History

   The SAS was formed early in World War 2 with the appropriate motto "Who Dares Wins" at a time when many "special" units were being raised. Known originally as "L Detachment", the new unit grew to 390 men in 1942 and was redesignated 1st Special Air Service Regiment (1 SAS). After various reorganizations and a period of further growth, an SAS Brigade was formed in Scotland in January 1944, consisting of two British regiments (1 and 2 SAS), two French regiments (3 and 4 SAS), a Belgian squadron (later 5 SAS), and a signal squadron.

   At the end of the war in Europe the British Army divested itself of "private armies" (SAS among them), and it appeared the British Army had washed its hands of the "SAS idea" forever. It takes more than that to keep a good idea down, however, and within months it was decided that there would be a future role for SAS-type activities. This led to the conversion of a Territorial Army (TA) unit, "The Artists' Rifles", into 21st Special Air Service Regiment (21 SAS) (Artists) - (Volunteers), the number 21 being obtained by combining and reversing the numbers of the two British wartime SAS regiments (1 and 2 SAS).

   During the Malayan "Emergency" (1948-60) the "Malayan Scouts (Special Air Service)" quickly built up to regimental size. In 1952, the Malayan Scouts was formed and were redesignated 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS), thus marking the official return of the SAS to the regular Army's order of battle.

   The SAS carried out successful operations following which they moved to the UK where, after a short period in Malvern, they settled down in their now-famous home base at Bradbury Lines, Hereford. But by now they had been reduced to an HQ and two "sabre" squadrons.

   The Far East soon beckoned again, however, with the "Confrontation Campaign" in Borneo, and a squadron of SAS arrived there in January 1963. Their success led to more demands for the SAS and the third squadron was re-formed in mid-1963. All three were involved in campaigns in Borneo and Aden during 1964-66 in a period known in the regiment as the "happy time". By 1967, these two wars were over and the SAS had a short period of consolidation and retraining.

   In 1969 the situation in Northern Ireland exploded and the SAS began a long acquaintanceship with the Province. Simultaneously, renewed problems in Malaya and the Oman led to a return there. The SAS remained in the Oman for many years and in August 1983 it was disclosed that the SAS was training a similar unit for the Sultan of Oman's "Special Force".

   The anti-guerrilla campaigns of the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s were succeeded by a new role in which the SAS quickly built up an unrivaled expertise - counter-terrorist actions. Spurred on by operations in Northern Ireland against the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), the SAS has developed techniques which are copied throughout the Western world. This has led to the SAS not only being consulted by overseas governments and special forces, but also in being directly involved on some "foreign" operations. Thus, in October 1977, two SAS men were with the West German GSG 9 unit at the attack to recapture a hijacked German airliner at Mogadishu, and SAS members were also involved in the earlier Dutch operation against the Moluccan terrorists who had taken over a trainload of hostages.

   Most famous of all UK episodes was the London Iranian Embassy siege of May 1980 when the SAS had perforce to conduct the operation in front of the world's TV cameras. In strict compliance with English law, the Metropolitan Police conducted the operation until the terrorists murdered one of the hostages and tossed her body out on the street. The police then requested the SAS to take over, and the troops stormed in, using special weapons and tactics. The hostages were rescured, five of six terrorists killed, and not a single SAS man was lost. This spectacular success, while a godsend for the hero-hungry world media, gave the SAS far more publicity than it liked.

   By 1982 the SAS seemed to be settled in a counter-terrorist role when the Falklands War broke out with Argentina. 22 SAS was immediately involved, being given the opportunity to remind the world that they are first and foremost professional soldiers, trained for war. They spearheaded the return to South Georgia island, although the first reconnaissance landing in helicopters had to be aborted in truly appalling weather. The second landing was by inflatable boats and most men got ashore. One boat, however, broke down and the soldiers refused to compromise the operation by calling for help on the radio and were blown rapidly eastwards and were later rescued by helicopter. Meanwhile, at Grytviken, the squadron headquarters and one troop of D Squadron took advantage of the crippling of the Argentine submarine Santa Fe to rush in and overwhelm the garrison, and South Georgia was quickly back under British control.

   The first SAS soldiers were ashore on East Falklands by May 1 and remained there, close to the enemy and in foul weather, for some 30 days. They provided vital intelligence on troop movements and deployments, and also targeted enemy aircraft and naval gunfire support. On May 14 the SAS raided Pebble Island and blew up 11 Argentine aircraft; they also reportedly operated on the mainland of Argentina itself, although this has never been confirmed officially.

   Their final role in the Falklands was to carry out a noisy and valuable diversionary attack on the eastern end of Wireless Ridge on the day before the Argentine surrender.

   SAS teams were also inserted into Iraq during the Gulf War of 1991, their primary missions being to seek out and destroy Scud missile launchers, to report on Iraqi military movements from road watch patrols behind enemy lines, and to locate, report on, and destroy Iraqi communications systems.

   Also during the 1990s, it is reported that SAS teams operated behind Serb lines in Bosnia, providing intelligence reports and calling down air strikes on Serb armor, artillery, and anti-aircraft positions.

   As these examples make clear, the principal SAS mission is one of special operations - sabotage, raids, intelligence gathering, etc. - in denied areas. Contrary to popular belief, the counter-terrorist mission in the UK is not the sole province of the SAS; it provides assault and rescue forces when facilities have been seized in the UK proper and operates covertly against the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

   A secondary SAS mission is to organize and train friendly resistance forces, as well as to provide specialized security assistance training to friendly nations.