SAS training

redgrant63

An interesting tidbit from the 100th episode of the excellent military history podcast regarding the test SAS aspirants have to pass:
-they have to complete a 40mile mountainous hike with 80 pounds of equipment. This hike has to be completed in 120 days
-Right afterwards they are shipped in the tropical forest in the heart of malaysia where they have to survive 1 week with SAS officer hunting them.
-finally they are interrogated by the SAS officer "hunters" to the point of torture.
If they pass all three tests successfully they become full fledged SAS members.
No wonder Bond made it through CR.
http://www.militaryhistorypodcast.blogspot.com/

Solaris

the hunting training your talking about is actually usually done in the Brecon Beacons where they are hunted by a group of standard army officers not SAS men. the malasia jungle training happens prior to that where they have to learn how to survive in the jungle, do team work exercises and a pushed to their physical limits. SAS selection officers watch this to see who is pro active, who is lazy, etc. once these tasks have been completed the SAS and the SBS split off from each other and the ones going in to each go off and learn the specialist skills needed for that Regiment. ie. The SBS learn boat infiltration and scuba work whilst the SAS go and do full kit parachute drops etc.

I know all this due to a talk with Chris Ryan about the SAS selection process I was at earlier this year.

redgrant63

alright, then the info from the podcast were not that true...
is there any interrogation training?

Solaris

Its not that the podcast infomation was untrue, they just got some of the stuff in the wrong order etc.

and yeah there is interigation training where your stripped of all clothing and put in a room. they normally have an agresive interigator a passive interigator and a woman.

the the Agressive one will just shout at the trainee and beat him up etc. the passive one will come in with a bar of chocolate and a cup of coffee and say the trainee can have it if they sign a piece of paper and leave the training. and the woman will basically slag off the size of your manhood. if they provoke a response from them their off the course.

Napoleon Plural

A woman? What, to make sure you stand to attention?

redgrant63

it actually pretty much what bond endures in CR then.

redgrant63

it actually pretty much what bond endures in CR then.

Asp9mm

redgrant63 wrote:

-they have to complete a 40mile mountainous hike with 80 pounds of equipment. This hike has to be completed in 120 days

More accurately, a 40 mile hike with 120 pounds of equipment in 8 hours.

Don't forget, Bond is in the SBS, and they're much tougher than their gravel-belly cousins

Jamesbondjr

Andy McNabb's autobiography, Immediate Action, details the SAS training. It also gives good insight into the experience of the selection process. It's a good book to boot.

Asp9mm

McNabs real name is 'Steve' B-)

sniperUK

Asp9mm wrote:

McNabs real name is 'Steve' B-)

And apparently his surname rimes with anchor,according to a guy who may or may not be a member of the "Det" who I met a few weeks ago,he also had a nice selection of "toys " that I was able to study.

Nightshooter

Asp9mm wrote:

More accurately, a 40 mile hike with 120 pounds of equipment in 8 hours.

That sounds incredibly difficult. (obviously) If you run (on average throughout eight hours) a ten minute mile, you get 6 miles an hour, meaning 48 miles in 8 hours. That would be hard enough without any gear.