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Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 2:01 AM
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Or are they even commandos?
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4/22/05
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(2 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 4:22 AM
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SAS are British Special Forces. Are you talking about Delta Force?
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(3 of 26)
The SAS are part of the British forces, not the United States.
Apr 29, 2005 5:38 AM
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The Special Air Service is the British forerunner to the US Special Forces.
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(4 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 6:13 AM
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The SAS are British, and the British INVENTED commandos.
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1/17/05
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(5 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 6:37 AM
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The modern US Army Rangers are the closest thing we have to "commandos". "Commando" is just a word of a type of WW II British unit adopted by other countries to designate their elite light infantry. The first US Army Rangers of WW II (Darby's) and later Ranger units of WW II were organized, selected, and trained initially in the US and then went through training conducted by the British Commandos in the UK (primarily in Scotland) before being deployed to combat operations.
Now days a Ranger qualified individual can be identified by the Ranger Tab worn over the unit patch of what ever unit he is serving in. There are far more Ranger qualfied soldiers serving in units other than the three Ranger Battalions in the US Army which make up the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Until three years ago or so, all personel assinged to a US Army Ranger unit wore black berets. When the US Army decided on the Black beret as it's standard garrision headgear for all soldiers in other that Special Operations or Airborne units, the Rangers selected a beret the same sand color as the British SAS wears.
So the Rangers are more the equivelent of the British Commandos of WW II than anything else.
The US Army Special Forces are more the American equivlent of the british SAS now days though their linage is not as simular as the Rangers-Commandos.
The SAS official linage includes the Desert Rats of WW II. The US Army special Forces official linage dates back to the combined American Canadian "Devils Brigade" or 1st Special Service Force. But really, now days based on their mission types, both the US Army Special Forces and the British SAS should have included in their linage the OSS Jedburg teams of WW II and the British equivelent that jumped behind enemy lines in Europe to work with partisans and the resistance in the German occupied territories. And the OSS Detachment 101 that formed a very effective gurrilla unit from the minority Kachin tribes in Burma against the Japanese.
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(6 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 7:57 AM
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The SAS (Special Air Service) and their counterpart the SBS (special boat service) are the main special force of the UK. I think they were "officially" secret until a member was captured on tape by one of the cameras when they raided the Iranian embassy in a hostage crisis in 1980.
Today, their two main objectives include covert raids, also including in "restricted" (read: non-enemy) territory and anti-terrorist operations. Their reputation is almost legendary, but at any rate they are among the best-trained and prepared special forces in the world.
To answer the first question posed: if they are not commandos, I don't think any other force in the world can reasonably claim they are.
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(7 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 8:10 AM
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Now days the only units that I know of in the UK forces that actually officially use the word "commando" in thier name are the Commando units of the Royal Marines. http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/2954.html
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Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 2:17 PM
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No, the USA DOES have an SAS, it's very secret
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3/18/04
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(9 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 6:28 PM
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No, the USA DOES not have an SAS, it's not a secret.
--
"In doing what we ought, we deserve no praise, because it is our duty."-St. Augustine
"Celer - Silens - Mortalis"
(Swift-Silent-Deadly)
3d Recon Battalion
US Marines, USMC
"Potius Mori Quam Foedar"
(Death Before Dishonor)
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(10 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 6:42 PM
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YES we DO have an SAS, and YES it IS secret. The American SAS is run by the CIA and stands for Special Activities Staff.
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344
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3/18/04
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(11 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 7:34 PM
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If it was a secret you wouldn't be talking about it now would you?Also next time you should fully explain whether it was the British Special Air Services or a section of the C.I.A.'s Special Activites Division.Your a tricky one.
--
"In doing what we ought, we deserve no praise, because it is our duty."-St. Augustine
"Celer - Silens - Mortalis"
(Swift-Silent-Deadly)
3d Recon Battalion
US Marines, USMC
"Potius Mori Quam Foedar"
(Death Before Dishonor)
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Posts:
4,413
Registered:
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(12 of 26)
Re: Who knows anything about the US's SAS commandos?
Apr 29, 2005 8:42 PM
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If it was a secret you wouldn't be talking about it now would you?Also next time you should fully explain whether it was the British Special Air Services or a section of the C.I.A.'s Special Activites Division.Your a tricky one.
Well, Delta is secret too, we don't know about most anything they've done, but it's hard to keep things like this secret. The fact that no one who replied to my post knew what I was talking about proves how "covert" this group is.
Besides, I did say US's SAS, which would NOT be british, although I admit I left you all to assume that the US SAS worked under the military instead of the CIA.
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461
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1/21/05
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(13 of 26)
Apr 30, 2005 7:14 AM
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Might be that your referred to the US's SAS as being commandos.
The British SAS has internal organizations, for instance, CT or counter terrorism being but one unit.
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4,413
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(14 of 26)
Re: The problem stratagosV
Apr 30, 2005 4:31 PM
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Might be that your referred to the US's SAS as being commandos.
Yeah, but then I questioned whether they were commandos or not, From what I read (which, is not much) it seems like they are a specops group of retired military. The CIA's SF?
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461
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1/21/05
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(15 of 26)
Apr 30, 2005 4:51 PM
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Shortly after I posted to you, I recalled you asking if they were really Commandos.
The retired military aspcet seems interesting. You might recall the raid made on the German ship Ehrenfels during WW2.
Ehrenfels was moored in neutral Portuguese port of Goa in India. The British used the older retired members of the Calcutta Light Horse to raid and sink her.
A lim was made about this starring David Niven and Roger Moore. The Wild Geese if memory serves.
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