Air Campaign and actually returned to Hereford for lack of action only to be sent back months later when Bush changed the emphasis for ops in Afghanistan. When returned they had one large contact which they iniated at an Al Queda opium storage facilty which was successful at the cost of 4 wounded out of a fighting force of 220, needless to say they wiped out their target at a large cost to Al Queda. By comparison Afghanistan is the quieter theater of Ops compared to Iraq where there are contacts every day. I stand by the SAS in deploying most of their strength in Iraq and send their reserve members to Afghanistan. Its not like the reserve troops aren‘t good soldiers it was even outlined in the article that the reserve SAS were doing their job well. Lastly there are members of the Royal Marines SBS and Royal Marine Commando units as well as Britains Parachute Regiment to support operations conducted by the Brits. The allied forces aren‘t limited to the use of British Spec ops forces they have an entire spec ops community on the ground from some of the best units in the world. Leave it to the tabloids to over emphasize the severity of the situation when there is no situation to begin with. Those are my thoughts and I do believe I‘m right on this one. :sniper:

 

[pvandoremalen]

The SAS is the worlds most elite fighting regiment in the world. At any given time they have close to 600 soldiers including rear echelon and support troops. Overstretched is hardly the word I would use, I would rather have 600 well trained highly motivated spec ops troops rather then lower the bar on the selection phase and have double that number today. If the regiment is deployed at full strength in Iraq then that it is the priority of work before. For those who‘ve read CQB, Saber Squadron, and Bravo Two Zero you get the idea what the SAS can do when deployed on mass. They effectively put an effective stop the Scud threat in their AO as well as cause havoc and chaos to Iraqi supply lines. When I read Ultimate Risk which outlines the Regiments involvement in Afghanistan they were deployed early on during the Air Campaign and actually returned to Hereford for lack of action only to be sent back months later when Bush changed the emphasis for ops in Afghanistan. When returned they had one large contact which they iniated at an Al Queda opium storage facilty which was successful at the cost of 4 wounded out of a fighting force of 220, needless to say they wiped out their target at a large cost to Al Queda. By comparison Afghanistan is the quieter theater of Ops compared to Iraq where there are contacts every day. I stand by the SAS in deploying most of their strength in Iraq and send their reserve members to Afghanistan. Its not like the reserve troops aren‘t good soldiers it was even outlined in the article that the reserve SAS were doing their job well. Lastly there are members of the Royal Marines SBS and Royal Marine Commando units as well as Britains Parachute Regiment to support operations conducted by the Brits. The allied forces aren‘t limited to the use of British Spec ops forces they have an entire spec ops community on the ground from some of the best units in the world. Leave it to the tabloids to over emphasize the severity of the situation when there is no situation to begin with. Those are my thoughts and I do believe I‘m right on this one. :sniper:

 

[Slim]

It doesn‘t sound so far fetched when you consider the taskings that they are responsible for as well as providing fighting troops for what ever war is the current thing.
-They have a sabre squadron on counter-terror duties full time, 365 days of the year.
-I believe they also have people with 14 Int in Ireland although that may be scaled down a bit now.
-They are responsible for training of various groups including the Royal Diplomatic Protection Group and other less well known organizations.
-Then consider leave, sick time, people rotating in and out ect.
-And the unit is probably not very large to begin with.

 

[pvandoremalen]

An SAS Saber squadron is a mechanized squadron utilizing the converted land rovers that are souped up with all sorts of things that go boom in the night. The SAS have a permanent Anti Terrorist role which is rotated between the Squadrons for 6month cycles. True the SAS have personal with the INT boys in Ireland and are responsible for training some of the higher end security companies. It extends farther then that they send training teams to foreign military‘s to develop other spec ops units. They have a tasking for a training cadre for the jungle ops phase of selection. And a hole multitude of taskings for individual members tasked out in advisory roles and training courses. :soldier:

 

[Bringer]

The Americans have been using their reserve SF units essentially since the start of hostilities.

That said, the Americans have a much different approach to their National Guard and Reserves than most other countries.

 

[Jeff Boomhouwer]

The reservists down south are not the same as our come-out when you want weekend warriors that we have. Mind you they also have employment protection and more mulla. Can you imagine if every moelitia member would show up on every ex? The shortages would be enormous."Here is your round, and here is your IMP for you and your section......."!!We would have been callad up ages ago. Can you imagine the public outcry?

 

[pvandoremalen]

The problem in the reserves right now is not in funding but in the commitment put out by the troops. Most reserve units are lucky to have half of the their personal on a parade night. Whats the point in investing more money in units that lack motivation to train whenever they can. Its up to troops to put forward the effort and make the best out of a fiscal situation. How much money does it cost to do dry fire section attacks or ruck marches. I‘d still be soldiering reguardless of equipment. You can still do the job with any ratty *** web gear and rucksack. Its just a matter of style, sure it would be nice to have a cadpat rucksack and lbv but we don‘t are troops any less effective with 82rucks and web gear. Most of the people complaining are a bunch of whiners and should take a serious look at the proffession they‘ve gotten themselves into. :akimbo:

 

[Slim]

Originally posted by Light Infantry Soldier:
[qb] An SAS Saber squadron is a mechanized squadron utilizing the converted land rovers that are souped up with all sorts of things that go boom in the night.[/qb]

A Sabre squadron is mad up of four troops;

1 Mountain.
2.Mobility.
3.Freefall ( I believe) is the third.
4. Headquarters.
They are not always mechanized.

 

[Evan]

heres a good book on the sas(from a guy who was in it)and his adventures:CLOSE QUARTER BATTLE by Mike Curtis, it explains the rotation of the different groups , training, and battle. just thought i‘d through that in

 

[Redeye]

Light Infantry Soldier, you should take books like Sabre Squadron and Bravo Two Zero with a gigantic grain of salt. There a have been subsequent works which have disproved many of the claims made in books such as those. You should check out the thread about Michael Asher‘s book, The Real Bravo Two Zero... his investigation of the story is very good. As is another book, mentioned in that thread, Eye of the Storm, by the RSM of 22 SAS, which debunks most of the books that appeared after the Gulf War.

 

[chrisf]

"Ghost Force: Secret History of the SAS" (Yes, I know the title sounds like it‘s fiction, but it‘s not) is an excellent read on the subject. Written by a retiree with about 20 years in the SAS, not dry, definitly worth the time it takes to read.

The chapter on tear gas and training with it are quite interesting, and also quite humorous (Part of it details working with attack dogs at one point in tear gas... the handler was wearing a mask, and couldn‘t call off the dog, so he took off his mask, and was immediately incapaciated. So they decided to try and build up an immunity to the gas... working with small amounts and no mask, and increasing the dosage slightly each time... eventually it reached the point where they left the training sight, walked into the mess, and the dust on their clothes alone was enough to incapacitate everyone in the mess)

"Secret Warfare" [Adrian Weale] is a good read on special forces at large. I couldn‘t seem to find it on Amazon though. I bought my copy at a Cole‘s book store a couple of years ago.

 

[pvandoremalen]

I was referring to the Saber Squadron used in the context as they were deployed in Iraq during desert storm. Saber Squadrons are comprised of four troops Mobility, Mountain, Free Fall, and Boat, as I understand it the headquarters group is represented by each of the troop leaders and they form a sort of Chinese parliament. Who was it who said that SAS books should be taken with a grain of salt. I agree with that but the only authors who seem to take flak from fellow authors are Chris Ryan and Andy McNab on the controversial Bravo Two Zero patrol. I haven‘t quoted anything by either of them just Saber Squadron and CQB so far. Although I have read The Real Bravo Two Zero and my opinion is that no matter how you boil the facts down there are two bedrock facts that remained the same in both books. The 8 man patrol was stuck out in the worst winter in fifty years without proper warm kit and they were captured save for Chris who got away. They went through a lot so who cares if they write some books make some money and live the good life, they deserve don‘t they. We should be so fortunate, the only reason the author of The Real Bravo Two Zero wrote his book was to get a piece of the money. :fifty:

 

[Jeff Boomhouwer]

Dry fire section attacks and ruck marches all weekend? I have a problem with that. It‘s called retenion. CQB was an enteraining read but you really have to take those stories with a gain of salt. And Andy Mcnab‘s tail (bravo two zero) what a wanker. What moron thought is was a good idea to hump through enemy terrian with 200+ LBS of kit not test coms have no real E&E plan no detailed maps then when everything goes to s**t keep going instead of counting your losses going home to fight another day?He sounds like rupert material to me. Don‘t get me wrong I respect those guys but the stories sound a little exaggerated.

 

[pvandoremalen]

Nothing wrong with lots of ruck marches and section attacks. I‘m not saying thats the whole training routine but infantry ex‘s comprise mostly of section/pln attacks and long tabs. Yes I agree McNab should have known and prepared for the weather what kind of troop doesn‘t pack warm kit especially for the desert. You‘d think a veteran SAS sergeant would know it would be cold at night in the desert. Most of the gear they packed was ammo, water, food and LUP stores. The stores were ditched when they left their initial LUP, given the terrain they were justified in bringing that much gear. They thougt they would be digging in and cam netting the top to get below eye level. Its just luck that they found that gully. The mission was fubar as soon they hit the ground but they did the only thing they could do, soldier on and start tabbing to Syria.What could they do with a ****e radio when their mission was to call in Air Support on ground target. The author who wrote The Real Bravo Two Zero wasn‘t there at the time and doesn‘t deserve to pass judgement on the patrol members or leader. They came from the best regiment in the world, they said it was a hard go and thats good enough for me. I‘m not trying to step on anybodys toes, thats just the way I feel about what I read. :soldier:

 

[Redeye]

I don‘t think Michael Asher passed judgment on anyone in his book, except to seek to exonerate Vince Phillips, who was blamed for the whole thing when it seems that a series of misfortunes and poor decisions is what sealed the patrol‘s fate. Conveniently, by being dead, he couldn‘t defend himself. It was that that many SAS troops are said to find most odious about "Andy McNab".

No one can argue that they were a tough bunch of troops, but one wonders why they felt the need to trump up their tales when the real story is still pretty impressive.

As for the other books you mentioned, I can‘t remember CQB too well, though I‘ve read it some time ago, but "Cameron Spence"‘s Sabre Squadron is as bad as BTZ. See Radcliffe‘s "Eye of the Storm", where he spends a chapter or two tearing "Serious"‘ story to shreds, because much of it is outright lies.

 

[pvandoremalen]

You have a point Chris Ryan tore up Vince Phillips pretty bad in his books or so I‘m told I haven‘t found The One That Got Away yet. Most of the authors are retired from the Regiment and are looking for some good cash to retire on. I can hardly blame them if they exaggerate their experiences a little, and I‘m not saying they are. There was a good book I read awhile ago on the Paras in the Falklands on a platoon MG det cmndr, it was pretty good but I can‘t for the life of me remember its name. I‘m a fan of British Military books and am always looking for my next read.

 

[Slim]

Try this book. I have owned and reread it for many years and enjoyed it every time.

Falklands Commando
By: Capt Hugh McManners, Forward Observation-Naval Gunfire Support. Royal Artillery.

 

[pvandoremalen]

That was a good book, is that about the foo who was attached to the SAS observing Port Stanley.

 

[Slim]

Originally posted by Light Infantry Soldier:
[qb] That was a good book, is that about the foo who was attached to the SAS observing Port Stanley. [/qb]

yes, glad to see I‘m not the only one that enjoyed it so much.