Cruelbreed
07-21-2009, 11:00 AM
FEW DARE WIN
By Rupert Hamer 14/06/2009
SAS recruitment crisis as troops fed up fighting
The sas is facing a recruitment crisis - because battle-weary troops have had enough of fighting.
Every year around 150 soldiers apply to join the elite unit - motto "Who Dares Wins". And about one in 10 passes the tough selection process.
But this year the applications figure fell to just 93, and only eight got through.
Army chiefs say that soldiers are seeing so much combat in Afghanistan that joining the elite unit is no longer appealing. During peace-keepincampaigns in the Balkans in the 1990s, becoming part of the regiment was seen as a way to guarantee seeing action.
But now fighting is so intense in troubled Helmand that fewer and fewer super-fit soldiers want to move into the Special Forces.
The shortage has been made even worse by the high number of SAS troopers who have been wounded on secret missions.
Last night one source said: "Before, when the regular Army rarely saw any real fighting, everyone wanted to join the SAS.
"It meant you would get to do what you joined up to do - fight. Now you get that in any frontline infantry regiment.
"The fall in people coming forward for selections is putting the regiment under increasing strain.
"If you have a dramatic dropoff of people it will inevitably lead to problems. If you add that to the high casualty rate the SAS suffered in Baghdad during the surge then you are looking at a recruitment crisis.
"Senior officers are now desperately trying to persuade more and more people to remain in the SAS. One possibility is to offer a cash incentive."
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Last night SAS sources confirmed that they had seen a significant reduction in the number of potential recruits coming forward.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We do not comment on anything to do with Special Forces."
HISTORIC MISSIONS
D-Day, 1944 - hundreds of SAS soldiers dropped behind enemy lines, causing havoc to German defences.
London, 1980 - SAS end Iranian Embassy siege, killing 5 terrorists and rescuing 20 hostages.
Sierra Leone, 2000 - SAS rescue 7 Royal Irish Rangers held in jungle by West Side Boys. Iraq, 2005 - SAS rescue two comrades held by militiamen in Basra who threaten to behead them.
JUST 1 IN 1O GET IN
Selection to join the SAS starts with an endurance test. It includes a 40-mile trek with a 55lb rucksack which must be done in 24 hours.
Next comes jungle training, where four-man teams have to survive for weeks without support.
The last is escape and evasion, where potential recruits have to live off the land, avoiding capture. If taken prisoner they have to withstand interrogation while being kept awake for days.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/06/14/few-dare-win-115875-21439082/
By Rupert Hamer 14/06/2009
SAS recruitment crisis as troops fed up fighting
The sas is facing a recruitment crisis - because battle-weary troops have had enough of fighting.
Every year around 150 soldiers apply to join the elite unit - motto "Who Dares Wins". And about one in 10 passes the tough selection process.
But this year the applications figure fell to just 93, and only eight got through.
Army chiefs say that soldiers are seeing so much combat in Afghanistan that joining the elite unit is no longer appealing. During peace-keepincampaigns in the Balkans in the 1990s, becoming part of the regiment was seen as a way to guarantee seeing action.
But now fighting is so intense in troubled Helmand that fewer and fewer super-fit soldiers want to move into the Special Forces.
The shortage has been made even worse by the high number of SAS troopers who have been wounded on secret missions.
Last night one source said: "Before, when the regular Army rarely saw any real fighting, everyone wanted to join the SAS.
"It meant you would get to do what you joined up to do - fight. Now you get that in any frontline infantry regiment.
"The fall in people coming forward for selections is putting the regiment under increasing strain.
"If you have a dramatic dropoff of people it will inevitably lead to problems. If you add that to the high casualty rate the SAS suffered in Baghdad during the surge then you are looking at a recruitment crisis.
"Senior officers are now desperately trying to persuade more and more people to remain in the SAS. One possibility is to offer a cash incentive."
Advertisement - article continues below ยป
Last night SAS sources confirmed that they had seen a significant reduction in the number of potential recruits coming forward.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We do not comment on anything to do with Special Forces."
HISTORIC MISSIONS
D-Day, 1944 - hundreds of SAS soldiers dropped behind enemy lines, causing havoc to German defences.
London, 1980 - SAS end Iranian Embassy siege, killing 5 terrorists and rescuing 20 hostages.
Sierra Leone, 2000 - SAS rescue 7 Royal Irish Rangers held in jungle by West Side Boys. Iraq, 2005 - SAS rescue two comrades held by militiamen in Basra who threaten to behead them.
JUST 1 IN 1O GET IN
Selection to join the SAS starts with an endurance test. It includes a 40-mile trek with a 55lb rucksack which must be done in 24 hours.
Next comes jungle training, where four-man teams have to survive for weeks without support.
The last is escape and evasion, where potential recruits have to live off the land, avoiding capture. If taken prisoner they have to withstand interrogation while being kept awake for days.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/06/14/few-dare-win-115875-21439082/