SAS Bravo Three Zero 

......what has always blown my mind about that is they didn't have a single survival blanket between them.

Not called the borrowers for no reason.

There were tactical gains. Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted. So any other blokes who went in afterwards were better informed.

the simple fact that the iraqi army was forced to constantly keep the scuds moving. therefore less were fired as a result. a tactical victory towards the strategic end of iraq retreating from kuwait. the blame lay firmly at saddam husseins feet. war is hell. remember the blameless civilians

Yeah i bought the book and thought man all that gear and as soon as they get spotted then they leave it .also loosing 2 guys was i feel mcnabs fault yes he should have taken vehicles but when I read the true account by Billy and the other bloke I thought you bloody liar also i allways wondered about that dinger bloke I think thsts his name

Asher isn't a credible source on this subject. He had his knickers in a twist about Mcnab for some bizarre personal reason known only to him.

@@colinstewart1432 Doesn't really matter when Peter Ratcliffe the RSM of 22 SAS at the time had the same concerns. I think it was Ratcliffe himself who later made a dry quip saying "Its a pity McNab was captured, at the rate he was killing Iraqi's by his own account they'd have surrendered in short order soon enough!" - basically he was taking the piss and shooting down McNab's complete BS fabrication of events. McNab is also persona non grata among many old hands in the Regiment precisely because of his fabrication, he earned millions off BS, spinning himself into a hero.

Seconded about Vince - and the knock on effect on his younger brother (my Platoon Sgt) who worshipped him. His loss killed Jeff as well, just leaving their mother, totally destroyed.

@@colinstewart1432 Are you suggesting McNab is credible? Ask Mike Coburn.

Bravo two zero is a work of fiction , see Bravo two zero THE REAL story by Michael Asher

@@mordocapgerlan7290 Grow up ffs it was not fiction ffs.

air troop are the lords above.

Undisciplined country?... you mean free country surely, or do want a dictatorship?

Just how is our country "undisciplined"?

@@GLYDR iff your referring to the US of A. Poor gun legislation, crumbling political and social infrastructure, a political system designed to divide the populace, ridiculous military spending, poor public health, a lack of leadership, horrendous foreign policy, a nation of people so blind that they believe they are the greatest nation on earth, a history of seeking conflict where it is not needed.

which lord are you referring to? There are 786 of them... It's a realistic interview, because it was..... a REAL INTERVIEW.

That’s Damien Lewis, he’s the author of the book on the table that’s next to them 👍🏼😉

So, where was it?? 😂

@@paulclarke4776 Well, it was where it was, then it was where it wasn't. It deviated from that position to a place that it wanted to be, over corrected and ended up back where it was from where it wasn't and where it didn't want to be. Hope that clears things up. 🤔

You should tell that to the American missiles hitting blue on blue

We had an ex RLI guy in our platoon good soldier but proper racist and I mean racist, that was in 1980,s doubt he'd last long now in today's army.

3,000 is about the same as the USMC suffered in the svage 3 day battle of Tarawa so I'm calling BS on this, what's the evidence?

@@andymoody8363 you would be extremely surprised how merciless the selous scouts were, nevermind C Squadron (Rhodesia) SAS . They mopped up Mozambiquan and Zim thugs like it was Call of Duty

When was this exactly? Rhodesia was under sanctions from UK from 1970's until the Smith government ended.. why would the SAS be involved in that time period, it must have been pre-1970's sanctions I assume? Or are you saying despite the tough sanctions and UK political stance against the Smith government, the MOD assisted Rhodesia still and deployed the SAS?

@@paullangton-rogers2390 C squadron was certainly deployed, along with the Kings African Rifles, as the primary jungle warfare fighting force during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, and they were certainly used, officially, until 1965. After that, the Rhodesian volunteers had to apply through the British Army like everyone else as C Squadron became conglomerated in the Rhodesian Army. They then only really fought in the Bush War and various anti-communist endeavours in Angola and Mozambique with the Portuguese. This, however, does not mean Rhodesian special forces men weren't employed by the MoD unofficially because of how well respected they were as soldiers.

Indeed it is,you might even say incredible.

The US fighter jets have thermal imaging technology so in the cockpit a couple of hot Land Rovers with engine running several hours would have stood out like a sore thumb in the darkness and cold of the desert in the pilots cockpit target imaging system displaying.. that would have been an opportune target hit...he just unloaded a couple of heat seaking missiles at them as no way was the US expecting to see any friendly units that far into Iraq at that time. How they managed to escape such missiles is either astonishingly good luck (maybe those missiles went into a nearby engine of something) or quite bad tech on the US missiles if they missed the SAS Land Rover targets and there was nothing else nearby to lock onto.

@@paullangton-rogers2390 But that doesn't explain why the pilot should select unidentifiable targets when a visibly lit up option was available does it?

Something doesn't ring true here. There were both US and UK Special Operations folks in Iraq prior to the official start of the ground war. Some were inserted with vehicles by helicopters, so some detail of their operations would have been briefed to Air Force leadership. Those units all had the capability to talk with AWACs a/c, which would have been directing aircraft over Iraq air space. None of those units had what you could describe as traditional military vehicles but that said, one of the worse fears of any pilot is a friendly fire incident, so I'm confident to say the aircraft would have been communicating with AWACs. Plus, there was an air to ground frequency given to those Special Ops units where by they could speak to aircraft overhead. That conversation usually started with "Any allied aircraft, US/UK forces on the ground at coordinates ........". Given air superiority, I'm confident the SCUD crews did not illuminate their sites/rockets/vehicles/etc. Additionally, air crews may have been informed if they ejected, there could be friendly ground units in their area. I think like the first Andy McNabb story which I believe has been debunked, this story has some embellishment and stretches of the truth. Also interesting watching the body language of the interviewer.

@@markcooke5270 My comment "worse fear" is just that. Do you suggest your zero count extends to WWII?

SAS guy??

Out of interest were you there? At any stage? Ever passed selection or been close? Or just read books?

@@declanshanahan3888 I can answer that. The bloke wasn’t there, never been near a pair of lightweights in his life!

Your argument is ridiculous. When Steven Mitchell wrote Bravo Two Zero the book entered the public domain. Michael Asher likewise entered the public domain with his documentary and book outlining the untruthfulness of Mitchell’s book and the harm it did particularly to the reputation of Sgt Vince Phillips. At least two more books have been written my members of that SAS unit all disagreeing with one another. This is similar to the Navy Seal unit that shot Osama bin Laden with Rob O’Neill and Matt Bissonette publishing books with differing accounts. When members of these units publish accounts that elevate their own importance the public is entitled to look at the evidence and decide if those accounts are trustworthy or not.

@@Chiller01 I saw that documentary which was weak, full of opinion and unsubstantiated information. Asher was just a hack. As an aside. My dad fought in north Africa. he told me that nights could be very cold and that on one night it snowed.

@@paulbantick8266 Gonna disagree with you on that one. I found Michael Asher’s evidence compelling. Steven Mitchell provides no real corroborating evidence, just his opinion. Asher interviewed first hand witnesses and had corroboration from SAS contemporaries of Mitchell as to the inconsistencies between his initial report and the subsequent book written later. Mitchell’s book is self aggrandizing at the expense of some of his comrades. Asher’s original intent was to retrace the units steps not to disprove Mitchell. I would have no problem with Mitchell’s book as historical fiction like most of his work. Unfortunately he unfairly targeted and named members of his SAS unit with tragic consequences.

To a degree they were unprepared , they took advice from intelligence and different other sources that were duff and the coms situation was bad . What We have learned from this ( with hindsight ) intelligence and communications have improved significantly since 1991 .

Sas the best in the world.

DataGeek in your and others opinion. How can you measure bravery and know all the true facts of all the acts of bravery.

Err they had to get the 2ic replaced because they wouldn’t go over the border in iraq for 6 days. They wouldn’t follow orders

Make a great film too.

Bravo Two Zero. A book that just gets better with every reading.

@@jonmathias6159 Unfortunately the book and account given to the media and public is credibly alleged (by regiment personnel) to contain some very significant fiction that goes beyond the common embellishment attached to many after action stories that don't match the immediate debrief. That didn't go down too well at Stirling Lines. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mPe-c_3eAIg.html (Asher was given some unusual cooperation) Highly popular paperback and spin offs is somewhat better paid than 22 reg NCO grades. (In fact massively more reward than C.O. salary)

@@jonmathias6159 Thanks Alan.

Jaeeeeee

Dis you want m5.11 lcoscovery going ?

I've read of one. All Green Berets. 2 scuba qualified. Out of 7 or 8 guys about half were sniper qualified. According to the book, they were given a hide area that was flat open ground. The NCOIC set about requesitioning enough materials to dig a hide big enough for everybody. They got their time down to 7 hours. Dug in O.K. and started sending in Intel. On day 2? You guessed it. Here comes the shepherd boy from central casting. Instead of booking out, these guys started calling air support and sniping. They packed up and took off after dark to a new pick up zone. Happy ending.

They should have asked sir David Sterling what the weather was like at night

@@stephenlangton3814 I can attest to the freezing temperatures in Libya at night when you get well away fro, the coast. It gets very cold. Same in central Australia.

My first tour of Iraq, I took a jungle sleeping bag. Biggest mistake ever. Seriously cold at night.

We British we the best

Iran ?

@@michaelkennedy3372 yep and it is an amazing place, would love to go back and see more of the country as we only had a permit for seven days

@@michaelkennedy3372 I think that fella has got his facts mixed up lol.

@@devonshire5482 NO he was in Iran...not a million miles from Iraq...a bit like being in France but describing what it must be like in Belgium..there isn't much difference..seeing that both countries are next to each other.

Stephen Mitchell (McNob) overruled the RSM's (Billy Radcliffe) advice and decided to fatefully go in on foot.. Wrong radio frequencies, TAC-BE never worked, shite maps and inappropriate clothing.. Worst patrol in the Regiment's history..

You can't get a false story classified, quite clever really.

The SBS Vs SAS rivalry is infamous. Blue on blue fire in the Falklands resulted in the only fatality in the SBS 's history. On the vessel taking the troops back home a comment was made by an sas guy and the ensuing battle resulted in the entire sas being helicoptered off the ship. Duncan Falconer s book first into action - best account of SF you will ever read.

@@nilepax8168 I am quite happy listening to what my brother says when he is in the mood to. As for the only one killed in their history,sadly you are wrong by a long shot.

@@union310 if I'm wrong I accept that. That's the account I read albeit the book is from the 90s. No wish to upset you or anyone else. Respect to your brother and you.

@@nilepax8168 My brother sadly lost a number of good friends some of which I had the great pleasure to meet. Ordinary men doing nothing that special is how he describes it.

@@union310 it was not my intention to denigrate or dismiss that bravery at all. No way. However I did mention that it was the first death in action, however. I thank your brother for his incredible service and courage.

Ex military are notorious for embellishing the truth

This sort of thing really pisses me off. I'm 42, joined the British Army in 97 with the PWRR and was a sniper for 8 years. People do NOT get in the military by lying, being the big I am, having a huge ego. They get in on merit, trust, professionalism and honesty. Now I was just a sniper in the regular Army. 22 SAS are the best of the best. They want a guy that blends in, is professional under the heaviest of pressures. Now why is it, places like the UK and US, love to brag about our Military, our Special Forces. Trust these guys to fire the most advanced weapon systems, to protect their country.....yet whenever they have contact, and tell people about it, they get called liars? Andy McNab, gave his account of the contact they had, the rounds they fired and what happened. People that WERE NOT THERE say he is lying. Chris Ryan that was part of the same troop and got away on foot. Tabbed to Syria, also had contact and got into large firefights. Again, people that WERE NOT THERE brandish him a liar. Marcus Luttrell, part of a SEAL team and the popular movie Lone Survivor, had shrapnel wounds from RPG's, shot 6 times, broken bones, bit his tongue in half, depleted rounds, gave his account of what happened, and AGIAN he is called a liar by PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT THERE. Chris Kyle, gave accounts of what happened on his tour, and he was called a liar! Why is it, that people that are too much of a pussy to join the military, are happy to be an analyst and go over operations and contact, in a country they weren't in, and a firefight they weren't part of, and then call the men that were trusted enough to join the military, and call them liars in the comfort of a quiet room, behind a desk??? I had to deal with this shit. We were on a joint Op with the US/UK and myself and my 2nd, Raph, were providing support or 'overwatch' if you will, for US and UK troops in Afghan. They were clearing house and rushing the process. We were instructed to get out the building we were in, get on the deck and help them clear house. Leaving us totally exposed, no cover from the South, I had not only my L11, but also an AW50 that both myself and Raph were carrying in parts because the weapon system is just too large to carry as a whole and as one. Yet we were instructed to go up on the 3rd floor, and help out. Well these buildings are tiny, no room to fart. Long story short, stacking up to breach, we heard what sounded like canisters hitting eachother. Someone shouted get down, rounds came through the wall. 1 round actually hit my burgen, and spun me round like a top. I heard more rounds fired. We went in, took out the threats, and after realised my pal had been hit 5 times. 1 oblique shot. 1 lower abdomen. 2 upper torso but the rounds didn't penetrate. 1 neck shot that was fatal. I was broken..... I genuinely was absolutely destroyed. We got home, had to give accounts of what happened. I was spoken too like a liar. I was told my grief and emotions are clouding my memory. Clouding my memory? I'm on fucking Mirtazapine, Zoplicone, Amitriptyline and Sotalol for PTSD because I actually can't get what happened out my fucking head. Apparently, we would never have been told to leave our position. We would never have been told to go and clear house. The events as 6 of us stated didn't happen in that way we told. We made the contact sound worse than it was according to the up their own asses idiots behind the desk. How fucking dare they! People hear this shit, then spread it like you are now. People can't brag about the SAS or SEALs being so great, so professional, so amazing, then when any member leaves and tells a story of what happened, people say "I don't believe you"..... how fucking backward does that sound! People that weren't there have NO right to say that people that were there and putting their lives on the line are liars.

@@justincatman7235 Well said mate, well said.

@@justincatman7235 fkn hell mate👍

Have you watched the documentary "The real bravo two zero"? By Micheal Asher

Not at all

Seal team 6 would disagree

Hello Paul. I've just made some chutney. My husband loves chutney.

Time, unfortunately it takes time to set up really good int-cell and this was a immediate action mission,hence not all kit was in situ,it happens

I find it hard to believe that a regiment that’s origin was the desert forgot it gets cold at night,

🤣😂

You expressed very well my own thoughts and reservations about that patrol. An awful;lot of taxpayers money goes into training an elite group of soldiers like the SAS and the support they get should also be of the very best. Those involved in supporting the regiment whether catering, logistics, ammunition and all equipment should also be an elite team whereby it becomes one of the highly sought after positions - it is a matter of selection and training the odd thing is that THEY KNOW this when it comes to training the troops themselves but they massively drop the ball when it comes to supply, support and maintenance issues!

It's the same selection course - once they pass, paras generally go to SAS and marines generally to SBS.

Same course, haven't done separate courses for donkey's years...

Paddy Mayne was a absolute mentalist. He pretty much invented the IDGAF attitude.

My big fingers made a mistake. If you guys think you are heroes for what you signed up for you are wrong. That is what you signed up for. Wow ,do you really think you are special?

@@sandymackenzie8413 there's an old saying - 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story'! this isn't even a good story!!!!

That must get very confusing when they need to speak to Army Manning and Records.

@@JammyDodger45 I mean the word sas not S.A.S

Correct! Only other term would be 'The Regiment'@

@@davidlewis8318 Or blades.

@@scudger99 or badges, if SBS

As good as Israel is it would be suicide, Israel would have just used airstrikes and maybe sf .

@@brentmonkhouse6638 I doubt the army would have entertained the idea.

@@brentmonkhouse6638 I doubt the army would have entertained the idea.

I remember that Israel was very close to go to war and maybe even use nuclear weapons . The US sent Patriot launchers to Israel on the spot to shoot down incoming Iraq Scuds, just to keep Israel out of the Gulf war. Israeli warplanes bombed Osirak , the only Iraq nuclear power station in 1981, that is well before the Gulf war. Maybe a Israelis parachuted battalion in Bagdad is a crazy idea, but just remember the Entebbe Raid in Uganda (1976): 100 Israelis commandos were sent to Entebbe , before writing off that possibility . BTW that is what their SAS officers told them.

@@enricol5974 you're comparing Iraq to a piss poor African country with a rabble of an army, seriously? 'Their officers told them'? Officers no matter what unit rarely know more than their subordinates.

i should imagine it's force of habit ,abbreviations and acronyms are used to convey precise communications within the military the audience were more than likely military buffs so could probably understand the jargon

That’s a lot of pointless knit picking there 👍

Pointless comment.

Lots of reasons, mostly it'll be when they slip out, other times it'll be because they will use that acronym a lot in the talk (like MSR - main supply route) and just want to make sure that people know what they mean and save himself saying it the long way each time. Lastly I'd say it is what people want, this is public speaking, people have come to hear a soldier and they have (from Hollywood or whatever) a certain preconceived notion of what they will sound like, the speaker may want to play up to the character of firing out acronyms because the audience expect it and want it, as opposed sounding boring and reading the full thing out, most jobs use acronyms though I'm sure even binmen have acronyms these days.

And you don’t use the abbreviation TRV and then have to revert explaining what that means to a customer?

Money and fame....thats all it takes to bring out these men.

I agree, I think it's getting out of hand . In a way the was is becoming a victim of its own success.

Statute of limitations on secrets, the war was 20 something years ago now, those operators are likely ex forces by now so it makes no matter if its out in the open or not. In other words its history!

@@bandk2000 I understand exactly where youre coming from, BUT, our SF are supposed to be a cut above all others, silent professionals. This just lowers us into the filth of SEALs and Green berets...

Devon Shire.... In my day 80s the Ruperts called it writing there memoirs, so if its good for them.....

10 years to late pal

83..😆 🤣 😂..all over by then 🤔🤡

@@davidvickers3797 you calling me a liar?

@@theculturedthug6609 yes..

@@theculturedthug6609 The Vietnam war ended in 1975,also no Japanese were involved,well not officially to my knowledge So not sure why you would be fighting Japanese soldiers in Vietnam 1983 🤔🤷🙂 Be facisnated to know tbf.

You need to have a word with the pudroe lad he tells a different point altogether no names obviously

@@waynetaylor6337 Prudoe is how its spelt.

There were 3 Bravo patrols. Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero & Bravo Three Zero.

I've read on this book meh. Is very good

I was career U.S. Navy, but I am not just picking on some ground pounder. I am speechless! (Not really, but you get the idea...) The Brits spend billions of farthings (or whatever) to recruit, train, maintain these truly special soldiers...build up an almost mystical, and mythical, reputation around them...and then in a most crucial situation, they send them into the middle of Iraq with two tin cans and a piece of string for comm equipment, and in silk underwear and a beanie for uniforms! And THEN you have trained them to shrug these things off..."Oh, 'salright mates; if we get cold we can cover ourselves with sand and do a group hug!" This is incomprehensible to me, as a Navy Master Chief (E9.) I am surprised your NCOs didn't send them packing with sling shots and BB guns for firepower. Specialized, crucial comm gear is blown off, essential cold weather gear is missing. I am just blown away. Had I been their sergeant major, I would have sabotaged those vehicles before I let my men go off unequipped to do the job for which we send them! I mean, these are not special plastic forks to eat their pork 'n beans! This is mission specific, mission essential equipment! Why would this happen? Educate me, please?

Never any juicy secrets....

​@@john1653 Remember General Swartzkopf,personally thanked the SAS for what they done.

@@barryhamilton7845 Yes, Barry, but he should have awarded them the Presidential Unit Citation, our unit award equal to your Victoria Cross award for individual soldiers. Your SAS and SBS are truly unique...head and shoulders above any special warfare units.

But he personally thanked them for what they done and if it wasn't for them certain things wouldn't have been done.

Incorrect there are things you don’t no