Modified Version has been uploaded: th-cam.com/video/VRhI5rdBdTE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=fOLpMIFja6J5Iu7f I really stirred up a hornet's nest with the RAF Regiment, didn't I? I should have been more careful with my wording there. I put them on the same level as the Marines and Paras, which is completely wrong. I should have provided more explanation about the RAF Regiment. I'll take the L. Thank you all for your inputs. Edit: I hope you guys know english because many people are calling bs on my video, saying I said raf regiment is sf (which I never said). These people complain without watching the whole video. They don't even have clue of the current structure of the British military. They don't even know the new special operations brigade which was formed recently. So please watch the whole video and do your own research before commenting. And also stop treating military units as your football clubs. It's not a competition.
Paras have different battalions that usually range from best to worst, with 1st battalion known as the "elite" , getting many chances to work with SFSG, while the rest are just the same as other infantry units throughout the Army. An example would be the kings foot guards, whom are known to have excellent high performance & standards as infantry soldiers. That being said, all infantry regiments train to the same standard, (at least they should in the book) the only exception is the Paras have the most difficult physical process in their selection. Not taking credit from Paras at all, but from my research, this ideology about the paras puts the other excellent regiments in the shadows. Not sure if this is 100% correct, but I did read somewhere that in the early days, most SF units were formed from the Guards regiments.
😂🤣 Yep. Having been stuck on a few tubs with our Royal Marines attachment, I can attest to that. No RN chef ever passed their training, hence the food.
The LRDG carried the sas into their battle area. People do not know that. In lybya in 1959 I was a young green tankie and the took me out into the desert for training. Well out into the desert the older soldiers showed me a LRDG vehicle that had been shot up and destroyed in ww2. On the back of the vehicle was a gerry can whith bullet holes in it. It was a German one that the LRDG had pinched from the Germans stamped in German writing and when I shook it I could hear the spent bullets rattling around in it. I still remember that day even now that I am over 85 years old, sites like that stay in your memories.
@@charlieyerrell9146 They took 'jerry cans' because the British ones leaked. You turned those into stoves to brew up on. LRDG was formed to recover aircrew downed in the desert and had already fixed the problems the SAS would have in mobility.
Aye and another one that seldom gets a mention is Popskis Private Army (which was their official title, they were the smallest unit ever in the British forces but had some impressive achievements), Popski's book 'Private Army' makes interesting reading, for one thing it demonstrates the importance of direct local knowledge in special operations.
I was a British soldier and was sent to camp Bondsteel in Kosovo in 2000 to work with you guys for a few weeks..... I was put into a 6 man room with 4 black GIs and one Hispanic..... Great bunch of lads... Never met a more generous and gracious people.... Your food is amazing lobster tails and steak every day.... Although I had no clue how to play American football or basket ball....
@@HUMPTYNUGGETI wasn’t a soldier but as a Brit I spent time in New Orleans and the black Americans that I met were indeed the most generous and gracious people I’ve met anywhere.
After 26 years in the military surely watching a video isn’t about whose regiment is better. We were all good at what we did whether SF or chefs or musicians. 👍
100% ... every soldier, sailor and airman does their part. Elite forces is a weird term, it seems to only encapsulate 'soldiering' yet we have Hunter Killer Sub Commanders, Pilots, specialist Weapon Engineers, Explosive Engineers etc etc many are certainly 'Elite' at what they 'do'. Are you Tier 1 if we're talking sinking an enemy Nuke Sub for example? you just saved a lot of people perhaps. Yet the SF get all the 'Hollywood'. Not taking anything away from them or anyone else, they are brothers, but all 'specialist operator' stuff is relative to the person and what they do, where deployed and the mission in hand. I think the rest of the green and grey are happy to let the so called T1 and 2 get all the press and attention so they don't have to. Pass selection (well done) you're all over podcasts and TV, shoot down 6 cruise missiles one evening from your big grey war canoe ... no one ever knows who you are. Thats REAL discretion. In the late 80s the Royal Navy was (allegedly) tangling with the Russians in places they shouldn't have even been and the stories (if they existed) are really interesting, yet, who makes videos about that? Well, no one because it never happened. Skills are skills! but its accepted it seems they are only skills if you have to pass SF selection. We are ONE FORCE and Im sure most SF guys will agree.
I, for one, couldn't be more proud of what these men do and have done. We are extremely lucky to have these men working for us and showing bravery above and beyond.
This video is totally wrong! I am a former Royal Marine. The tiered system is SAS & SBS (2,000 men). Then the Royal Marines Raiding groups, Special Reconnaissance Regiment, Para Pathfinder, Ranger Regiment, 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (10,000 men in total). The RAF Regiment and Gurkha Rifles are not special forces. They are both regular regiments. The SAS is NOT made up of the Royal Marines. Royal Marines make up 90% of the SBS is made up from the Royal Marines and 60% of the SAS comes from the Paras. The author of this video gets many things wrong! The Iranian Embassy action by the SAS did not kill any hostages. The terrorists shot one hostage days before. The second hostage was shot 22 minutes before the SAS attack, it is what triggered the attack.
@@stuartbates1526 You don't know much. The Royal Marines Raiding groups operate with the SAS and SBS. The Royal Marines go through the longest training of any armed forces. Try being an officer. My training was 16 months. A standard Royal Marine is elite infantry. Add the additional special forces training for certain troops, where those units are easily considered SF.
My dad was in British Army Reconnaissance all his military life from 1939/46, one of the very last off from Dunkirk and one of the first into the hell hole of Cann, I’m so proud of my dad.
There are a few things I’d like to clarify. 1. I’m aware that not every image used in the thumbnail exactly represents the unit it signifies. This isn't just an issue with the thumbnail but also in the video. Due to the secretive nature of special forces, it's difficult to pinpoint which images belong to which units. 2. Initially, I used the official mottos of each unit as the title for their respective chapters. However, I later realized that not all units have official mottos. So, I chose those that seemed most fitting. 3. I wasn't aware that Sir Claude Auchinleck’s name had a different pronunciation. I discovered this while watching Rogue Heroes and also learned his nickname was "Auk." Apologies for the mispronunciation. Edit - 5:37 - I misspelled "L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade"
This is great info, subbed. I first heard about e-squadron/the Increment on a Playboy magazine article, if you'd believe it. I thought it was made up lad-mag nonsense but turns out they exist. I would say they are sort of equivalent to CIA Ground Branch. JSFAW is kinda like 160 SOAR, SFSG is kinda like 75 Rangers, Rangers is kinda like Green Berets, SBS is basically SEALs and SAS is equivalent to CAG/Delta, if my understanding is correct.
@@CAARaeed Playboy's writing about secret intelligence !? That's pretty funny. you're absolutely correct. You can compare the E squadron with the CIA's own special activities center (SAC). They are known as the "Third Option". JSFAW are the British Night Stalkers ( 160th soar) SAS ~ DELTA SBS ~ DEVGRU But regarding SFSG, I wouldn't put it with the 75th ranger regiment. Your assumption is pretty good but I think SFSG is a unique unit only exclusive to British sf. SFSG is more like a helping hand to SAS/SBS. 75th however is more like a special unit who has their own standard of missions, not quite like tier 1 missions but they have their own catagory of operations. SFSG is more like a "We are here, if you f**k up" unit for SAS/SBS. Thank you for commenting.
Overall this is a very good overview of UKSF units. Some points though: 1. I think The Increment/E(?) Sqn is actually part of 22 SAS, 2. Doesn't 22 rotate personel between various roles/takings - Eqn/Counter Terror etc, 3. By the end you're repeating the use of photos, 4. While talking about the Augusta Wild cat you show the Boeing V22. Also, I don't think the first bit of the video, Hitler... works. I'm being a bit picky - not easy to put together a video like this. Thanks. Oh, and originally Stirling wanted to and did use parachute insertion. But winds etc. saw his troops badly scattered and off target. He then shifted to vehicles, like the already established LRDG.
@@djd8305 I believe the SAS is divided into multiple troops - boat troop, mountain troop, mobility (or was it ground vehicle?) troop and air troop. Each operator gets assigned to one of these troops, but I don't know if they rotate or not. Also worth mentioning that the Royal Marines are a special operations capable detachment of the royal navy and not a branch in of itself unlike the US, and are closer in operational capacity to Force Recon than regular Marines
@@CAARaeed The Brits don't have the same prohibition on using their military on home turf - ask the IRA! And it's fascinating how their ex SF guys mostly don't talk operational details. Mostly - I did read a book by an ex Sargent who basically accused squadron members of cowardice in Iraq.
If looking at WWII units the first groups would be the Long Range Desert Group, that pre-date the SAS and not forgetting the Long Range Penetration Group (Chindits) although the RAF Regiment has many specialisms which used to include Rapier, they are not a mainstream SF unit.
My old next door neighbour volunteered to join the commandos .he said they asked for volunteers and he said all army don't volunteer then they said you get 2 bob extra month and better food everyone steptforward lol he told me he was up in the Highlands hunting an shooting wild haggis (my family scottish we in Wales) pat wee joke . He told me he quite after his best m8 died in an accident in training he said they jumped in to a ditch and his m8 bumped his sterling gun and killed him .he then transferred back to his unit then he got ill his reg then went to burma then he had to wait then went to Normandy beaches 6th 06 1944...
My father was involved in clandestine arrangements with Israel at the time of the Suez crisis - he was a Royal Engineer. Officers were expected to handle many Foreign Office requests in the past. It was the strength of the British way of doing things and why only the top 5 % went to University and became officers.
The ‘Det’ or 14th Int were endoscope that found the ‘Disease’ over the water and the reg were the scalpel that cut it out. But ‘The Det’ were the closest thing to James Bond you would find in the ‘Mob’ because of their wide ranging and diverse skills and drills.
The 'Det' came to my RAF unit in the early 90's looking for volunteers. I went to the presentation/ It was interesting to say the least. Covert operations in Norhern Ireland, gathering inteligence, taught how to fire every weapon known to mankind, how to drive to evade capture, how to blend in under cover amongst a civilian hostile population. The thing that got me was how to shoot to kill through a windscreen when driving! It was hardcore stuff.
I read a book many years ago, that I think was called 'The Operators' about their training and some aspects of what they did in NI. I assume it was heavily edited by the powers that be, to protect operational security. Even so, WOW, what these men and women went through in training and in the field was impressive 🫡
So what would you consider FRU to be classified as? Personally, after the FRU stint I did ‘selection’ for sas sigs and it was all pretty stressful. Thank fuck I was fit.
This is one of the best British SF videos I have watched, thank you. I would have loved to seen a Pathfinders segment, though. My granddad was in SSB in Greece WWII, four man, two canoe teams infiltrating suspicious boats in the Mediterranean. They probably just set limpit mines, blew the boats to smithereens and went back to base for tea.
I gather from the comments by former UK servicemen that some of the information is inaccurate, but given the secrecy surrounding these units I understand. However, I found it a very informative and well put together documentary.
@@robinkirwan thank you. This is my third ever video. I tried my best to gather information. because of their secrecy it is not entirely possible to get everything right. But the reason some people are not liking the video is because, 1. I said the RAF regiment is 'elite'. I should have given more explanation. 2. Now many people are misdirecting people by saying that, I said gurkha and RAF are SF. I never said they were SF. 3. They base their opinion on the previous structure, but the current structure has changed significantly. For example, in 2021, the British Army formed a new special operations brigade that includes units of Gurkhas along with other regiments. 4. I used tier system. I specifically stated the tier system is unofficial and used it to give a better explanation. So the only inaccurate thing was with the RAF. They took offence when I said they were elite. I apologized for it. But many of the comments are not entirely correct. If you read the replies many are arguing themselves.
Ive never come across a more concise and detailed presentation than this. Excellent work, great narration and good use of visuals. As a former UK serviceman, ill not stoop down and comment on the RAF reg thing. Just to say that when i went through the recce course alongside the infantry (i was a recce car cmdr in 2RTR) The RAF reg guy that was also on the course dropped out after the first 2 weeks.....guess he didnt like that we had no breakfast in bed policy.
Very similar to the American Delta Force (SAS), Seal Team 6 (SBS), Intelligence Support Activity (SRR & 18 Signals), US Rangers (SFSG), US Night Stalkers (JSFAW), US Special Forces (UK Rangers), and US Marine Recon / MARSOC (Royal Marines Commando). Excellent video.
Well, they do train together, so I can only presume the intention of that is to be better able to do the real job and understand each other better, so it only makes sense to have a similar structure. If both militaries have to work together they'll have to train together and that training needs to be aligned.
The German army of WW2 was one of the best in history.... If Hitler had left the generals to control the battles things would be very different....our British airborne troops hold a high regard of the Fallskrimjager and still sing thier songs from WW2 like... Das machinen.. and Erika..... The Germans invented the first Airborne troops, the British invented the first Commando troops and Special forces with the LRDG, SAS and SBS....
Calm down. Being first at anything or being imitated does not make you permanently #1. There are numerous YT videos of SAS and SBS guys praising other SF units, Delta, Devgru, JTF2 etc etc. And vice versa. Only immature kids, who never wore a uniform, has the urge like you apparently did, to go online and make it a d**k measuring contest. Stop chest-thumping online son, especially through the deeds of others. It’s pathetic.
Lately I have been very worried for the UK army compared to the world. It's nice to hear we are adapting and it feels me with confidence that the UK will always be in the top 5 of the world. Doesn't matter our size physically. We are integrated with every Alliance Army. Britain might be small but we have always packed a punch, I just hope we still can. More then ever now.
I have to say that was pretty good. ir facts of the formation of commandos in 1940 but was told to start again with shock troops, the Commandos were formed. wasn't until Feb 42 that they became The Royal marines. UKSF roles was spot on to, as well as SRR and signal reg. U did ur homework. very good
@@Dr.Ian-Plect It's simple - all British SF are tier 1. ALL. We simply don't have tier 2 SF - if they're not tier 1, they're not SF. Saying "we don't have the tier system in the UK" suggests we don't differentiate between tier 1 and tier 2 which is badly misleading.
@@Dr.Ian-PlectWe use it because we only have tier 1. We don't divide SF into tier 1 or tier 2 because we don't have any tier 2. It's like saying you don't differentiate between tactical and strategic ballistic missiles because you don't have any strategic ballistic missiles, only tactical.
The Goats I saw in the middle east were not unlike a small brown/black sheep (with no horns) will eat anything growing on a barren stony landscape - brambles etc and the Goat 'headers' just sit on there arses watching them.
@@Octo_AI62they weren’t betrayed, they were poorly prepared for the mission and took liberties with the enemy that would be classed as negligence by any SOF team
You are missing the medical side of SF support known as a black serpent medic. They are part of the RMC and are highly skilled in medics, weapons, fitness and mental attitude.
The SAS go through medical training as it’s a ‘patrol skill’ that one must pass or your RTU’d. Same as Armourer,Comms and Dems. Because SAS patrol medics are trained in civvy hospitals like Saint Guys Thomas Hospital,where they don scrubs and train under surgeons and medics. They are literally thrown in the deep end and this is a skill that helps in ‘hearts and minds’ when dealing with locals out in the cuds.
@@Terracecasualx5 SF medics are more than the patrol medics of the SAS and are who you're talking about going into Guys and Tommy's. SAS medics are trained to a higher standard than CMTs but not as good as those who've done black serpent though they can if they really want to, do black serpent
18 Sigs are not SFCs. 264 are SFCs and directly support squadrons. 18 signals regiment is just a signals regiment that supplys comms capability to the group. Fair play sir, youre the first one ive seen that knows about stuff like TF maroon (which became TF shield) your detail and knowledge is impressive.
In fairness. The Germans were using 'Special Forces' as an integral component of Blitzkrieg, as recognised by several top Brit' commanders and Winston Churchill. Units acting semi independently and in an unconventional manner were nothing new - 'Commando' being a Boer Term for just such units. and claiming the Brits were first at it is a bit rich, though they did develop the concept a bit.
In Afrikaans "commando" simply means men called to military service and has none of the connotations of elite forces as it does today. Primarily cavalry the Boers rode in "commandos" which in this sense has the meaning roughly equivalent to Squadron or Regiment.
@@roberthughes9856 Agreed, But Churchill was impressed by their unconventional (relative to the British military doctrine at the time) hit and run methods. which is why he adopted the term for the Commandos.
I was detached to the RAF Regt in 2008. Raging! When I arrived I had so many preconceptions about them. After working with them for a few weeks I realised I was correct in every way, they were totally dog sh*t!! Looking ‘ally’ was all they cared about. They weren’t given WMIKS because they barely went outside the wire so they stripped the doors and roof off of GS Landrovers and made roll cages from metal tubing so they looked like WMIKs. We called them MIMICS.
Yea and they will also tell you that. They were humble and decent and didn't pretend to be white and had good drills which means they were actually sensible and probably pretty decent from the view of a Royal marine but not designed for getting stuck in heavily
The reason why I joined the brigade paracommandos 1995-1999 was because of my grandfather who, after fighting in belgium when the germans invaded on 10 may 1940 that he went to england and joined up the commandos, he was part of the 10th interallied commando, 4th troop. Fought in Yugoslavia, italy and got wounded during the amfibic landing in holland during the battle of walcheren (the escaut river).
The Royal Engineers Commandos/Paratroopers and the Royal Artillery Commandos/Paratroopers are not mentioned? He said, 'Special Forces recruits are mainly recruited from the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines?' Yet the Royal Engineers Commandos/Parachute Regiments/Squadrons cover all aspects of combat engineering including demolitions, technical surveillance/mapping, mine warfare, and divers etc. And the artillery support of both Parachute and Commando Royal Artillery soldiers is essential to support SF operations.
you are correct. the royal engineers in the british army is the only british army section that can actually invade a country destroy everything deploy its specifically trained forces then rebuild the entire country again, we have our own tradesmen , medics logistics signal units , you name it the royal engineers have there hands in its pockets. we even train other units like SAS , SBS, SRR, SFSG, SFS, in various aspects
There's a difference between "Elite Units" and "Special Forces". The Paras, and Commandos, are both Elite Units that have a specialized function, but were not actually "Special Forces" under UK designation. The actual "Special Forces" (SAS, SBS and Recon) are the ones that do the insanely difficult small-unit ops, like 3 men camping in a bush for a week watching the enemy base without them ever suspecting kind of insanity. You don't judge them by how many wars they've seen action in, but rather, how many non-wars they prevented, or served Britain in that 'officially' had no British involvement. As for where they serve, well, everywhere. Anywhere and everywhere that British Intelligence needs professional eyes on the ground and assessment in, there will be special forces.
The RAF Regiment certainly don't do themselves any favours with their self promotion at times, but at least one squadron used to be parachute trained and their mission was to capture enemy airfields...I think it's on the back of this how they ended up in the UKSSG...
->Today all Royal Marines are Commandos. I would compare their training to US Army Rangers or US Marine Corps Raiders. ->The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing would be the equivalent to the US Army Night Stalkers. ->The SAS is equivalent to the US Army Delta Force in both difficulty of the selection course and their abilities in the field. ->SBS would be the counterpart to US Navy SEALs, in particular Seal Team 6. ->The Special Reconnaissance Regiment is equivalent to US Marine Recon and US Army Ranger Reconnaissance Company
About the best equivalent I have seen. Many Americans think the US Marines are the same as Royal Marines. They are totally different. Having worked with US Marines several times. They are just general seaborne infantry, the Royal Marines are a million miles different.
@@leonrussell9607 SFSG is equivalent to US Rangers. (not as well equipped, so arguably less capable in skills..... but as troops go theyre equivalent and most similar in role) but yes...SFSG is no better trained than Paras or marines....so if youre comparing quality of troops paras and marines = US Rangers. but role and capability SFSG is most similar.
That intro is very poignant. As a Brit who had family who served and some died taking down Hitler and the Nazis. It hurts to think that it set us on the path to destroy this once great nation. Great Britain is a shadow today of what made it great. We have weak politicians that have zero leadership skills. A large amount of people living among us who hate us. Would anyone today answer the call? I think a large percentage would not.
You'd struggle to muster a small squadron of gen Z to help put out a fire in a local village hall let alone any kind of defence force. Too busy eating bags of quavers and sloshing down monster energy drinks. UKs utterly fucked bunch of utter fanny's nowadays
I remember people said much the same about the youth and country generally in the late 70s - then came the Falklands War and proved them worng. Sadly, the past 14 yrs has seen such a run down in funding and support which has resulted in reduced capability of general and SD operations. I am hopful that we can restore at least some operational ability with the new government's commitment to increase funding to armed forces.
We created an enemy in Germany (biggest mistake ever) and then 'we' defeated the wrong enemy. That's the truth, we've been paying the price ever since.
Both my grandfathers fought in WW2. They were opened minded men who fought against small minded, introspective fools with a nationalist agenda who ignored the absolute moral and financial corruption of their governments.
@@tonysadler5290 The new government has as much backbone as a dead worm. Don't bet on them spending a penny to defend the country. We are being invaded every day.
I thought plane hostage rescue was GIGN's specialty, they taught a bunch of other CT units how to do that but I have no source on them inventing the concept although it would seem likely.
@@alexion2001 Everyone had issues with plane hijackings until the SAS CRW figured it out and developed flashbangs, the SAS then helped others with the methods they learnt. for example 2 sas helped with Lufthansa Flight 181, Weirdly enough it isn't documented nearly as much as it used to, and i feel like the history of it has been lost to time. There are also a lot of legends around the SAS that's not confirmed yet.
I take issue with the D Stirling beginning. His first operation was a complete failure, seeing many personnel dying due to poor decisions, the rescue of personnel by the LRDG did put a seed into how future Stirling operations should be mounted. The LRDG should be classified as the first 'special ' unit!
The :Five Miler of Death" video was a joke to rattle to Bootnecks and Paras, clearly its still working to this day .... Scouse Taylor been Laughing about it to this day
I was on 2 Squadron with scouse. He was on Chris Thrall's podcast twice, talking, (and joking) about it. I think they've got a tab set-up soon, reliving the infamous 5 miler. It's actually 6 with 76lb plus weapon and a full day of live firing ex. They'll only be doing the tab but on fairly flat ground. Nothing like the North Yorkshire terrain.
@@stevecowham1017 completely agree and people say its a piece of p!ss and its not we did all day live firing but its needed especially when buggered I have respect for some lads in the raf regt but iv also had some very bad experiences with them We all have a role at the end of the day (had in my case) and its all good banter without it we wouldnt be able to raise our standards, i knew a lad in 2 sqn he was an arseholio but he got alot of sh!t from the bootys and the HATS All im going to say is the PARAs are the original Hats (heli assualt teams) And like i said all banter and p!ss taking aside i respect anyone whos served whether your a clerk or a chef right up to SF we all have a job to do and none of us can do it without each other but thats what makes the british armed forced the best in the world even though there like 7 of us Im ex guards so i got it from all angles and but also gave it at all POF so its all good Nothing can be as bad as 5Rifles at the moment
As a FORMER TOP TIER 1 OPERATOR of HIS MAJESTIES "SPECIAL NEEDS SERVICE" who had the pleasure of being the very first SPECIAL FORCES DOOR GUNNER on a SUBMARINE in our back yard POOL thats something I'll never forget and always be very proud of untill tomorrow then I'll probably forget But our history goes back to last thursday that was our worst battle which has gone down in wartime folklore and into the history books well at 600 HRS we had to fight off 10 MOSQUITOES, 2 LIZARDS and 28 HORNETS .But sadly we lost 3 MEMBERS who got splashed and wet with dirty water they just couldnt find a dry pair of pants anywhere one of the members trousers didnt even have a crease in what an absolute madman no crease Wow amazing hes an absolute legend now but he couldnt find a IRON anywhere.And my last BATTLE before i retired was in a puddle outside our local STORE i was going to do some groceries when we got attacked by a LEGO BLOCK where i had to fight it off single-handedly then i had to sacrifice my lighter and melt the LEGO BLOCK i burnt my finger in the process and my finger nail i was then rushed to hospital to get an emergency operation on my fingernail where the surgeons took out nail clippers and cut my nail every week for a month never forget that one i thought i lost it forever and it really took it out of me because i didnt think my nail would ever grow back and i admit i suffer from PTSD because every time i see a puddle in the street i freak out a bit but wouldnt change it for anything and would do it all again in a heartbeat and I've got all my medals what i bought off the Internet nd I'll pass them down to my pet MOUSE 🖱 🐹
I wish the UK forces in ww2 and today were represented more fairly in media, hollywood has this hard on with trying to erase UK's insane contribution in ww2, often in many scenes where multiple countries men were fighting you only see in the film the americans, they paint shit like they did everything when they really didn't. I've heard some americans say shit like the brits did nothing or that they contributed very little which is a wild concept for anyone who actually knows history. Just look at how masters of the air made the brits out as pricks... So thanks for this.
You see, the problem with us Brits is that we have NEVER suffered from an inferiority complex: we have no need of it - to the extent that we often 'CELEBRATE' our failures! Other nations, however...
@@marvinc9994 Nah it's more like we have a do or die attitude and our humour is ingrained in our beining. Like for us failure isn't really a thing, victory isn't a thing, it's just getting on with it, carry on and do your best that's us. But you are right, other countries, I'd argue younger countries like usa... they care too much about losses, about victories, about how they look etc we are batshit crazy when pushed, just doing a job outside that. And it works. it works so damn well. We were born tough af
@@nameisbad Like I said: NO need for an Inferiority Complex - not in view of our being a Superior People; something we instinctively _feel_ , but which we sense it would simply be Bad Form to express openly - leaving THAT sort of thing to those Kipling referred to as 'Lesser breeds without the Law'.😀
@@marvinc9994 Nah you lost me, we aren't a superior people in the sense you are trying to push, we are a tough people. Only America has an inferiority complex and that comes from being a very young country. But all this shit you've spouted mate, sounds more like projection of your own inferiority complex, like touch grass mate because you sound hella cringe. Especially the contradiction of talking about bad form yet here you are... Shit you sound almost like someone pretending to be british while also representing them in the worst possible way. Like holy shit... Actual top shelf cringe right here.
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Like the video, well presented. What I wonder is if the Brits do what is Americans did when meeting and conversing with other special ops groups of other countries did. We would always trade patches and tabs when we got to sit down and shoot the shit. I miss those days. Showed a lot of respect amongst our different groups. I get enjoy showing my babies what units I got to work or train with. It makes it really cool to show my kids and their classmates a real history and who you as a person used to be
What a lovely view of London in 1940, peaceful and idyllic, and if only we had stayed out of essentially a regional dispute between Germany and Poland it would have remained so, no world war, no blitz, no rationing, no slaughter of the flower of England(again) and no lost empire, if only.
@@JB-ve8ze Two rifle companies of Royal Gurkha Rifles are part of special operations group. I mentioned that the tier system is unofficial and only used it for explanation..
It's easy to refute anything when you pick collections of words out of sentences. Context is important. But it requires using eyes and ears before the mouth.
The beginning where it shows London in 1940. Imagine taking a man from that time and bringing him to his beloved city now. He would think he was in a different country cause there are very few English people in London anymore. Our people in our cities are minorities.
You have neglected to mention one of the most respected units held by the SAS and the SBS as being more specialised than them, the unit being the Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre of the Royal Marines.
I would also add the Pathfinder Platoon into Tier 1 reconnaissance similar to SRR, they have a 60% pass rate onto joining SAS and they are the "First In" to any war literally. They do similar training to the SAS and constantly train alongside UKSF units. Even though it is considered the "stepping stone" into the SAS, one could argue that they are even better than the SAS. Edit: People can only give their opinions but only the people who have gone through both can give facts but I do appreciate all the replies
First of all they are no way near tier 1, and secondly they are no way near SAS, let alone better than them so I don’t know why you said “one could argue they are even better”. All they are, are an advanced HALO qualified recce unit for 16AAB. Compare their selections and it’s probably a very condensed 6 week version of SAS selection excluding the jungle phase.
@@kiwiviking175 Likewise, you have (or used to)the Royal Marines Artic Warfare Cadre, who were all qualified as Mountain Leaders. They were the brigade recce for 3 Commando Brigade but they were not officially SF..Another highly specialised RM unit would be 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group, formally Comacchio Group..again technically not SF, but trained to very high standards...
Pathfinders aren't "tier1" they wouldn't even consider themselves to be. They would however probably be considered SF/SOF in many countries military's. I'm pretty sure they cross train with a lot of these types of units. Whilst it's true they worked quite a bit with the SAS back in the day I'm not sure if this is still the case given UKSF is it's own thing and fully self supported these days.
All I can say about our military men and women that have severed in all conflicts, plus the one's that are not with us anymore RIP and the ones who are still serving all I can say is THANKS
@@alexander-mclanachan5618148 are an elite class unit. Americans would call them JTACs, but FST will do. There ain't many of them and yeah Based with the SBS because they do FST for them being it Naval guns, Fast Air or artillery, and also eyes on recon. I'm not up on every fact but think it's 4/73 sphinx that do a similar job although they don't have to be Para trained. Generally this video is ok as all SF has support units but I don't think because the The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing of RAF fly SAS around I don't think they are SF in anything but name although they would have all the best pilots and Ground support. I believe the footage that listed under " SBS " of a para drop is actually 148 RA over Scotland OR Locally at Poole as there are a few different vids on YT doing jumps.
It's hard to tell which is more laughably inaccurate - this video or the comments. 😢. Worst is confusing "special operations capable" with "Special Forces" - the two are totally different and unconnected. Ranger regiments will NOT undertake tasks traditionally done by SF - these tasks were previously done by OMLTs and LS, only in a very, very few cases by SF. The CDS has NOT indicated they'll be similar to US SF, known as Green Berets. There's simply no comparison or equivalency in terms of selection, training, ability or role - it's just nonsense. There's a small overlap in terms of training foreign units, but absolutely NO similarity. It's just absurd ... as for RAF Reg and Gurkhas ... un-B-frigging-lievable.
The Uk Rangers have stollen the insignia of the Rhodesian Selous Scouts; a special forces unit active and highly effective in the Rhodesian Bush War of the 1970s.
@@seanbooth1278 Rhodesia SAS were C Squadron originally and they didn't work together after UDI in 1965. In terms of the volume of combat the Rhodesian SAS far exceeded 22 SAS being constantly at war for over a decade.
@@rodsinclair2573 You reckon Rhodesian SAS combat experience exceeds 22 SAS? you won't find many units in the world that have successfully conducted hostage rescues live time..... Hostage rescues are a clear mark of top level units. My point being, you aren't going to be able to compare how many rounds where fired where...so the best measure is to compare what level they work at. Rhodesian SAS in my opinion are not matching 22 SAS in experience or capability im afraid.
@@OMT988 I'm talking about the 1970s, and the Iranian Embassy and chasing the IRA doesn't equate to the huge camp attacks that the Rhodesians put in and the hundreds or even thousands of contacts and smaller attacks that went on. We also had a lot of former British SAS in the Rhodesian Army. A good source of information is on You tube with Fighting men of Rhodesia.
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I really stirred up a hornet's nest with the RAF Regiment, didn't I? I should have been more careful with my wording there. I put them on the same level as the Marines and Paras, which is completely wrong. I should have provided more explanation about the RAF Regiment. I'll take the L. Thank you all for your inputs.
Edit: I hope you guys know english because many people are calling bs on my video, saying I said raf regiment is sf (which I never said).
These people complain without watching the whole video. They don't even have clue of the current structure of the British military.
They don't even know the new special operations brigade which was formed recently.
So please watch the whole video and do your own research before commenting. And also stop treating military units as your football clubs. It's not a competition.
You did indeed !!
Paras have different battalions that usually range from best to worst, with 1st battalion known as the "elite" , getting many chances to work with SFSG, while the rest are just the same as other infantry units throughout the Army. An example would be the kings foot guards, whom are known to have excellent high performance & standards as infantry soldiers.
That being said, all infantry regiments train to the same standard, (at least they should in the book) the only exception is the Paras have the most difficult physical process in their selection.
Not taking credit from Paras at all, but from my research, this ideology about the paras puts the other excellent regiments in the shadows.
Not sure if this is 100% correct, but I did read somewhere that in the early days, most SF units were formed from the Guards regiments.
@deceasedgoat you can get on the flank lofty! Rockapes up with Royal? Good grief. Lol😂
Lol😂
You didn't watch that ''5 miler of death'' vid where the lizard says that completing this will mean they stand ''toe to toe'' with RM and Paras?
You also forgot mention Royal Navy chef. Toughest course in the military…no fucker has ever passed it
😂😂😂😂
I think that course is Joint Services but the pass rate is still the same.
😂🤣 Yep. Having been stuck on a few tubs with our Royal Marines attachment, I can attest to that. No RN chef ever passed their training, hence the food.
Navy Chef isnt that Steven Seagal (a Ccommie Simp)..
But cooks have passed selection.Tommy Tobin is one. Fought at Mirbat.
What a shame, no one seems to give The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) any credit. If not for them The SAS would have been just another failed project.
The LRDG carried the sas into their battle area. People do not know that. In lybya in 1959 I was a young green tankie and the took me out into the desert for training. Well out into the desert the older soldiers showed me a LRDG vehicle that had been shot up and destroyed in ww2. On the back of the vehicle was a gerry can whith bullet holes in it. It was a German one that the LRDG had pinched from the Germans stamped in German writing and when I shook it I could hear the spent bullets rattling around in it. I still remember that day even now that I am over 85 years old, sites like that stay in your memories.
@@charlieyerrell9146 They took 'jerry cans' because the British ones leaked. You turned those into stoves to brew up on. LRDG was formed to recover aircrew downed in the desert and had already fixed the problems the SAS would have in mobility.
Aye and another one that seldom gets a mention is Popskis Private Army (which was their official title, they were the smallest unit ever in the British forces but had some impressive achievements), Popski's book 'Private Army' makes interesting reading, for one thing it demonstrates the importance of direct local knowledge in special operations.
My Grandad was in the 44th reconnaissance corps worked with LRDG a bit.
Thats because they dont exist anymore
As a former member of the U.S. Army, my favorite foreign militaries to cross train with were the British and the Canadians. Love 'em both.
I was a British soldier and was sent to camp Bondsteel in Kosovo in 2000 to work with you guys for a few weeks..... I was put into a 6 man room with 4 black GIs and one Hispanic..... Great bunch of lads... Never met a more generous and gracious people.... Your food is amazing lobster tails and steak every day.... Although I had no clue how to play American football or basket ball....
@@HUMPTYNUGGETI wasn’t a soldier but as a Brit I spent time in New Orleans and the black Americans that I met were indeed the most generous and gracious people I’ve met anywhere.
After 26 years in the military surely watching a video isn’t about whose regiment is better. We were all good at what we did whether SF or chefs or musicians. 👍
Absolutely right. It's like arguing over which is the best part of a car. Wheels? Engine? Gearbox? It won't work without any one of them.
100% ... every soldier, sailor and airman does their part. Elite forces is a weird term, it seems to only encapsulate 'soldiering' yet we have Hunter Killer Sub Commanders, Pilots, specialist Weapon Engineers, Explosive Engineers etc etc many are certainly 'Elite' at what they 'do'. Are you Tier 1 if we're talking sinking an enemy Nuke Sub for example? you just saved a lot of people perhaps. Yet the SF get all the 'Hollywood'. Not taking anything away from them or anyone else, they are brothers, but all 'specialist operator' stuff is relative to the person and what they do, where deployed and the mission in hand. I think the rest of the green and grey are happy to let the so called T1 and 2 get all the press and attention so they don't have to. Pass selection (well done) you're all over podcasts and TV, shoot down 6 cruise missiles one evening from your big grey war canoe ... no one ever knows who you are. Thats REAL discretion. In the late 80s the Royal Navy was (allegedly) tangling with the Russians in places they shouldn't have even been and the stories (if they existed) are really interesting, yet, who makes videos about that? Well, no one because it never happened. Skills are skills! but its accepted it seems they are only skills if you have to pass SF selection. We are ONE FORCE and Im sure most SF guys will agree.
It’s my understanding that the chefs course is the hardest one in the British army. As no one has ever passed it.
Well said. Best comment made
I, for one, couldn't be more proud of what these men do and have done. We are extremely lucky to have these men working for us and showing bravery above and beyond.
This video is totally wrong! I am a former Royal Marine. The tiered system is SAS & SBS (2,000 men). Then the Royal Marines Raiding groups, Special Reconnaissance Regiment, Para Pathfinder, Ranger Regiment, 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (10,000 men in total). The RAF Regiment and Gurkha Rifles are not special forces. They are both regular regiments. The SAS is NOT made up of the Royal Marines. Royal Marines make up 90% of the SBS is made up from the Royal Marines and 60% of the SAS comes from the Paras. The author of this video gets many things wrong!
The Iranian Embassy action by the SAS did not kill any hostages. The terrorists shot one hostage days before. The second hostage was shot 22 minutes before the SAS attack, it is what triggered the attack.
Well said lad
Marines aren't special forces either
@@stuartbates1526 waiting to find out if Tory plans to disband Royal Marines to pay for ships will be carried out by Labour
@@stuartbates1526 You don't know much. The Royal Marines Raiding groups operate with the SAS and SBS. The Royal Marines go through the longest training of any armed forces. Try being an officer. My training was 16 months. A standard Royal Marine is elite infantry. Add the additional special forces training for certain troops, where those units are easily considered SF.
@@Cdr_Mansfield_Cumming whatever the ‘Marine raiding groups’ are they’re not part of UKSF
Putting E Sqn SAS, the Pathfinders and SIS under the RAF Regiment at the end is actual giggles.
My dad was in British Army Reconnaissance all his military life from 1939/46, one of the very last off from Dunkirk and one of the first into the hell hole of Cann, I’m so proud of my dad.
My old fella was in the 44th Reconnaissance regiment during the war. He fought at El Alamein and Monte Casino
God bless the British Special Forces. Thank you for your service.
There are a few things I’d like to clarify.
1. I’m aware that not every image used in the thumbnail exactly represents the unit it signifies. This isn't just an issue with the thumbnail but also in the video. Due to the secretive nature of special forces, it's difficult to pinpoint which images belong to which units.
2. Initially, I used the official mottos of each unit as the title for their respective chapters. However, I later realized that not all units have official mottos. So, I chose those that seemed most fitting.
3. I wasn't aware that Sir Claude Auchinleck’s name had a different pronunciation. I discovered this while watching Rogue Heroes and also learned his nickname was "Auk." Apologies for the mispronunciation.
Edit - 5:37 - I misspelled "L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade"
This is great info, subbed. I first heard about e-squadron/the Increment on a Playboy magazine article, if you'd believe it. I thought it was made up lad-mag nonsense but turns out they exist. I would say they are sort of equivalent to CIA Ground Branch.
JSFAW is kinda like 160 SOAR, SFSG is kinda like 75 Rangers, Rangers is kinda like Green Berets, SBS is basically SEALs and SAS is equivalent to CAG/Delta, if my understanding is correct.
@@CAARaeed Playboy's writing about secret intelligence !? That's pretty funny. you're absolutely correct. You can compare the E squadron with the CIA's own special activities center (SAC). They are known as the "Third Option".
JSFAW are the British Night Stalkers ( 160th soar)
SAS ~ DELTA
SBS ~ DEVGRU
But regarding SFSG, I wouldn't put it with the 75th ranger regiment. Your assumption is pretty good but I think SFSG is a unique unit only exclusive to British sf.
SFSG is more like a helping hand to SAS/SBS. 75th however is more like a special unit who has their own standard of missions, not quite like tier 1 missions but they have their own catagory of operations. SFSG is more like a "We are here, if you f**k up" unit for SAS/SBS.
Thank you for commenting.
Overall this is a very good overview of UKSF units. Some points though: 1. I think The Increment/E(?) Sqn is actually part of 22 SAS, 2. Doesn't 22 rotate personel between various roles/takings - Eqn/Counter Terror etc, 3. By the end you're repeating the use of photos, 4. While talking about the Augusta Wild cat you show the Boeing V22.
Also, I don't think the first bit of the video, Hitler... works.
I'm being a bit picky - not easy to put together a video like this. Thanks.
Oh, and originally Stirling wanted to and did use parachute insertion. But winds etc. saw his troops badly scattered and off target. He then shifted to vehicles, like the already established LRDG.
@@djd8305 I believe the SAS is divided into multiple troops - boat troop, mountain troop, mobility (or was it ground vehicle?) troop and air troop. Each operator gets assigned to one of these troops, but I don't know if they rotate or not.
Also worth mentioning that the Royal Marines are a special operations capable detachment of the royal navy and not a branch in of itself unlike the US, and are closer in operational capacity to Force Recon than regular Marines
@@CAARaeed The Brits don't have the same prohibition on using their military on home turf - ask the IRA! And it's fascinating how their ex SF guys mostly don't talk operational details. Mostly - I did read a book by an ex Sargent who basically accused squadron members of cowardice in Iraq.
Some of the most humble but absolutely capable people I’ve ever nervously offered a cup of tea to… extraordinary people.
If looking at WWII units the first groups would be the Long Range Desert Group, that pre-date the SAS and not forgetting the Long Range Penetration Group (Chindits) although the RAF Regiment has many specialisms which used to include Rapier, they are not a mainstream SF unit.
My late father and his older brother were both some of the first to volunteer and become Commandos. God bless all our military
Yeah when they were Commandos..nowadays that term is not so true
My old next door neighbour volunteered to join the commandos .he said they asked for volunteers and he said all army don't volunteer then they said you get 2 bob extra month and better food everyone steptforward lol he told me he was up in the Highlands hunting an shooting wild haggis (my family scottish we in Wales) pat wee joke . He told me he quite after his best m8 died in an accident in training he said they jumped in to a ditch and his m8 bumped his sterling gun and killed him .he then transferred back to his unit then he got ill his reg then went to burma then he had to wait then went to Normandy beaches 6th 06 1944...
Very good video saying just enough about who you can say very little and nothing about those who don't exist. Excellent
Alot of factual information that you don't see anywhere else. Well done.
That's because it's mainly bs
So many units inside units, my old unit 148Bty based in Pool as FOO for naval gun fire and Jtac/watch keeper operations.
Loved the vid. The opening was just sublime
‘War is a Racket’ - General Smedley D. Butler
now
My father was involved in clandestine arrangements with Israel at the time of the Suez crisis - he was a Royal Engineer. Officers were expected to handle many Foreign Office requests in the past. It was the strength of the British way of doing things and why only the top 5 % went to University and became officers.
Very informative . I left the British Army a long time ago. it really has changed.
Everything 'changes' from the the time we saw it.
The ‘Det’ or 14th Int were endoscope that found the ‘Disease’ over the water and the reg were the scalpel that cut it out. But ‘The Det’ were the closest thing to James Bond you would find in the ‘Mob’ because of their wide ranging and diverse skills and drills.
Not many people know that.
The 'Det' came to my RAF unit in the early 90's looking for volunteers. I went to the presentation/ It was interesting to say the least. Covert operations in Norhern Ireland, gathering inteligence, taught how to fire every weapon known to mankind, how to drive to evade capture, how to blend in under cover amongst a civilian hostile population. The thing that got me was how to shoot to kill through a windscreen when driving! It was hardcore stuff.
I read a book many years ago, that I think was called 'The Operators' about their training and some aspects of what they did in NI. I assume it was heavily edited by the powers that be, to protect operational security. Even so, WOW, what these men and women went through in training and in the field was impressive 🫡
So what would you consider FRU to be classified as? Personally, after the FRU stint I did ‘selection’ for sas sigs and it was all pretty stressful. Thank fuck I was fit.
@@mac1975 FRU were the sledgehammer that took everything down lol and props for passing selection.
Absolutely fantastic watch! The British SF are the best on this planet!
This is one of the best British SF videos I have watched, thank you. I would have loved to seen a Pathfinders segment, though. My granddad was in SSB in Greece WWII, four man, two canoe teams infiltrating suspicious boats in the Mediterranean. They probably just set limpit mines, blew the boats to smithereens and went back to base for tea.
I gather from the comments by former UK servicemen that some of the information is inaccurate, but given the secrecy surrounding these units I understand. However, I found it a very informative and well put together documentary.
@@robinkirwan thank you. This is my third ever video. I tried my best to gather information. because of their secrecy it is not entirely possible to get everything right. But the reason some people are not liking the video is because,
1. I said the RAF regiment is 'elite'. I should have given more explanation.
2. Now many people are misdirecting people by saying that, I said gurkha and RAF are SF. I never said they were SF.
3. They base their opinion on the previous structure, but the current structure has changed significantly. For example, in 2021, the British Army formed a new special operations brigade that includes units of Gurkhas along with other regiments.
4. I used tier system. I specifically stated the tier system is unofficial and used it to give a better explanation.
So the only inaccurate thing was with the RAF. They took offence when I said they were elite. I apologized for it. But many of the comments are not entirely correct. If you read the replies many are arguing themselves.
Ive never come across a more concise and detailed presentation than this. Excellent work, great narration and good use of visuals.
As a former UK serviceman, ill not stoop down and comment on the RAF reg thing. Just to say that when i went through the recce course alongside the infantry (i was a recce car cmdr in 2RTR) The RAF reg guy that was also on the course dropped out after the first 2 weeks.....guess he didnt like that we had no breakfast in bed policy.
Did you borrow my tee to tum grandad?
@@SlowMarch No idea wth you just typed there mate. Tee to turn?
You were a "recce car cmdr in 2RTR"? Seriously? What happened after that - did you wake up? 😂
@@John-G ?? WTF are you talking about? CVRTs Scimitars....were called cars and Cr1's & 2's are wagons...
@@catlee8064
😂😂😂
14:19 Christian Craighead, a.k.a. Obi Wan Nairobi. He dared, and won. Real legend.
really enjoyed that, nicely put together. 😃😃⭐⭐
Great video, well put together
Nice video. My dad was 21 SAS
I was in B Squadron at the Duke of York's Kings road in 1972.- All gone now. (I am 79) best time of my life.
Do you know what Squadron you;re father was in with 21 and what year?
@@df9177 It was me. I am still alive - info above - In the short time Ran Fiennes was around he invited me to walk round the world with him!
Very similar to the American Delta Force (SAS), Seal Team 6 (SBS), Intelligence Support Activity (SRR & 18 Signals), US Rangers (SFSG), US Night Stalkers (JSFAW), US Special Forces (UK Rangers), and US Marine Recon / MARSOC (Royal Marines Commando). Excellent video.
Royal Marines more akin to base Navy Seals?
Well, they do train together, so I can only presume the intention of that is to be better able to do the real job and understand each other better, so it only makes sense to have a similar structure. If both militaries have to work together they'll have to train together and that training needs to be aligned.
Fookin hell :0 That intro gave me goosebumps! Greetings from Germany :)
Long live Old Germany.
The German army of WW2 was one of the best in history.... If Hitler had left the generals to control the battles things would be very different....our British airborne troops hold a high regard of the Fallskrimjager and still sing thier songs from WW2 like... Das machinen.. and Erika.....
The Germans invented the first Airborne troops, the British invented the first Commando troops and Special forces with the LRDG, SAS and SBS....
I love Germans.... Brits and Germans are family.
@@LewisLeeLandscapes
After the brits bombed Dresden, full of innocent civilians, during the armastice. Bloody hypocrites.
🇬🇧🇩🇪💪🏻
I was watching on my tv, but the moment he said RAF ref, I hit pause, jumped on my phone to read the comments!!! 🤣🤣🤣 wasn’t disappointed
So did I and I'm ex RAF reg. Blurted out laughing
Best special forces in the world, end of! We lead others follow. All others just imitations.🇬🇧
Calm down.
Being first at anything or being imitated does not make you permanently #1.
There are numerous YT videos of SAS and SBS guys praising other SF units, Delta, Devgru, JTF2 etc etc. And vice versa.
Only immature kids, who never wore a uniform, has the urge like you apparently did, to go online and make it a d**k measuring contest. Stop chest-thumping online son, especially through the deeds of others. It’s pathetic.
Very well done! An excellent and concise summary and very well put together. Thank you.
Came to the comments expecting comments on the RAF Reg, and wasn’t disappointed 😂😂😂
you're still wank.
I was watching on TV, but the moment he said RAF reg, I hit pause and jump on my phone for the comments. 🤣🤣
And what people don't realise is there's many from the RAF regiment that's served in the SAS.
@@barryhamilton7845and also SBS
I don’t know about Hereford, but there’s none at Poole.
Lately I have been very worried for the UK army compared to the world. It's nice to hear we are adapting and it feels me with confidence that the UK will always be in the top 5 of the world. Doesn't matter our size physically. We are integrated with every Alliance Army. Britain might be small but we have always packed a punch, I just hope we still can. More then ever now.
Packing a punch / historically the largest Empire the world has ever seen
Very well made, impressive. Subscribed. 👍
You've put a great deal of effort into this, well done. Very informative and interesting.
Thank you for all your hard work. Great video😃😃
Thanks for this,really enjoyed it.👍
I have to say that was pretty good. ir facts of the formation of commandos in 1940 but was told to start again with shock troops, the Commandos were formed. wasn't until Feb 42 that they became The Royal marines. UKSF roles was spot on to, as well as SRR and signal reg. U did ur homework. very good
We do not use the tier system in the UK. It is derived from availability of assets
Actually, we do use the tier system but we don't have any equivalent of second tier.
All Brit SF are first tier or they're not SF - simples.
@@John-G Can you validate "Actually, we do use the tier system'?
@@Dr.Ian-Plect It's simple - all British SF are tier 1. ALL. We simply don't have tier 2 SF - if they're not tier 1, they're not SF.
Saying "we don't have the tier system in the UK" suggests we don't differentiate between tier 1 and tier 2 which is badly misleading.
@@John-G None of that substantiates "we do use the tier system".
@@Dr.Ian-PlectWe use it because we only have tier 1.
We don't divide SF into tier 1 or tier 2 because we don't have any tier 2.
It's like saying you don't differentiate between tactical and strategic ballistic missiles because you don't have any strategic ballistic missiles, only tactical.
The author "Andy McNab" was part of that Gulf War failed mission. It's ALWAYS the goats that give you away.
Same with Marcus luttrel, he and his navy seal team were betrayed by a group of of goat herders in Afghanistan
The Goats I saw in the middle east were not unlike a small brown/black sheep (with no horns) will eat anything growing on a barren stony landscape - brambles etc and the Goat 'headers' just sit on there arses watching them.
@@mikeharris7885 ok?
He was given away by the americans revealing his groups whereabouts.
@@Octo_AI62they weren’t betrayed, they were poorly prepared for the mission and took liberties with the enemy that would be classed as negligence by any SOF team
You are missing the medical side of SF support known as a black serpent medic. They are part of the RMC and are highly skilled in medics, weapons, fitness and mental attitude.
These guys are practically doctors with surgery skills to stop bleeding, infection, and ultimately dying.
The SAS go through medical training as it’s a ‘patrol skill’ that one must pass or your RTU’d. Same as Armourer,Comms and Dems. Because SAS patrol medics are trained in civvy hospitals like Saint Guys Thomas Hospital,where they don scrubs and train under surgeons and medics. They are literally thrown in the deep end and this is a skill that helps in ‘hearts and minds’ when dealing with locals out in the cuds.
@@Terracecasualx5 SF medics are more than the patrol medics of the SAS and are who you're talking about going into Guys and Tommy's. SAS medics are trained to a higher standard than CMTs but not as good as those who've done black serpent though they can if they really want to, do black serpent
the guys i saw on black snake were clown's hopefully it was a different black snake but I don't think it was 😳
7 Squadron and MERT, also.
Great video.
E Sqd are still known as the increment…off the books of course.
I would have included the Royal Marine Mountain leaders, I know they are Royal Marines but their training is easily of SF level.
That is not relevant, this regards special forces, which ML are not.
ML get SF pay
@@Michael-fj5sh No, they do not. SF pay is a separate scale, ML do get additional pay, but this is a distinct scale from SF pay.
18 Sigs are not SFCs. 264 are SFCs and directly support squadrons.
18 signals regiment is just a signals regiment that supplys comms capability to the group.
Fair play sir, youre the first one ive seen that knows about stuff like TF maroon (which became TF shield) your detail and knowledge is impressive.
In fairness. The Germans were using 'Special Forces' as an integral component of Blitzkrieg, as recognised by several top Brit' commanders and Winston Churchill. Units acting semi independently and in an unconventional manner were nothing new - 'Commando' being a Boer Term for just such units. and claiming the Brits were first at it is a bit rich, though they did develop the concept a bit.
In Afrikaans "commando" simply means men called to military service and has none of the connotations of elite forces as it does today. Primarily cavalry the Boers rode in "commandos" which in this sense has the meaning roughly equivalent to Squadron or Regiment.
@@roberthughes9856 Agreed, But Churchill was impressed by their unconventional (relative to the British military doctrine at the time) hit and run methods. which is why he adopted the term for the Commandos.
The montage at the start was pretty sick
Great intro until mention of RAF Regt and the term “elite” in the same breath…
Anything beyond 5 miles and they’ll struggle.
How dare you imply that stagging on outside the NAAFI isn’t important 😂
@@red-duke999 fair point.
I was detached to the RAF Regt in 2008. Raging! When I arrived I had so many preconceptions about them. After working with them for a few weeks I realised I was correct in every way, they were totally dog sh*t!!
Looking ‘ally’ was all they cared about. They weren’t given WMIKS because they barely went outside the wire so they stripped the doors and roof off of GS Landrovers and made roll cages from metal tubing so they looked like WMIKs. We called them MIMICS.
Aren't they for defending air bases?
Yea and they will also tell you that. They were humble and decent and didn't pretend to be white and had good drills which means they were actually sensible and probably pretty decent from the view of a Royal marine but not designed for getting stuck in heavily
Excellent work!
Very well made
The reason why I joined the brigade paracommandos 1995-1999 was because of my grandfather who, after fighting in belgium when the germans invaded on 10 may 1940 that he went to england and joined up the commandos, he was part of the 10th interallied commando, 4th troop. Fought in Yugoslavia, italy and got wounded during the amfibic landing in holland during the battle of walcheren (the escaut river).
You joined the "brigade para-commandos 1995 - 1999"? Was that before or after you were in the Inter-Galactic Space Cadets? 😂
The Royal Engineers Commandos/Paratroopers and the Royal Artillery Commandos/Paratroopers are not mentioned? He said,
'Special Forces recruits are mainly recruited from the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines?'
Yet the Royal Engineers Commandos/Parachute Regiments/Squadrons cover all aspects of combat engineering including demolitions, technical surveillance/mapping, mine warfare, and divers etc. And the artillery support of both Parachute and Commando Royal Artillery soldiers is essential to support SF operations.
you are correct. the royal engineers in the british army is the only british army section that can actually invade a country destroy everything deploy its specifically trained forces then rebuild the entire country again, we have our own tradesmen , medics logistics signal units , you name it the royal engineers have there hands in its pockets. we even train other units like SAS , SBS, SRR, SFSG, SFS, in various aspects
So do REME, Cooks, RLC etc etc etc
There's a difference between "Elite Units" and "Special Forces". The Paras, and Commandos, are both Elite Units that have a specialized function, but were not actually "Special Forces" under UK designation. The actual "Special Forces" (SAS, SBS and Recon) are the ones that do the insanely difficult small-unit ops, like 3 men camping in a bush for a week watching the enemy base without them ever suspecting kind of insanity. You don't judge them by how many wars they've seen action in, but rather, how many non-wars they prevented, or served Britain in that 'officially' had no British involvement. As for where they serve, well, everywhere. Anywhere and everywhere that British Intelligence needs professional eyes on the ground and assessment in, there will be special forces.
RAF Regt elite, lol
That’s a joke are they fuck
PMSL when I saw that... yea they're speshul alright... RAF Regt aka Military Airport Security 🤣
The 5 mile death run.
The RAF Regiment certainly don't do themselves any favours with their self promotion at times, but at least one squadron used to be parachute trained and their mission was to capture enemy airfields...I think it's on the back of this how they ended up in the UKSSG...
Hey, '5 miler of death'....We care!😂
18 UKSF Training and Assessment is no joke 😲😲
Was a fella from the United States who said: "walk softly and carry a big stick" - Or thereabouts.
Peace through strength.
I believe it was Theodore Roosevelt, of course when he was President of the United States his big stick was the sixth fleet.
McCarthy
Brilliant and well described.
->Today all Royal Marines are Commandos. I would compare their training to US Army Rangers or US Marine Corps Raiders.
->The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing would be the equivalent to the US Army Night Stalkers.
->The SAS is equivalent to the US Army Delta Force in both difficulty of the selection course and their abilities in the field.
->SBS would be the counterpart to US Navy SEALs, in particular Seal Team 6.
->The Special Reconnaissance Regiment is equivalent to US Marine Recon and US Army Ranger Reconnaissance Company
About the best equivalent I have seen. Many Americans think the US Marines are the same as Royal Marines. They are totally different. Having worked with US Marines several times. They are just general seaborne infantry, the Royal Marines are a million miles different.
Wouldn't the parachute regiment be closer to the rangers than the marines?
Both are airborne shock troops
@@leonrussell9607 SFSG is equivalent to US Rangers. (not as well equipped, so arguably less capable in skills..... but as troops go theyre equivalent and most similar in role)
but yes...SFSG is no better trained than Paras or marines....so if youre comparing quality of troops paras and marines = US Rangers.
but role and capability SFSG is most similar.
I suppose the 18th signals reg could also be equivalent to JSOC's Intelligence Support Activity.
@@ahcrapxd2565 I dont know any thing about JSOC but aren't they a specialist intelligence gathering organisation?
I suspect GCHQ is UKSF equivalent.
Excellent presentation....
That intro is very poignant. As a Brit who had family who served and some died taking down Hitler and the Nazis. It hurts to think that it set us on the path to destroy this once great nation. Great Britain is a shadow today of what made it great. We have weak politicians that have zero leadership skills. A large amount of people living among us who hate us. Would anyone today answer the call? I think a large percentage would not.
You'd struggle to muster a small squadron of gen Z to help put out a fire in a local village hall let alone any kind of defence force. Too busy eating bags of quavers and sloshing down monster energy drinks. UKs utterly fucked bunch of utter fanny's nowadays
I remember people said much the same about the youth and country generally in the late 70s - then came the Falklands War and proved them worng.
Sadly, the past 14 yrs has seen such a run down in funding and support which has resulted in reduced capability of general and SD operations. I am hopful that we can restore at least some operational ability with the new government's commitment to increase funding to armed forces.
We created an enemy in Germany (biggest mistake ever) and then 'we' defeated the wrong enemy. That's the truth, we've been paying the price ever since.
Both my grandfathers fought in WW2. They were opened minded men who fought against small minded, introspective fools with a nationalist agenda who ignored the absolute moral and financial corruption of their governments.
@@tonysadler5290 The new government has as much backbone as a dead worm. Don't bet on them spending a penny to defend the country. We are being invaded every day.
Fantastic documentary. Well done.
A very informative video with regards to UK SF units. Tks for the efforts in putting all of this together.
'He who Dares Rodders... He who Dares'
Really great video
Think you can do one on South African special forces
From the Recces to 32 Battalion and Koevoet and the police special task force
I read a really good Book a while back about The Small Teams that were recruited from The Recces, it was a Top Read 👍👍
@stephensmith4480 There are a few of those books out Alexander Strachen also an ex recce wrote them
@@HendrikSchoeman557 This one was by a guy called Koos Stadler.
@stephensmith4480 I've read it very good read very insightful.
@@HendrikSchoeman557 💯% 👍
New channel? Happy to find so early 340
Also missed oppertunity: SAS created flashbangs and were the ones to figure out how to deal with plane hostage situations.
I thought plane hostage rescue was GIGN's specialty, they taught a bunch of other CT units how to do that but I have no source on them inventing the concept although it would seem likely.
@@alexion2001 Everyone had issues with plane hijackings until the SAS CRW figured it out and developed flashbangs, the SAS then helped others with the methods they learnt. for example 2 sas helped with Lufthansa Flight 181, Weirdly enough it isn't documented nearly as much as it used to, and i feel like the history of it has been lost to time.
There are also a lot of legends around the SAS that's not confirmed yet.
I take issue with the D Stirling beginning. His first operation was a complete failure, seeing many personnel dying due to poor decisions, the rescue of personnel by the LRDG did put a seed into how future Stirling operations should be mounted. The LRDG should be classified as the first 'special ' unit!
The :Five Miler of Death" video was a joke to rattle to Bootnecks and Paras, clearly its still working to this day .... Scouse Taylor been Laughing about it to this day
Very thin skinned those paras and marines!....😂😂😂
I was on 2 Squadron with scouse. He was on Chris Thrall's podcast twice, talking, (and joking) about it. I think they've got a tab set-up soon, reliving the infamous 5 miler. It's actually 6 with 76lb plus weapon and a full day of live firing ex. They'll only be doing the tab but on fairly flat ground. Nothing like the North Yorkshire terrain.
@@stevecowham1017 completely agree and people say its a piece of p!ss and its not we did all day live firing but its needed especially when buggered
I have respect for some lads in the raf regt but iv also had some very bad experiences with them
We all have a role at the end of the day (had in my case) and its all good banter without it we wouldnt be able to raise our standards, i knew a lad in 2 sqn he was an arseholio but he got alot of sh!t from the bootys and the HATS
All im going to say is the PARAs are the original Hats (heli assualt teams)
And like i said all banter and p!ss taking aside i respect anyone whos served whether your a clerk or a chef right up to SF we all have a job to do and none of us can do it without each other but thats what makes the british armed forced the best in the world even though there like 7 of us
Im ex guards so i got it from all angles and but also gave it at all POF so its all good
Nothing can be as bad as 5Rifles at the moment
I liked your content here, but I found pacing an issue.
A bit of repetition, too.
Beyond that, really good.
I hope your channel does well.
British special forces either SAS or SBS are the only Tier 1 in the world, nothing any other country has comes close to that standard.
Such an american term, does my head in that brits are fast becoming americanized
The Aussie SASR and Commando Regiments will not bow to such comments.
@@paulp1450 no they just murder civvies 🤣
The Delta force(Combat Applications Group) looks in derision at this comment.
Delta Force and devgru would disagree with that along with the CIA special activities group that doesn't exist .
Not a Queen , not to me because there was only one Queen . Queen Elisibeth the second , I proudly served her and her alone .
* Elizabeth
Absolutely, I made my oath of allegiance to HM Queen Elizabeth the second.
Petty.
in the 6 Days clip, the film makers made an error, the guy is wearing a S6 respirator with an S10 filter which came out 6 years after that operation.
One of my grandfathers was a Commando in WW2. I’ve got his cap badge, medals and a photo of his training unit. Very proud indeed.
Rule Britannia from Glasgow 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧😎👍💙
I enjoyed that thank you.
As a FORMER TOP TIER 1 OPERATOR of HIS MAJESTIES "SPECIAL NEEDS SERVICE" who had the pleasure of being the very first SPECIAL FORCES DOOR GUNNER on a SUBMARINE in our back yard POOL thats something I'll never forget and always be very proud of untill tomorrow then I'll probably forget But our history goes back to last thursday that was our worst battle which has gone down in wartime folklore and into the history books well at 600 HRS we had to fight off 10 MOSQUITOES, 2 LIZARDS and 28 HORNETS .But sadly we lost 3 MEMBERS who got splashed and wet with dirty water they just couldnt find a dry pair of pants anywhere one of the members trousers didnt even have a crease in what an absolute madman no crease Wow amazing hes an absolute legend now but he couldnt find a IRON anywhere.And my last BATTLE before i retired was in a puddle outside our local STORE i was going to do some groceries when we got attacked by a LEGO BLOCK where i had to fight it off single-handedly then i had to sacrifice my lighter and melt the LEGO BLOCK i burnt my finger in the process and my finger nail i was then rushed to hospital to get an emergency operation on my fingernail where the surgeons took out nail clippers and cut my nail every week for a month never forget that one i thought i lost it forever and it really took it out of me because i didnt think my nail would ever grow back and i admit i suffer from PTSD because every time i see a puddle in the street i freak out a bit but wouldnt change it for anything and would do it all again in a heartbeat and I've got all my medals what i bought off the Internet nd I'll pass them down to my pet MOUSE 🖱 🐹
Thank you for your cervix.
My Grandfather was Artillery then commando then SAS, he continued as TA. He was
Number 1 squadron 2nd SAS.
I wish the UK forces in ww2 and today were represented more fairly in media, hollywood has this hard on with trying to erase UK's insane contribution in ww2, often in many scenes where multiple countries men were fighting you only see in the film the americans, they paint shit like they did everything when they really didn't. I've heard some americans say shit like the brits did nothing or that they contributed very little which is a wild concept for anyone who actually knows history.
Just look at how masters of the air made the brits out as pricks...
So thanks for this.
You see, the problem with us Brits is that we have NEVER suffered from an inferiority complex: we have no need of it - to the extent that we often 'CELEBRATE' our failures! Other nations, however...
@@marvinc9994 Nah it's more like we have a do or die attitude and our humour is ingrained in our beining. Like for us failure isn't really a thing, victory isn't a thing, it's just getting on with it, carry on and do your best that's us.
But you are right, other countries, I'd argue younger countries like usa... they care too much about losses, about victories, about how they look etc
we are batshit crazy when pushed, just doing a job outside that. And it works. it works so damn well. We were born tough af
@@nameisbad
Like I said: NO need for an Inferiority Complex - not in view of our being a Superior People; something we instinctively _feel_ , but which we sense it would simply be Bad Form to express openly - leaving THAT sort of thing to those Kipling referred to as 'Lesser breeds without the Law'.😀
@@marvinc9994 Nah you lost me, we aren't a superior people in the sense you are trying to push, we are a tough people.
Only America has an inferiority complex and that comes from being a very young country.
But all this shit you've spouted mate, sounds more like projection of your own inferiority complex, like touch grass mate because you sound hella cringe.
Especially the contradiction of talking about bad form yet here you are...
Shit you sound almost like someone pretending to be british while also representing them in the worst possible way. Like holy shit... Actual top shelf cringe right here.
Like the video, well presented. What I wonder is if the Brits do what is Americans did when meeting and conversing with other special ops groups of other countries did. We would always trade patches and tabs when we got to sit down and shoot the shit. I miss those days. Showed a lot of respect amongst our different groups. I get enjoy showing my babies what units I got to work or train with. It makes it really cool to show my kids and their classmates a real history and who you as a person used to be
What a lovely view of London in 1940, peaceful and idyllic, and if only we had stayed out of essentially a regional dispute between Germany and Poland it would have remained so, no world war, no blitz, no rationing, no slaughter of the flower of England(again) and no lost empire, if only.
I'll do you one better, if we didn't get involved in WW1
Best UK SF video seen in ages. How did you get so much info?
TH-cam videos..
Gurkas are not classed as Special operations capable. And we do not have Tier system.
@@JB-ve8ze Two rifle companies of Royal Gurkha Rifles are part of special operations group.
I mentioned that the tier system is unofficial and only used it for explanation..
@@DeceasedGoatwhat special operations group bud??
@@Jon-bo9xx Google "British Army special operations brigade"
22 SAS, SBS are classed as Tier 1. SRR , 21/23 SAS and SFSG, 18sigs are classed as tier 2
It's easy to refute anything when you pick collections of words out of sentences. Context is important. But it requires using eyes and ears before the mouth.
Thoroughly enjoyed
missed out that the sas were also active in ireland during the troubles
No it mentions that special forces were involved with both provos & loyalist monitoring etc
They were active in Northern Ireland in the UK. British lands 👍🇬🇧😎
@@kevingarethmcbride1216 yeah exactly
and Gibraltar ;)
SAS are hands down the most elite force in the world, huge respect.
The beginning where it shows London in 1940. Imagine taking a man from that time and bringing him to his beloved city now. He would think he was in a different country cause there are very few English people in London anymore. Our people in our cities are minorities.
True , Britain alongwith Europe is gone. Sadly nothing can be done to reverse the trend.
You have neglected to mention one of the most respected units held by the SAS and the SBS as being more specialised than them, the unit being the Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre of the Royal Marines.
I would also add the Pathfinder Platoon into Tier 1 reconnaissance similar to SRR, they have a 60% pass rate onto joining SAS and they are the "First In" to any war literally. They do similar training to the SAS and constantly train alongside UKSF units. Even though it is considered the "stepping stone" into the SAS, one could argue that they are even better than the SAS.
Edit: People can only give their opinions but only the people who have gone through both can give facts but I do appreciate all the replies
First of all they are no way near tier 1, and secondly they are no way near SAS, let alone better than them so I don’t know why you said “one could argue they are even better”. All they are, are an advanced HALO qualified recce unit for 16AAB. Compare their selections and it’s probably a very condensed 6 week version of SAS selection excluding the jungle phase.
@@kiwiviking175 Likewise, you have (or used to)the Royal Marines Artic Warfare Cadre, who were all qualified as Mountain Leaders. They were the brigade recce for 3 Commando Brigade but they were not officially SF..Another highly specialised RM unit would be 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group, formally Comacchio Group..again technically not SF, but trained to very high standards...
That's a big call.
Pathfinders aren't "tier1" they wouldn't even consider themselves to be. They would however probably be considered SF/SOF in many countries military's. I'm pretty sure they cross train with a lot of these types of units. Whilst it's true they worked quite a bit with the SAS back in the day I'm not sure if this is still the case given UKSF is it's own thing and fully self supported these days.
@@peterevans8194 same can be said for FCT (fleet contingency group) as well as Razor squadron.
All I can say about our military men and women that have severed in all conflicts, plus the one's that are not with us anymore RIP and the ones who are still serving all I can say is THANKS
Don't forget that the Long Range Desert Patrol Group proceeded the SAS and the Special Operations Executive was also busy during WW2.
There are 2 more units that were not shown, and they are, 148 and 473 special ops. One trained by SAS and the other trained by SBS
473 aren’t trained by SAS. 148 on the other hand do occasionally train with SBS because they share the same base.
From memory, 4/73 have a member of staff from the SRR in the Training Wing
148 is a ngs unit and part of 29 cdo trained by the marines thy just lived in the same barracks
No offence, but i have no idea where youve heard that, its completely incorrect!
@@alexander-mclanachan5618148 are an elite class unit.
Americans would call them JTACs, but FST will do.
There ain't many of them and yeah Based with the SBS because they do FST for them being it Naval guns, Fast Air or artillery, and also eyes on recon.
I'm not up on every fact but think it's 4/73 sphinx that do a similar job although they don't have to be Para trained.
Generally this video is ok as all SF has support units but I don't think because the The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing of RAF fly SAS around I don't think they are SF in anything but name although they would have all the best pilots and Ground support.
I believe the footage that listed under " SBS " of a para drop is actually 148 RA over Scotland OR Locally at Poole as there are a few different vids on YT doing jumps.
First in last out. Nice video....
It's hard to tell which is more laughably inaccurate - this video or the comments. 😢.
Worst is confusing "special operations capable" with "Special Forces" - the two are totally different and unconnected.
Ranger regiments will NOT undertake tasks traditionally done by SF - these tasks were previously done by OMLTs and LS, only in a very, very few cases by SF. The CDS has NOT indicated they'll be similar to US SF, known as Green Berets.
There's simply no comparison or equivalency in terms of selection, training, ability or role - it's just nonsense. There's a small overlap in terms of training foreign units, but absolutely NO similarity.
It's just absurd ... as for RAF Reg and Gurkhas ... un-B-frigging-lievable.
The Uk Rangers have stollen the insignia of the Rhodesian Selous Scouts; a special forces unit active and highly effective in the Rhodesian Bush War of the 1970s.
I thought I recognised that cap badge from somewhere lol
You will probably find the British SAS trained them so in theory, we’re just borrowing it back.
@@seanbooth1278 Rhodesia SAS were C Squadron originally and they didn't work together after UDI in 1965. In terms of the volume of combat the Rhodesian SAS far exceeded 22 SAS being constantly at war for over a decade.
@@rodsinclair2573 You reckon Rhodesian SAS combat experience exceeds 22 SAS?
you won't find many units in the world that have successfully conducted hostage rescues live time..... Hostage rescues are a clear mark of top level units. My point being, you aren't going to be able to compare how many rounds where fired where...so the best measure is to compare what level they work at.
Rhodesian SAS in my opinion are not matching 22 SAS in experience or capability im afraid.
@@OMT988 I'm talking about the 1970s, and the Iranian Embassy and chasing the IRA doesn't equate to the huge camp attacks that the Rhodesians put in and the hundreds or even thousands of contacts and smaller attacks that went on. We also had a lot of former British SAS in the Rhodesian Army. A good source of information is on You tube with Fighting men of Rhodesia.
You can literally see these hero's builds grow around their equipment and capabilities.