Description: What is SAS Regiment, a brief history, most notable operations and special forces selection process.
special forces (68) selection process (15) sas regiment (1) david stirling (1) malayan scouts (1) regular army (1) reserve territorial army (1) operation nimrod (1) iranian embassy siege (1)
The SAS (Special Air Service) Regiment is a corps of the British Army and a part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) commanded by the Director Special Forces. The SAS Regiment actually refers to three regiments known as the 21st SAS Regiment, 22nd SAS Regiment and 23rd SAS Regiment. The 22nd SAS Regiment is a part of the Regular Army, while the 22nd and 23 regiments are a part of the reserve Territorial Army.
History of the SAS Regiment dates back to the Second World War when David Stirling founded the so-called L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade which was used to operate behind the enemy lines in North Africa. It was not a paratroop regiment with a number of units like its name suggested but it was intentionally given a misleading name so that the Axis would think that they are dealing with a number of units rather than one commando unit. For most of the war, the Stirling’s unit operated in North Africa
After the end of the Second World War, the British government decided that there is no need for a special air service regiment any longer and disbanded the existing 1st and 2nd SAS regiments joined in the SAS Brigade. However, the government soon changed its mind and a new SAS regiment was raised in less than two years after the end of the war. In 1952, the British government also decided to form a Regular Army SAS regiment and added the Squadron 2 (Malay Scouts) to the army list as the 22nd SAS Regiment. I