S.A.S.- blood and iron rations

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34046, 9 January 1976, Page 9

S.A.S.blood and iron rations

Z Press .Assn— Copyright) LONDON, Jan. 8. The Special Air Service was formed while Britain struggled in the last war. It was a force created with the sole aim of causing the enemy as much discomfort as possible. It came to be hated by Hitler. The crack S.A.S. troops must be able to deal with any situation and to train other soldiers to work alongside them. Free-fall parachuting, boat handling and diving are all part of the routine training. Many graduate to bomb disposal ancf intelligence work. In recent years the S.A.S. men parachuted to the Q.E.2 in mid-Atlantic to search for bombs. They are trained to live behind enemy lines and go for weeks on limited rations. They have broken out of a top security Borstal to test its defences and voluntarily undergone torture to build up resistance. The S.A.S. men describe themselves as the cloak and dagger force and talk of their wartime origins as the! feared sabotage and assassin-: ation squad. Whitehall has traditionally! said as little as possible, about S.A.S. activities. There is no official estimate of the strength of the S.A.S., although they are known to number several thousands. There is no shortage of recrui’s, who are promised plenty of action and service abroad.