ROLE OF ARMY S.A.S. UNIT EXPLAINED

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31755, 12 August 1968, Page 14

ROLE OF ARMY S.A.S. UNIT EXPLAINED

Ignorance about the true role of the Special Air Service could be one of the main reasons why the Army's elite unit is below its established strength. At Burnham Military Camp last week an S.A.S. troop commander, Lieutenant T. N. Culley, said too many rumours and half truths ra'her than accurate knowledge were spread about the unit and its function. Lieutenant Culley and a recruiting team of five are visiting all Army camps in the Dominion to arouse interest in the S.A.S. and recruit at least 20 volunteers. What the service sought to achieve, said Lieutenant Culley, was a surplus of men who could be called on if ever the S.A.S. should be committed to some specific task. Although the unit had no overseas commitments at present it was always ready to go.

The Regular Force strength ! of the S.A.S: is 85, and it has 55 territorials. At last 90 per cent have had overseas experience. S.A.S. men must be proficient in a number of special-! ists skills such as the use of small boats, demolition,! radio operations, medical knowledge, diving, parachuting, use of a variety of weapons, and self-defence. Because of the different tasks which the unit had, the S.A.S. had certain equipment with which the Regular Army was not issued. These included canoes, rubber rafts, clig-climbing gear, radio sets, which were more powerful, compact and lighter than those on standard issue. The unit would soon be equipped with freefall parachutes which were designed to increase its operational capabilities. With these parachutes paratroopers would be able to jump from aircraft flying in cloud cover at a height of 20,000 ft and so descend undetected into enemy territory. At Burnham on Thursday afternoon where the team demonstrated some of the skills and equipment to about 100 men of the Battalion Depot, at least six afterwards inquired about joining the unit.