Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 24, 1991 TAG: 9102240134
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LONDON LENGTH: Medium
SAS teams, the sources here say, have been been placed in Iraq and Kuwait to monitor Iraqi army activities and to send, via sophisticated communications equipment, valued intelligence to allied headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They also are equipped to direct air and artillery strikes against Iraqi military formations.
SAS operations always have been classified, and British defense ministry officials will make no public mention of their presence in the Persian Gulf - or anywhere else.
But the teams "are most probably being used to follow enemy troop movements and direct air and artillery fire on significant targets," said retired Gen. Ken Perkins, who has worked closely with the SAS in desert operations.
The SAS long has been considered among the best-trained, most accomplished military special forces in the world. The U.S. Delta Force was modeled on the SAS concept. The SAS in recent years has received more attention for its expertise in developing anti-terrorist capabilities and techniques; its troopers are trained to assault hijacked airliners or buildings taken over by terrorists.
Many observers remember seeing live television reports showing the SAS assault on the Iranian Embassy in London in May 1980, when the black-uniformed, gas-masked, machine-gun-toting troopers rappelled into the building and killed or wounded the terrorists in minutes.
While known for its anti-terrorist work, the SAS also has maintained its long-range, military role. Its role in the Persian Gulf War brings it full circle.
The SAS was created in 1940 as the Long Range Desert Group, and during World War II, its members served as a sweeping reconnaissance force in the trackless terrain of Egypt and Libya. It was transformed into a special unit by Lt. David Stirling, who later would become a colonel and who called the outfit the Special Air Service because of its paratrooper capability.
Operating out of Egypt, the SAS moved behind enemy lines, seeking to blow up German and Italian enemy bases and to capture senior enemy officers. It later conducted the same long-range, secret missions in the Greek Islands and the Balkans.
The SAS - whose emblem is a winged dagger and whose motto is "Who Dares Wins" - developed its own special weapons and easy-going but stern discipline. The regiment developed a reputation for independent action by small groups of very highly trained men, operating deep behind enemy lines.
The SAS' standard, four-man reconnaissance units are self-sufficient and can spend days quietly observing enemy activities. The SAS is made up of volunteers who must meet the most stringent fitness standards; only 20 percent of those who apply qualify to become troopers. SAS alumni include a prominent general in Operation Desert Storm, Lt. Gen. Peter de la Billiere, commander of the British Gulf forces. He is a former SAS Regiment commander.
Though the SAS is called a regiment, the number of its members is classified information. But officials say it has only about 450 soldiers. Informed sources say that about 150 SAS troopers are deployed in the Middle East. They have been joined by U.S. special forces and the British amphibious Special Boat Squadron in providing behind-the-lines intelligence, particularly in coastal areas. Sources say it was these units' activities that led to the surrender of more than 400 Iraqi soldiers last week.
by CNB