He Who Dares

New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, 1994. First Pocket Books Printing [stated]. Mass market paperback. Fair. xii, [2], 304, [2] pages. Illustrations. Map. Front cover has been torn off and reattached from the inside with tape. Includes Acknowledgments, Author's Note, Postscript, and Glossary. Also includes chapters on New Territory; Initiation; Sickener 1; Sickener 2; From Hereford to the Jebel Massif; Isolation; Operation Jaguar; Transfer; The Battle of Mirbat; Belfast; Hong Kong; A Visit from the Colonel; Embassy Siege; The Falklands; Fallen Comrades; Frustration; and The Final RV. The Astonishing True Story of an 18-Year veteran of One of the World's Fiercest Counterterrorist Forces, the SAS. A member of England's SAS (Special Air Service), recounts such adventures as holding off Yemeni tribesmen and hand-to-hand combat with IRA members in Belfast. The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. The SAS was founded in 1941 as a regiment, and later reconstituted as a corps in 1950. The unit specializes in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and covert reconnaissance. Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government nor the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations. The corps currently consists of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, the regular component under the operational command of United Kingdom Special Forces, as well as the 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) and the 23rd Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve), which are reserve units. The Special Air Service traces its origins to 1941 and the Second World War. It was reformed as part of the Territorial Army in 1947,. The 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, which is part of the regular army, gained fame and recognition worldwide after its televised rescue of all but two of the hostages held during the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege. Following the post-war reconstitution of the Special Air Service, other countries in the Commonwealth recognized their need for similar units. The Canadian Special Air Service Company was formed in 1947, being disbanded in 1949. The New Zealand Special Air Service squadron was formed in June 1955 to serve with the British SAS in Malaya, which became a full regiment in 2011. Australia formed the 1st SAS Company in July 1957, which became a full regiment of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) in 1964. On its return from Malaya, the C (Rhodesian) Squadron formed the basis for creation of the Rhodesian Special Air Service in 1961. It retained the name "C Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service" within the Rhodesian Security Forces until 1978, when it became 1 (Rhodesian) Special Air Service Regiment. Non-Commonwealth countries have also formed units based on the SAS. The Belgian Army's Special Forces Group, which wears the same capbadge as the British SAS, traces its ancestry partly from the 5th Special Air Service of the Second World War. The French 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (1er RPIMa) can trace its origins to the Second World War 3rd and 4th SAS, adopting its "who dares wins" motto. The American unit, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, was formed by Colonel Charles Alvin Beckwith, who served with 22 SAS as an exchange officer, and recognized the need for a similar type of unit in the United States Army. The Israeli Sayeret Matkal and Shaldag units have also been modeled after the SAS, sharing its motto. Ireland's Army Ranger Wing (ARW) has also modeled its training on that of the SAS. The Philippine National Police's Special Action Force was formed along the lines of the SAS.