The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and special reconnaissance. Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government or the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations.
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Royal Navy formed special forces with several name changes—Special Boat Company was adopted in 1951 and re-designated as the Special Boat Squadron in 1974—until on 28 July 1987 when the unit was renamed as the Special Boat Service after assuming responsibility for maritime counter-terrorism. Most of the operations conducted by the SBS are highly classified, and are rarely commented on by the British government or the Ministry of Defence, owing to their sensitive nature.
Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an eight-man British Army Special Air Service (SAS) patrol, deployed into Iraq during the First Gulf War in January 1991. According to Chris Ryan's account, the patrol was given the task of gathering intelligence, finding a good lying-up position (LUP), setting up an observation post (OP), and monitoring enemy movements, especially Scud missile launchers on the Iraqi Main Supply Route (MSR) between Baghdad and northwestern Iraq; however, according to Andy McNab's account, the task was to find and destroy Iraqi Scud missile launchers along a 250 km stretch of the MSR.
Steven Billy Mitchell, usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Andy McNab, is a novelist and former Special Air Service soldier.
The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award was established in 1916, with retrospective application to 1914, and was awarded to other ranks for "acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire". The award was discontinued in 1993, when it was replaced by the Military Cross, which was extended to all ranks, while other Commonwealth nations instituted their own award systems in the post war period.
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a tier 1 special reconnaissance unit of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).
Ultimate Force is a British television action drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of Red Troop of the SAS. The first episode was broadcast on 16 September 2002, and a total of four series were produced. The series starred Ross Kemp as central character Staff Sergeant Henry 'Henno' Garvie. The show was initially described as a star vehicle for Kemp, who had been lured away from the BBC to ITV with a multimillion-pound contract. Kemp appeared in every episode of the four series.
Bravo Two Zero is a 1999 two-hour television miniseries, based on the 1993 book of the same name by Andy McNab. The film covers real life events – from the perspective of Andy McNab, patrol commander of Bravo Two Zero, a British SAS patrol, tasked to find Iraqi Scud missile launchers during the Gulf War in 1991. The names of the patrol members killed were changed.
The Unit is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force.
The Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) is a special forces unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to provide support to the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment on operations. It is a tri-service unit, composed of the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment,, a company of Royal Marine Commandos, and a flight (platoon) from the Royal Air Force Regiment.
Hunting Chris Ryan is a documentary produced by the BBC in 2003. It comprised three hour-long episodes, each pitting SAS veteran Chris Ryan against a four-man "Hunter Force" whilst he completed a set objective, his mission being evasion and ultimately extraction once the objective was complete. The series was re-released in the United States as Special Forces: Manhunt, broadcast on Discovery's The Military Channel.
UK Joint Special Forces Selection is the selection and training process for candidates of the United Kingdom Special Forces: Special Air Service, Special Boat Service, and Special Reconnaissance Regiment. Members of the SAS and SBS undergo selection up to the award of a sand-coloured beret to SAS personnel, whereupon SBS candidates undergo further selection to qualify as Swimmer Canoeists, and SAS personnel undergo further specialist training. SRR candidates undergo the Aptitude Phase, before going on to their own specialist covert surveillance & reconnaissance training.
The history of the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) regiment of the British Army begins with its formation during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, and continues to the present day. It includes its early operations in North Africa, the Greek Islands, and the Invasion of Italy. The Special Air Service then returned to the United Kingdom and was formed into a brigade with two British, two French and one Belgian regiment, and went on to conduct operations in France, Italy again, the Low Countries and finally into Germany.
Michael Asher is an English desert explorer, writer, historian, deep ecologist, and educator. He has been acknowledged as one of the world's leading experts on the desert and its nomadic peoples. He has travelled and lived in the Sahara and the Arabian desert, published both non-fiction and fiction works based on his explorations and encounters, and presented several documentaries based on his published works.
Andy McNab's Tour of Duty is a British documentary television series about the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War.
Major Peter Ratcliffe, is a former British Army soldier and commissioned officer who served in the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service in a career of almost thirty years, during which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry in action during the Gulf War. He is the author of the book The Eye of the Storm (2000).
Bravo Two Zero is a 1993 book written under the pseudonym 'Andy McNab'. The book is a partially fictional account of an SAS patrol that becomes compromised while operating behind enemy lines in Iraq, in 1991. The patrol was led by the author and included another future writer, 'Chris Ryan'.
The One That Got Away is a 1995 book written under the pseudonym 'Chris Ryan' concerning the SAS patrol Bravo Two Zero, which was dropped behind enemy lines in Iraq in 1991. The author was a member of the patrol and tells of his 8 day escape on foot to the Syrian border.
Strike Back is a British/American action-adventure/spy-drama television series based on the 2007 novel of the same name by novelist and former Special Air Service soldier Chris Ryan. The series follows the actions of Section 20, a secretive branch of the British Secret Intelligence Service, who operate several high risk, priority missions around the world. The six-part first series began broadcasting on Sky One on 5 May 2010.
