150 SAS troops from Australia played an important role in the Iraq campaign. They are starting to tell their story... with typical Australian bravura.
The SAS may specialise in reconnaissance and stealth but in this war they took on a new dimension. It was not simply a matter of calling in air strikes or other forces to deal with an identified enemy: the SAS took on that task themselves, initiating numerous conflicts. Their targets were suspected sites for weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles from which troops of neighbouring states could be attacked. Using rocket-propelled grenades, machine-guns mounted on their long-range patrol vehicles or shoulder-mounted Javelin anti-tank missiles, they destroyed many in the opening days of the conflict. Along the way they encountered Iraqi forces trained especially to counter US, British and Australian special forces teams. They used modified utilities carrying heavy weaponry and often they disguised themselves as civilians or Bedouin tribesmen. They were, the commander says, "very experienced, very aggressive and very good at what they did".
Australian F/A18 bombers helped with air support. "It was nice to listen to an Aussie voice on the other end of the radio," the commander says. "It was even better when they told us we had won the World Cup."
Posted by Alan at April 24, 2003 12:27 PM