Secret war of the SAS

The SAS and SBS - who often fight on land despite their naval connections - have been involved in America’s secret worldwide special forces activities since the start of the war on terror, operating alongside Delta, Seal Team Six and an ultra-secret US unit known as Task Force Orange. But Iraq has brought the differences between the two military cultures into sharp focus.

“The problem from the start was that operational training and procedures for the top UK and US special operations forces are vastly different,” one British source said.

In Iraq, British special forces aim to merge into the background, driving battered local cars and wearing cheap clothes bought in markets. They looked on aghast at their US colleagues who initially drove around in new Dodge pickups.

News Link


I seriously recommend this to anyone interested in the way the American and British Special Forces operate in Iraq. It shows just how differently the units operate, it’s really quite surprising just how “trigger happy” the SAS view the Americans.

Hopefully this will give people a perception from the SAS and SBS’s side.

Mod Edit: Reduced External Quote.


[edit on 21/9/2007 by Mirthful Me]

Looks like the British special forces are a lot smarter than the U.S. special forces. Shades of the old FBI.

If this is indeed true, then there's a lot we have to learn from our British counterparts.

I don't know about the SAS but all the SOCOM guys I've met have been outstanding and honorable men. It's not the normal function of these guys to make friends in enemy territory. Their normal function is to kill things and to blow them up. That's what the military does best. It's just too bad our leaders have such distorted and ambitious plans.

Originally posted by SevenThunders
I don't know about the SAS but all the SOCOM guys I've met have been outstanding and honorable men. It's not the normal function of these guys to make friends in enemy territory. Their normal function is to kill things and to blow them up. That's what the military does best. It's just too bad our leaders have such distorted and ambitious plans.

My bold. It is here that the real misconception about special forces lie. The job of UKSF is not simply to "kill people and blow them up". Their primary roles are int gathering, recce, deep infiltration, and other such tasks that require a high degree of aptitude and military skill. Yes, they do often kill the enemy, but this is not their primary role in the vast majority of conflicts.

"The differences between the way US and British special forces operate became clear early in the war on terror. In Afghanistan in December 2001 a four-man Special Boat Service (SBS) team was 20 minutes behind the fleeing Osama Bin Laden when it was ordered to let the Americans take over. By the time the US special operations troops arrived several hours later, Bin Laden had escaped."

Just read that in the link you provided, i think if i wrote what i truly felt about this i'd get banned.

The Australia SAS originally was based upon the training methods of the British SAS and then further expanded on it.

Which is why the Brits and Aussies are far superior when it comes to covert operations than the American would like to admit.

Let me explain before you all start to fire-up with comments against me.

During the Afghanistan campaign, I think it was Operation Anaconda, one of the bigger ones, there were actually a few Aussie SAS members positioned within the American Special Forces groups and US Artillery groups just to make sure that they wouldnt fire upon Australian solidiers and positions.

This is the amount of trust we have for you Yanks, based on your history of friendly fire incidents.

No offence aginst you guys, but this was "Just to be safe" and in more than one instance, it got pretty bloody close.

I think both US and British special forces can learn a lot from each other (I wasn't aware of how big a gulf there was between their doctrines), and I'm appalled at the arrogance of some US commanders not allowing British special ops teams to carry out high profile missions. Does it really matter that much? As long as the job's done, surely whether its Delta or the SAS doesn't make any difference. Thanks to this, the man who masterminded the deaths of more than 3,000 innocent people in New York and Washington escaped by a whisker. One would hope that lessons were learned from that experience. Shame on the US general who put publicity before justice for his fellow countrymen. Americans have a right to be angry at this person.

Another article in the Times from today's edition is also pretty interesting about the Gurkhas, Nepalese warriors who join the British Army. This time it's focus is Afghanistan, and how the Gurkha Regiment is well-suited to the conflict there. Quite an interesting (and sometimes neglected) section of the UK's armed forces.

SAS = National Treasure

I think both have allot to learn from ninjitsu.

reply to post by SevenThunders


I suggest you read Shadow Warriors by Tom Clancy, which is basically an interview with retired General Carl Stiner, who was CINCSOCOM during Desert Storm I.

This book really shows how the myth of special ops being a job where you get "to kill things and to blow them up" is totally incorrect. Special Ops also includes Civil Affairs and Psyops, which doesnt necessarily mean MK-ULTRA like stuff, we are talking leaflets and propoganda sort of stuff. In times of instability, when you see refugee camps on TV, you will usually find it was an SF ODA that set it all up and got it running.

All I am trying to say, is that its not all Bombs and Bullets, there is much more to it.

CT