Far from special forces but I am an active serving member of the Australian Army. While our special forces (particularly the SASR) do not have the greatest reputation following the war on terror, I have had the opportunity to participate in training exercises with 2CDO and SOER. Those lads are incredibly professional, and very good at what they do. It takes an incredible amount of physical and mental toughness to make it through selection and the training cycle to become a qualified SF member. For the 41 soldiers that Australia lost in Afghanistan (a large number of which were special operations), your sacrifice will never be forgotten. And a special tribute to LCPL Jack Fitzgibbon (2CDO) who we recently lost in a parachuting incident. They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
A mates dad died a few years ago so he contacted the RSL for info on his dads military service for his eulogy...He found out his father was a member of Z special forces during ww2 he had no idea his father never told him about anything he just said he was in the army RIP Frank A Girdwood
Special Z members had a 30 year secrecy signed as to never discuss a single thing and did not even know what other members did. My Grandfather was in WW2 and never spoke about the war even to my father who joined the same unit as him, Only story he said was sight of the guns from the battle ships firing during the night while they were landing and the battle ships decks heaving over as fired. He joined WW2 as famous Lighthorse as his father was member of Beersheba charge WW1. But dissapointed as my Grandmother was told by him, Because Lighthorse were changed to Australia 1st Armoured Division in WW2 and he only saw action in Borneo OBOE Balikpapan battles.
May I ask what Franks surname is? My great grandfathers name was Frank and he passed a few years ago and served in WW2 I wonder if it’s the same Frank. Weethalle NSW
Fun fact: we Aussies were the first to defeat Germany and Japan land forces in WWII in battles. We turned Rommel around in El Alamein and Japan in Milne Bay. Of course we were allied with the mighty Kiwi, British, and US fighting forces, but we were there both times at the front of the fight.
My grandfather manned a 105mm howitzer in that campaign, all the way into Syria where his gun took counter battery fire. He and the crew went home, recovered, met my grandmother (one of his nurses,) was deployed to North Queensland to train for jungle warfare, then trained as a instructor, trained his regiment when they got home before they deployed to PNG. he was at the start of Africa and the turning of the tide in the Pacific. Miss him dearly and remember him often. Lest we forget.
An insult from rommel become one of the greatest badges of honour ,The rats of tobruk but as an australian i would love to think it was just the aussies that defeated rommel but thats not the case there was 190000 men there from england,australia,new zealand india amd more the australian division was 17000 strong we aussies cant take the credit for the complete victory but we were in the fight for the win.Amazing men the greatest generation.
…Not to mention the Battle of Beersheba. After which the Australian Light Horse captured thousands of enemy and accepted the Ottoman’s surrender of Damascus. Then continued on hunting down the enemy, BEFORE the British Lawrence of Arabia even entered the town.
My grandfather remarried after the death of my grandmother, and his new wife's father was a z-force member. He was also pioneered forensic dentistry in Australia. We can only hope to come close to being the men these men were.
Chaps, just in case you don't know, there are a number of books written about Zed Force operating in Borneo and the escape from Timor. I don't have the titles at hand, but check at your local library. Terrific reads!
@@waynegreene6405 Think getting Sparrow Force and Special Z Force mixed up, Sparrow was the one's on Timor that got trapped members were actually from 8th Division turned in to Special Forces doing guerilla warfare. Was the 2/2 Independent company who built the makeshift radio they were part of Sparrow Force
Mate you need to check out the Fuzzy-wuzzys. To be quite honest a lost of soldiers wouldnt have made it without the natives of new Guinea a lot of soldiers would've died in the dence landscape. Its honestly such a good story and as Australians we should be doing more for new Guinea especially after how much they helped the Aussies through their lands
As someone who has worked and lived in PNG I was quite amazed to hear that the Japanese had the same experience as the allies with the natives. My hausboi Peter could not speak english but could speak japanese. When I talked to him about supporting the Japanese his reply was " wan dei white man masta , anatha dei yellow man masta, we no savi." So in fact they worked for who ever was in power. There used to be a lot of Japanese old soldiers come back to Rabaul and visit and pay homage to their dead. They also visited the old command bunker there. No one took any notice and left them alone in their grief.
Our military is very small, but our alliance with USA, UK, EU etc, makes us just as strong as the collective group. AUS has fought along side USA in every international conflict. The only other country to do so I think.
We were First in and Last out - that's not an alliance! As in WWII, the US is always keen on claiming our successful actions as there own, and barely acknowledging us! 😏
SASR were inserted by road vehicle from Jordan and US helicopters and captured the Al Asad airbase in Western Iraq in 2003. They have worked alongside allied Special Forces, including the British SAS. My old man was attaché to the US MACV-SOG and coordinated between US Command and SASR. The Viet Cong called them "Ma Rung"..."Phantoms of the Jungle". These chaps do not muck about.
Sasr special forces ,commandos in Australian uniforms have a long history of excellence and professionalism, and conducted many missions that likely will never be known to the general public,
Wouldn't it be a good idea if - given general national service as it was when I joined up in the sixties - our politicians were also obliged to serve a stint in uniform? I believe it would give them a whole new outlook on service for one's country.
@@pomx2900True. But I suspect you have absolutely no idea of what OP is referring to. Politicians in a certain progressive party hate our military because they are military.
Stand strong and proud Aus and UK, Islaamists are trying to make us feel ashamed of our strength when in unity and disgrace our hero’s. Never be ashamed 🇦🇺 from an Aussie/Aboriginal
Just like to give a special thank you for combining Aussie/Aboriginal. I see so much crap in the country these days from both sides who either don't want to forgive (not forget) the past and appreciate what both cultures have to offer, those who for some reason think that one race is better than the other and lastly seeing a fortune being thrown at the problem in mostly all the wrong places. We're one nation, I prefer to look to the influence the future, which we can, not make up for the past, which we can't.
@@Happionesis almost impossible to make up for, but even just looking like we are trying or understanding is a positive step. Many blackfullahs, went to fight for our country in WW2, and lost their lives..... Lest we forget 🥀
@@nedesnikderpherder7529 This is what I'm saying, we're in this together and they should be recognised as Australians in every sense of the word. If we are to remember the black fellas who died in the pioneer wars we also have to remember the pioneers who died as well as they knew no better. Both sides need to forgive. Unconditionally
@@Happiones very true, unfortunately most white fullahs don't recognise this, I think there are a lot of indigenous people who have already accepted this, and are waiting in the middle for us. Most Aussies have no idea there was a 140 year guerrilla war , or that the cornerstone of British colonisation is built on lies for a start, and once the majority try to understand why they feel the way they feel, it will remain a problem, and it's very sad
Australians & New Zealanders were part of the Long Range Desert Patrol Group in WW2 that eventually became part of the SAS. An Australian branch of the SOE was set up in parallel with & with the assistance of the British SOE, forming Z & M force & later the AIB.
The dilemma is that our SF guys have been active all over the world either directly or as part of an embedded element within allied forces and various global organisations, since Timorese independence. This is not the case with the big green. SF meet so much of the political requirements eg small in size, capable in terms of skills, deniability and much smaller logistics element to plug into joint ops.
The Australian and New Zealand military may be small in regard to other countries, but our guys and girls are extremely skilled and are borne in a land where everything either wants to eat or kill and then eat you so they are fearless or be born from a family of warriors. We do not scare easily and the colors of our flag and animals on our crest do not run nor step backwards. Aussies and Kiwi's pick on each other freely for jokes because we know we have spilled the same blood in the same mud and have respect for one another, but at the same time neither of us will ever let someone bully our neighbors and friends as we see this as a highly personal attack on all of us. We may be separated by sea but we are the same, so do not take our quiet nature and welcoming smiles as a sign of weakness or it will be the last smile you ever see! Anzac pride for all our elders. For what it is worth anyone who has seen either a proper Mouri or Aussie on a pub fight will know the truth....and fear of what one man can do, now imagine what a bunch of them can do with more hate and weapons!!
there is a video on TH-cam by 'the Natasha and Debbie show' reacting to Australia's Z special unit explained that you might enjoy which explains some of the most noteworthy accomplishments of that unit that includes 1 member surviving against 1,000 enemy.
Successive Australian governments are guilty of overusing special forces units in Afghanistan. The number of tours those men undertook, relative to the overall size of Australia's special forces, is unconscionable. The burden on these men, especially their mental, health will long be felt. Decisions by the gutless politicians to keep committing special forces rather than regular army units to Afghanistan were based on their hope that the elite and highly trained capabilities of the special forces would mean less boys coming home in body bags. It wouldn't have 'looked good' for the governments of the day if the casualty rate was too high. 41 made the ultimate sacrifice. Lest We Forget 🌺😪
7 of them were murdered by Afghan National Soldiers but we don’t see our government or channel 9 reporters persuing justice for them or their families.
@@BRETTYZCAReh that's not really an argument in this case as the Afghan government ain't pursing anything for there soldiers or civilians killed by allies nor will they ever really.
@@highcountrydelatiteno they definitely were in a similar sense to those but not as bad as the vietnam veterans. As there's set amount of time your deployments are supposed to last and how many you take in a given war. Yeahs it's there Job but there job has regulations as well that are abused by those in power.
@@highcountrydelatite they were definitely over used and overworked. Enduring that hell hole of a country for more than 4 tours with not even a year in between them? That's overusing.
It could be argued that the commando operations go back to Z-force, a small group, primarily Australian, but including British, New Zealand, Indonesian, Timorese, and Dutch members. They most famously sailed a small fishing boat (captured from the Japanese by the Americans) from Australia to Singapore, pretending to be native fishermen, sinking several Japanese ships in Singapore harbor using limpet mines. Japan never learned the source of the attack until after the war and at the time blamed local partisans. That early force established the British commando connection, working with local forces and allies, and demonstrated the value of specialist forces operating deep in enemy territory in covert operations. It is believed that some of their most covert operations are never revealed to the public as they may be in countries we are not officially at war with. In Iraq it was both Australian and British special forces that were sent into Iraq 6 months before the war, primarily to find and sabotage Saddam Hussein's mobile scud missile launchers in the desert. This was not known to the public at the time, but was part of the behind the scenes deal to keep Israel out of the war by neutralizing Iraq's ability to strike Israel. The decline in Iraqi missile launches suggests this operation was largely successful.
It’s a pity that the narrator failed to mention the two Victoria Crosses awarded to SASR members during the Afghanistan war. He also skipped over the fact that no SAS member has/was found guilty in a criminal court of law of murder or unlawful killing.
BS no one has been convicted for War crimes, what you are referring to is a civil defamation case. One person has been charged as of last year, but still hasn’t proceeded to trial
General Angus Campbell should be thrown out for what he has done to our armed forces. After ww2 the highest commanding officer takes responsibility for any and all charges brought while he is in charge. He must face the same punishment as his men. Campbell and the other generals giving orders stripped the medals from the sas but gave themselves medals for the same operation. He is also responsible for introducing diversity, inclusion and equity. Men have trouble getting into the forces and it’s being packed with women and trans. He forced other groups to remove “scary” badges and insignias so they wouldn’t scare children. He’s a joke and needs to be sacked and stripped of everything.
Campbell should be stripped of all of his insignia/medals. He deserves none of them and is a disgrace to the Uniform. I would like to put him out of a B-52 above 45,000 Feet and then see if he has wings. He is a bloody disgrace!
Hes an embarrassment to the uniform. Unfortunately, the higher you go in rank the more your political and career goals take precedence over looking after the troops.
It's a disgrace to criticise soldiers for what happens overseas in war, we weren't there, don't know the circumstances, and these people were sent by our government, to do their bidding.
The Five Eyes ranked: USA (#1), UK (Top 10); Australia (Top 20); Canada (#27); NZ (well, it's small) How embarrassing for Canada to be weaker than Australia.
The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter was withdrawn from service by Navy in 2022 and Army in 2023 and into this year due to safety issues. They were due to be in service until 2037. They're being replaced with the latest Blackhawk variants. The Australian government tried to sell them off but there were no takers which speaks volumes. Their development was a joint operation so probably a case of "too many chefs", much like the "Joint Stike Fighter". Norway has also withdrawn the Taipan from service.
You know all this for a fact and can sight references to what your claiming. As nothing wrong with NRH90's other than not suited to purpose, very big difference to what your claiming.
Yes it has been said recently there was nothing wrong with MRH-90s and it was the night vision gear that had issues! Regardless the helicopters have apparently been dismantled and the fuselages buried on a military base. A bit extreme.
@@TheHsan22 Yes, if you want my opinion, we waste great amounts of weaponry, Like you said the Taipans could have been retained for a time when we are in threat...take a look around the planet to see what is happening. The Americans are no fools when it comes to this, they spend a lot of time and money mothballing their expensive assets..Not to mention we could have sold them or even gave them to the Philippines who desperately wanted them as they wanted the retiring Anzac frigates, and spent the money on other equipment.. Likewise the Leopard 2 tanks are now sitting around rusting in certain towns around oz, and our F 111 bombers are buried in a tip in Queensland.. we should have mothballed them, as we still haven't fully replaced their capabilities. At the mo we are awaiting delivery of ah 64 Apache's as replacement for the Taipans.
They are trained to kill....then, those who sit in high places, well away from any action nor have ever seen action...judge these brave young men!!!! Ben Robert Smith, I thank you for your service Sir. LEST WE FORGET
Here's the crazy thing, the whistleblower that revealed the information relating to Australia's Afghanistan war crimes is the ONLY PERSON WHO WENT TO JAIL FOR ANYTHING RELATED TO THE WAR CRIMES. Australia's military might be great, but the government and laws surrounding whistleblowers is far from great.
A chosen family member, SASR, someone I love so very dearly, survived the Townsville Black Hawk disaster in 1996. He is missing some body parts thanks to the crash but fark me, he's a still deadset legend. I could not have more respect and admiration for these blokes. Most of us wouldn't survive the first 5 minutes of training, much less a deployment somewhere..... 🙏🏻🥰🩷
Thank him for his service. My husband always spoke highly of the SASR squadrons. He was a Huey crewman in the RAAF and worked with a number of SAS units in Vietnam.
My fathers cousin was SASR and 2CDO, retired after a black hawk crash in Afghanistan. He has represented Australia during Invictus and won gold. He now mentors returned vets and police for the RSL in QLD. My father was stationed at Lavarack during his service.
I was in Townsville at the time of this terrible accident and attended your family member's parade at Lavarack Barracks. It was definitely the saddest time in my short military career. Those men are lost but never forgotten.❤
Is British origins in all Australian military but British sometimes learn tactics off Aussies since Boer war and WW1 and WW2 also. Special Z Force was started by British and so was Sparrow. Aussies would just add tactics to the base models, hard to say as Aussies came form British also lol. SASR is based on British SAS and why has same motto and name, but as some Brits lie that we completely followed their SAS is a false history. I once found a story while researching WW2 and it mentioned the founder of British SAS came to Australia and studied Australia Sparrow Force tactics and used some in British SAS.. i can not find it now or if fully tue.. everyone studies one another tactics and why our countries all train together. SASR are more elite at long recon and jungle guerilla warfare, Never really done much hostage rescue but train for it, Think if Aussie SASR were based off SAS, in Vietnam SASR made their own name and came up with their own tactics and styles of warfare. Was a US seals unit took over from SASR in Tarin Kot Afghanistan and were amazed at the level of recon and information gathered and how detailed it all was. Even Australian regular army are trained in special forces tactics, is funny as many complain they are regular army and should be doing normal army training and not special forces tactics. Australian SASR are also based off Special Z Force WW2 the most successful special forces of WW2, then is Sparrow Force WW2 the most successful longest behind enemy lines of WW2. guerilla warfare in Timor against Japanese with barely any resupply they had to live off the land. 1 mission they sat watching Japanese cook a meal before going and wiping them out then eating their food. Still SASR are taught to survive long durations behind enemy lines living off the land and reason became one of most successful and most feared in Vietnam war. Vietnamese nicknamed them Phantoms of the jungles or Ma Rung in their language. Was a VC saying if your friends were dying or dissapearing silently around you then it was the Phantom Aussies. Phantoms of the Jungles is a book about the start of the SASR and told of stories of Borneo and Vietnam history of SASR and how was based off British SAS but even British SAS studied the Aussie tactics in Vietnam and changed their tactics after leaving 1 SASR member behind in Borneo Malaya emergency conflict. Phantoms of the jungles book tells of a few missions were you understand were the most feared. SASR even taught famous MACV SOG and were members of them in Vietnam also. Also a good interview with US Navy Seal Rodger Hayden known as baddest navy seal during Vietnam and how spent 10 days on mission with SASR and his whole career in to 1980's, he said no other special Forces including British SAS had the trade craft those Aussies did, interview is on JOKOWILINK youtube channel podcast 37 and 77. SASR were inside Iraq 2003 2 days before invasion March 18th and only made public around 5 years ago. They called in airstrikes and hit targets and did recon behind enemy lines, looking for WMD also and said to be the closest units to Baghdad during the whole invasion doing recon and calling in air strikes.. Afghanistan Operation Anaconda SASR were highly awarded for their part, where Devgru unit and a KSK German SF failed in similar missions SASR excelled and even saved Navy seal's after a helicopter crash. 2 SASR imbedded with US Marines in Operation Anaconda in Hell's Halfpipe also highly awarded by US for saving many Marines They say SASR trained for the mission using VR Virtual reality programme to help prepare for low visibility and bad weather and this was reason for their high success where other SF failed. And first time ever used in a training scenario. Australian SASR are very under rated at around 9th place in the world and are equal to USA and British tier 1 operators. Then there now is Aus 2nd Commando unit special forces, a member used to have world no 2 longest sniper shot but now number 3. Also founder Sgt Paul Cale nicknamed Killer Commando because of a mission in Afghanistan, He now teaches Devgru and other top world special forces CQB - CQC, close quarters combat as after mission where got his nickname realised CQB being taught was useless. during mission he lost his weapons and had to strangle a enemy with his bare hands. Devgru commander said Paul Cale is years ahead of anyone in CQC tactics. SASR also hold record for longest out on patrol mission during Afghanistan of 50 days straight of not returning to base. they are one of most elite in long recon units in the world. War crimes of SASR are giving them a bad name but British SAS are acused of even more then the Aussies, US, Canada and almost every allie did crimes, so no one should single them out. Australia press and a defamation court case made SASR war crimes world wide news and a lot of blind even from Britain acusing Australia like their countries are saints. Australia is acused of 35 crimes and 18 members of doing these. Britain is accused of over 600 crimes and show Australia is small if comparing. If read 18 Hours a SAS story of Afghanistan Operation Anaconda a story about Martin Jock Wallace SASR signals, who was inbedded with the Marines in Hell's half pipe after Operation Anaconda the American General also said SASR were again the Phantoms, referencing the Vietnamese Nickname. There is also a rumour that Taliban feared the men with the red beards the most in Afghanistan and is reference to the Aussies or mainly the SASR.. not sure if exageration or truth.
Great information, thank you. Of some of the reports I read regarding SASR War Crimes, it was mentioned that these elite units were over-used, meaning they were given assignments that could/should have been carried out by ADF troops rather than these elite forces, as well as their regular heavy load. Hence why fatigue, desensitisation etc. was a factor in their behaviour along with what was mentioned in this video. I am by no means an expert on the Australian military but I’ve always remembered reading this information. You seem very informed so I was wondering if you agreed/disagreed with this point or have more information regarding the subject?
@@Reneesillycar74 Yea i also heard they were not let off the leash enough by the Americans and got bored as underutilised. It is in the book i mentioned 18 hours a SAS story Wallace mentions it Aussie SASR wanted more work they were most suited to. Hard to say about war crimes unless there and doing it, i will not say they are in the right either, The video of them blowing up the Taliban in that hide after a Afghan team mate was killed said was a war crime.. not sure how or if just bad journalism on the incident, Blooding a new guy has been in war since beginning of time also. think all militaries just look the other way. We call our WW2 war vets heroes but were so many war crimes back then also and no one said's anything except are our heroes. I know Aussies in New Guinea WW2 did many crimes after seeing what the Japanese did to our own men. After learning of the death marches and eating Australian's and other thing's Japanese did Aussies sent Japanese on their own style of death marches also. WW1 at Hamel when Americans were under command of the Aussies, the Aussies told Americans not to take any German's prisoner and to kill them all. Aussie exact words were, we have no need for the Hun. Americans thought was absurd until were in battle and realised not enough men to guard them and Germans were even worse for war crimes and understood why. I do not believe war crimes are right, but i could not imagine seeing friends or family killed and still act nice to the enemy either. Taliban were never nice to our captured guys either. It is a hard topic but if caught should be punished. Also a lot of discussions that too many will be scared to join military now incase put on charges. One Afghan witness during the trial seems hard to believe, he was calling our guys infidels and way spoke could tell he hated us and be hard to believe if he was speaking truth or lie.
Have read Phantoms of the Jungles and can see why named it. One mission they snuck in to a VC camp undetected just to leave a note that said.. you have been visited by the SAS. Was a mind game to let them know they were not safe anywhere. They would lay for a long time beside a path and wait for VC to walk past and then snatch the last 1 or 2 and take them back for interrogation. Funny a SASR member said was scary because did not know if the one they were about to snatch was a kung fu ninja or a fast draw western gun fighter. How VC said if your friends were vanishing around you silently it was the Phantoms. Many more stories and is amazing how many more SASR did not die in missions.
Australia dont post much Military stuff for the public eyes. Thats why our SAS and Military is so Great. Never rell the left hand what the right hand is about to do. Oldie but true as the air in our lungs.❤
The comments about unlawful killings in Afghanistan are a fairly deep and very dark rabbit hole. Suffice to say it's true, we have veterans who have boasted about it in their podcasts after the fact. If you want to look into that I'd start with Friendly Jordies' video "True (war)Crime Podcast" and go from there. We're talking abominable acts which tarnish the honour of all our armed forces. I don't want to go into it.
3:00 note the trooper second from the left. He is carrying (resting on) a modified L1A2 fully automatic, heavy barrelled version of the 7.662mm FN-FAL. The forward wood furniture has been removed and replaced with a grenade launcher and pistol grip. The flash suppressor has been removed (with a hacksaw). This modified weapon was one of just a few L1A2s modified in this manner and they were passed from one squadron to the next as they rotated through theatre. They were affectionately nick-named 'The Bitch'.
To the best of my ability I am writing this. Unfortunately, it came to light that a few personnel in the SASR supposedly broke the ROE and murdered Afghans. Ben Roberts-Smith VC recipient (big deal) was outed as one of the persons responsible. There is not enough evidence to prove this is the case. Although there is secrecy to the silent professionals as such, it was stated that personnel in the units also reported ROE being broken. For what I know SAS in England and SASR in Australia all operators deserve the highest respect for what they go through In saying this, the operators in Aus who stood up for what is right deserve the highest respect and honours. To all the English and Australian Military personal and operators thankyou for your service.
By putting training together it reduces the arrogance between them as they know their training was equal, this they are equal. Also allows better friendships to firm thus teducing the risk of arrogance breding
As an Aussie Vet, we do our job and we do it well. Regardless of how people feel about what is published, one day they will need to beg us to come back. The Aus armys biggest issue is retention
I assure you all the Australian military especially the sas have very high and harsh standards to joining and training and in warfare or peacekeeping. The levels of fitness and intelligence are required to be high. Generally Australian military have an excellent reputation and seriousness in unfortunately there are always some that take things too far. Sometimes that comes with the nature of military and war. Most are called out and held to account. Thank goodness with the technological advancements there is less need for masses to be in military therefore generally less mass body counts. Unfortunately the west has far less military numbers and loyal trusted population hence why we rely upon all advancements that can be utilised. All of it is unfortunate for the west and even - more so - since globalisation ! As having so much so called integration does not equal and in fact does not advance western peoples safety - in any aspect. At home -or abroad.
Some issues with that video. No criminal case has been opened, no referrals to the Hague and so far there is an ongoing deformation case into the matter and allegations. Entry level into the SAS is extremely high and almost as for commando. Both regiments were set up with guidance of their UK ancestor regiments and training courses are similar, but adapted to Australia's mixed terrain and climates.
@@logic.and.reasoningWhen was he charged and what with? Had he been charged that would most certainly have been highlighted in the media....haven't seen anything as yet...and I've been following it pretty closely.
@@logic.and.reasoning he’s never been charged. He lost a civil suit he brought against a newspaper who printed the story of his crime. He lost the case with the judge saying the paper substantially proved what they’d written The AFP or the Military courts haven’t yet charged anyone.
I can't imagine how hard it is for these guys to be dropped into somewhere like Afghanistan to fight an enemy who don't play by any rules and have to justify every action they take in minute detail. It must be like fighting with one hand behind your back.
1:32 there was a clip going around where a soldier killed an Afghani civilian for no reason. His reasoning was "he was reaching for something" or something like that
Fun fact: David McBride, whistleblower within the military exposed the "accused" Afghan war crimes to the Australian media when the higher ups in the military and the government wouldn't listen to him when he was trying to simply do his job. Now he's been sentenced and is in jail for being a good human being.
Heard many stories from Older ex military people & sons of , talk about just how Elite / Insane our Aussie special forces are. they all mentioned we had to have the best because we lack in Numbers which actually makes sense. No one needs the Australian Army to help them win a war but Any country would bend over backwards to have our special forces on their side. I guess that’s our bargaining chip. No point having a tiny army and being fodder on the frontline for Allies when you could be a total Asset to Allies & in turn their Army will protect you.
With our smaller population, Australia concentrates on quality over quantity in all our defence forces. The SASR is, as the video stated, the tip of the spear, the best of the best of an already high-quality army. Did things go bad with a few? I think they did but I wasn't there so I'm just going on the information we have from reports, investigations and even the the Ben Roberts Smith reporting and subsequent defamation case that is still running after years. While I don't condone it, I can maybe understand that when you are put in situations like the SASR were in Afghanistan it might be easy to start making morally questionable decisions. I think it does highlight that at least it came out and wasn't totally hushed up.
I’m really glad that we know what happened and I hope those that are responsible are punished I personally f'ckin hate the military especially cause my mate that was in the army ended up pretty f'cked up from it
My dream job is the SASR currently I’m 12 and this has been my dream job since I was 10 but don’t know if I can join since it is extremely hard to join.
I used to work with a whole bunch of ex SAS guys. Incredibly smart, resourceful, and driven. The selection and training are a kind of brain washing, and I think whatever is done, there will always be a risk of something going wrong in the culture on longer deployments. They're charged with doing things that are beyond anything that we can image, and the kinds of ethical decisions they have to make every day are completely outside the parameters of anything any normal person outside the military would ever face. I think it's inevitable that there are risks, but we send teenagers overseas with weapons, so there are all sorts of risks of bad behaviour and tragic accidents in our overseas deployments. The abilities of our SAS, and their competence and focus inevitably leads to a saving of lives amongst civilians and others in achieving strategic goals on the battlefield. Even just the fact they're much better shots reduces collateral deaths. I'm sure even they realise they're a necessary evil, and we should all be proud of the jobs they do - outside of any incidents of killing or torturing the unarmed on purpose.
my own personal experience and opinion, as an average australian, that plays a lot of military simulator video games. and is an enthusiast for military technology and equipment. i can say that the australian special forces are indeed one of the worlds most intimidating. throughout our military history, the engagements we have been put into have been some of the hairyest and toughest battles on the planet. and we have solidified ourselfs as a small, yet very heavyweight combat force. just of the top of my head. a great example was in vietnam. in the "battle of long tan" outnumbered 10-1 we held ground against an insurmountable force. the vietcong had many names for the australians. many of them representing a force not to be underestimated. going back to ww1 what was then the ottoman empire. and now the turkish. the turkish to this very day. have storys of the australian forces they faced. to sum this comment up without taking up too much. we are some of the bravest and most hardwilled people out there. the storys from Iraq where australian "commandos" where dropped in to do covert hit and run attacks on enemy positions are haunting. if you need a big job done by only a few men, and done well. you ask the australians. if you need to put men into a position that would make most men s**t themselves, you ask the australians.
We (Australia) have a major problem within the ADF and it's direction, the way it treats our soldiers and returned servicemen as well as over rotation of special forces. I stand with BRS.
their names have been tarnished not by accusations, but rather the persons in question self-incriminating themselves through verbal self admission and video evidence, bragging about killing civilians for years on social media, how much they liked killing civs, how they dont even consider them humans and even explaining in vids how they would plan and kill civs and cover their back if questioned and even when they got caught out for committing genocide and they thought they would get in trouble nope not a problem, they even bragged and laughed about this saying how great it was. as it turned out it wasnt just a isolated issue, but a systemic issue, the ADF was basically selecting verifiable psychopaths for special forces and encouraging them to kill civilians with immunity, naturally after this came to the light of day because some of them were dumb enough to brag about it all online etc thinking they had immunity... well the censorship previously applied started to crumble, when they were openly self-incriminating themselves and even supplying evidence... end result they got told to zip it, wiped all their social media accounts, deny everything etc, while damage control went into effect, yet they were even dumb enough to admit part of this verbally at latter date, so obviously not the brightest folks in the special forces, they make cops look smart. AU government here is openly corrupt and basically owned and operated by the CCP, during lock downs police were treating all ages like this was a nasi concentration camp and the ADF was helping as well, they were also very heavy handed on censoring it as well confiscating phones, banning people from social media, internet, electronic devices, associates eg: friends, total isolation and if they even dared peep = jail time. this is why most footage of authorities committing crimes including ADF is mostly live feeds, but almost anything to do with the ADF was also heavily censored, blocked and like with anything they dont want the public to see, could be deemed even a crime to upload showing authorities breaking laws, abusing their powers etc, which people have been arrested exposing abuse of powers and corruption, they were not protected, but jailed, thats how far the AU gov will go to keep themselves looking good, they do a even better job then the CCP, thats why they have to force people to vote in AU, even some kids toys are considered firearms in this country and having these kids toys could actually net you more time behind bars then if you murdered someone, AU looks good on the surface, but unless your a fan of the CCP, its not a good place to live anymore unless your $$$.
When I did a course in security, the teacher was ex-Australian Defence Force; he told us about when serving in Afghanistan some of the "locals" they were training to defend against the Taliban actually turned the gun/s on Aussie soldiers and shot as many as they could before fleeing into the hills. The camp then sent out a regiment of SASR to capture them and, well, the Afghans did return to face justice - quite a bit worse for wear I might add 😅. Our Special Forces are right up there with the best training & equipment.
Happened on numerous occasions and become more frequent in later deployments. One of the guys i severed which took a few shots to the leg before the threat was naturalized. Unfortunately, some werent so lucky.
Phantoms of the Jungle - Book on SAS in Vietnam. My Grandfather was a WO2 and served 22yrs in the SAS and was awarded The Bronze Soldier Statue. Who Dares Wins.
Regarding the "unlawful killings" comment. There was a massive uproar when one (maybe more) of our ADF special forces were found to have committed war crimes in the middle east. I don't know the full story but the dude never faced repercussions as far as I'm aware. EDIT: I recommend reading the story of "The Rats Of Tobruk" one of my favourite WWII stories save for the ANZAC story.
I’m not condoning war crimes but these operators are the absolute best in the world and Australian SAS are sought after especially by the US Navy Seals. Realistically all soldiers are killers but Australias SAS are the absolute best there is and before they combined the SOCOM training the SAS training was designated to make every soldier fail in that they only are allowed one attempt to join the regiment… you fail and that’s it. There’s is no regiment in the world that compares to Australian SAS. Not even The UK who started the SAS.
The Australian special forces (sas) was responsible for the killing fields where a soldier known as Oliver Schulz killed an unarmed Afghan man, there was also other incidents where an Australian soldier marched a captured soldier from Taliban out in a field with a waka or something like that can’t remember(Afghan soldier) and gave the signal to the Afghan to execute the captured soldier. You can watch the videos of Australian Sasr and a medic explaining the trauma him and others went through because of the war crimes. Killing fields on prime video for anyone curious
Look up "The Last Commando" one of our best Warriors Cameron Baird VC. My old School mate was Merv MacDonald who was KIA in a helicopter crash in Afganistan he was in the same unit 2CDO and a friend of Cameron Baird VC.
They aren’t just accusations of unlawful killings. The only person to be jailed in Australia for war crimes was actually the whistleblower who told on the Australian soldiers who committed them.
The reason they combined the training for commandos and SASR was to avoid competition/ego between the two units. As a generalisation, Australian special forces are known for modesty, however I think it is still a smart change.
He is refering to high profile case of a VC recipiant being investigated for unlawful killing. Its worth nothing that as of yet that memeber hasnt been found guilty of anything and is entitled to a presumsion of inocence.
Since its formation, the SASR has lost more men in training than in combat, due to the nature of the training regime. That shows the level of training.
My father who would be 103 if he was alive, was enlisted as a trooper as he was a jackaroo with horse skills. Long story short as there was no cavalry they are were formed into Idecpendant Companys (Commandos). My father was at Kokoda, Salamau and Lae in the 2/3 Independant Company holding the line waiting for the Choco is arrive. Dad served his entire life after WW2 Korea Kapyong (wounded), Malaya Confrontation Sarawak, Viet Nam several tours, Then PNG for the devolution. He never spoke much about his exploits rarely went to ANZAC Parades. However he was President of the Australia Commando Assocition at one time. I remember he had 12 gongs. Gees I miss him what a man.
Read about Australia's W.W.2. Independent Forces who, half way through that war were re-designated as the Australian Commando Squadron. Also interesting follow up is .. "Secret Armies" by James Adams.
You should check out "The Battle of Beersheba; the Light Horsemen's daring WWI cavalry charge" . The victory marked the beginning of the fall of the Ottoman Empire. My grandfather was 10th Light Horse.
Angus Campell did anything to advance his own career, to the detriment of so many good officers, and let the CIA have complete freedom of the SASR to conduct kill/capture missions on both Taliban and Al Qaeda HVTs. Men from the Australian Regular Army were on a known deployment of 6 or 8 months, dependent upon the season. The special forces were sent in and out of that confusing shithole more than anyone could stand with no clear mission. Yes, search the transparent Australian Governments mission in Afghanistan. Our best men were sent in to kill horrible, despicable human beings that orchestrated uncomprehendionable acts of punishment and cruelty, like beheading females and reporters, just for being a female or a reporter. Yet they single our our soldiers for killing these people? It's like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500. We all should reflect on our history, before passing judgement.
All soldiers need to know they are being watched constantly and are accountable for their actions. The Australian SAS is strongly modeled on the British SAS. Au SAS covers a number of specialities that includes counter terrorism, and airborne capabilities.The SAS is more focused on gaining intelligence. The Commando units are for more direct action assault operations. Both share many skills so some combined training is practical. The Australian spec ops units work more closely with the US and NZ than the UK. Australia has recently signed a new defense agreement with the UK. Also India, Japan and the US. Britain is likely to share a multibillion $ submarine project with Australia for nuclear powered submarines. Not nuclear armed. Nuclear powered subs are better suited for very long operations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
australian music about war is a little different. Eric Bogle "and the band played waltzing Matilda. (guy comes back from war broken physically) Redgum "i was only 19" (guy comes back broken mentally) there is also a hiphop cover by The Herd of "i was only 19" i dont really like the sound of this one but the music video is touching
Sadly the Australian Special Forces had a... major problem lately. Got bad, real bad. What they did was that the SASR fell into elitism, and figured they knew better than their commanders and the ROE. The accusations, later proven, were that they just started killing people. Got to the point where they brought on missions foreign made guns, grenades and weapons for WHEN they killed civilians. Not if, WHEN. Then there was the fact that when they got a new guy they'd do a "bloodying" where they wanted to make sure the new guy was dependable, by grabbing a random local, tying him up , and making the new guy prove himself by killing the tied up civilian, and if you didn't, they'd get rid of you up to the point where they'd falsify mission reports. Last I heard the ADF had started criminal investigations, but that was months ago. People might say I'm lying, but I'm referring to the Brereton report which lists over 30 unlawful killings by Australian Special Forces.
The "Unlawful" killings accusation is a political one and I'm ashamed of my Government for putting the SASR through a load of garbage accusations. , especially against Lance Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith.
The Ozzie SAS were always staunch!But a couple of woke sooks shat on others due to being jealous & didn't get recognition for there valour.The true SAS expect nothing & never talk out of school to outsiders! WHO DARES WINS is a proud motto & to get in used to be 1%.Then came the Commandos which changed many things.Twice I knew someone who got booted out of SAS training selection in the last weeks of making it, for mouthing off.But he refused to join the Commandos as the SAS is the Elite & so was he.He Didnt get in but was proud to stay staunch by saying SAS or nothing.He got out after 2nd fu.But he got out & is training others.Crazy thing is he could do it now 10yrs later as things have changed!!
During 1956-57, the Australian army was tasked to take over the English run Malaysian army bases. My father served in Malaysia in 1957-58. I would suggest that the English also trained the first troops, of what would be the SAS. Dad never spoke much about his service time. Only recently on his passing, I learned that he was in one the jungle patrols as a sniper. Small groups of men would go on jungle patrol a week at a time. Sounds pretty similar to what today's SAS patrols do.
Hypohistorical History - the channel shown here - has an extraordinary documentary series on Australia's participation in the SW Pacific in WW2 (New Guinea). Highly, highly recommend it.
Hypohistorical History - the channel shown here - has an extraordinary documentary series on Australia's participation in the SW Pacific in WW2 (New Guinea). Highly, highly recommend it.
Dude are you for real. They said it was based on the brittish unit, and giving we are still part of the Commonwealth, yes a lot of our milirty ops are closely tied to brittush interests
"You know your country is fucked mate donchya?" "Yeah bruvah, so's yours, why aunchya back 'ome fixin it ven guv?" "Coz mate, they dont teach us that, no one is qualified to train that sort of shit."
Best to let sleeping dogs lie in regards to the internal issues of the SASR. It did gain much media attention which blighted the service of all Special Service Forces due to a few senior soldiers who weren't exactly into following the rules of war and became arrogant and rogue. I'm very much against mixing different Units, yet if training etc. was held on a general basis before selection into either Service, that should work out better, without ongoing competition and ego. A culture had developed which made some members think that they could do what they liked. That lookout pictured on the ground, well restrained by the soldier, plus another with his attack dog, was killed by the soldier in the picture despite technically being a prisoner of war. These incidents needed to be addressed and now put to bed, only to learn from. It pays to look up Z Force, where there is much to search for on the internet. In regards to the British SAS, they would also have many areas of expertise, which is the basis for Australia setting up its own SASR.
Having the SASR and Commandos train together is stupid, having competition between units isn't a bad thing. The reason for the SASR murdering Afghanis is due to the fact that to make it in the SASR you need to basically be a psychopathic serial killer. They were just being themselves.
I knew an ex commando, entry is completely brutal. I've heard stories about SASR. A tiny percent of the best of the best make it. Much like British SAS .Just think hotter than hell and no water. Australia is mostly desert. And no, they should not combine them, one is better than the other. Now we will lose our elite SASR. I am Scottish, and live here, it is a shame. You need the competition. Though Australian culture would rather see men behind bars, or in chains. It is a disaster. When war comes knocking, nobody will be home.
![[UNCUT] “บอสณวัฒน์” ลากไส้!! ใครหนุนหลัง "แม่ตั๊ก ป๋าเบียร์" I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 30 ก.ย. 67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QlD7mU2KKRk/mqdefault.jpg)
As an American, I can say with certainty that Australia is a more capable and dependable ally than Canada.
🇦🇺 x 🇺🇸 💪🏼
fuck canada
As an Australian you don't know what this means to me
Too fuckin roight, we’ve been with you in every conflict you’ve been in since 1941. Brothers in arms forever 🇦🇺 🇺🇸
@@andyool well said dude.. we know who our friends and people we can trust are...
Far from special forces but I am an active serving member of the Australian Army. While our special forces (particularly the SASR) do not have the greatest reputation following the war on terror, I have had the opportunity to participate in training exercises with 2CDO and SOER. Those lads are incredibly professional, and very good at what they do. It takes an incredible amount of physical and mental toughness to make it through selection and the training cycle to become a qualified SF member.
For the 41 soldiers that Australia lost in Afghanistan (a large number of which were special operations), your sacrifice will never be forgotten. And a special tribute to LCPL Jack Fitzgibbon (2CDO) who we recently lost in a parachuting incident.
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Lest we forget
Lest we forget
Lest we forget
Whether they had a good reputation post the WoT depends on whether you're on their side or not, really. Hard men do hard things.
Lest we forget.
A mates dad died a few years ago so he contacted the RSL for info on his dads military service for his eulogy...He found out his father was a member of Z special forces during ww2 he had no idea his father never told him about anything he just said he was in the army RIP Frank A Girdwood
Special Z members had a 30 year secrecy signed as to never discuss a single thing and did not even know what other members did.
My Grandfather was in WW2 and never spoke about the war even to my father who joined the same unit as him,
Only story he said was sight of the guns from the battle ships firing during the night while they were landing and the battle ships decks heaving over as fired.
He joined WW2 as famous Lighthorse as his father was member of Beersheba charge WW1.
But dissapointed as my Grandmother was told by him, Because Lighthorse were changed to Australia 1st Armoured Division in WW2 and he only saw action in Borneo OBOE Balikpapan battles.
May I ask what Franks surname is? My great grandfathers name was Frank and he passed a few years ago and served in WW2 I wonder if it’s the same Frank.
Weethalle NSW
My great grate grandfather was a commando in the Z special Unit at fraser island
@@ZaheerOCE F A Girdwood
My great grandfather was also in Z force
Fun fact: we Aussies were the first to defeat Germany and Japan land forces in WWII in battles.
We turned Rommel around in El Alamein and Japan in Milne Bay.
Of course we were allied with the mighty Kiwi, British, and US fighting forces, but we were there both times at the front of the fight.
My grandfather manned a 105mm howitzer in that campaign, all the way into Syria where his gun took counter battery fire. He and the crew went home, recovered, met my grandmother (one of his nurses,) was deployed to North Queensland to train for jungle warfare, then trained as a instructor, trained his regiment when they got home before they deployed to PNG. he was at the start of Africa and the turning of the tide in the Pacific. Miss him dearly and remember him often. Lest we forget.
We defeated Rommel at Tobruk long before El Alamein.
"If I had to take hell, I would use the Australians to take it and the New Zealanders to hold it." - Rommel
An insult from rommel become one of the greatest badges of honour ,The rats of tobruk but as an australian i would love to think it was just the aussies that defeated rommel but thats not the case there was 190000 men there from england,australia,new zealand india amd more the australian division was 17000 strong we aussies cant take the credit for the complete victory but we were in the fight for the win.Amazing men the greatest generation.
…Not to mention the Battle of Beersheba. After which the Australian Light Horse captured thousands of enemy and accepted the Ottoman’s surrender of Damascus. Then continued on hunting down the enemy, BEFORE the British Lawrence of Arabia even entered the town.
My grandfather was a member of Australia's Zed Force in WW2. Zed Force was the original Aus commando Special force.
My grandfather remarried after the death of my grandmother, and his new wife's father was a z-force member. He was also pioneered forensic dentistry in Australia. We can only hope to come close to being the men these men were.
So was my dad, trapped on Timor for 9 months until they built a pedal radio and contacted Darwin for evacuation.
Chaps, just in case you don't know, there are a number of books written about Zed Force operating in Borneo and the escape from Timor. I don't have the titles at hand, but check at your local library. Terrific reads!
@@waynegreene6405 Think getting Sparrow Force and Special Z Force mixed up, Sparrow was the one's on Timor that got trapped members were actually from 8th Division turned in to Special Forces doing guerilla warfare.
Was the 2/2 Independent company who built the makeshift radio they were part of Sparrow Force
@@GreenGibbon You obviously read wrong book as was Sparrow Force on Timor
Mate you need to check out the Fuzzy-wuzzys. To be quite honest a lost of soldiers wouldnt have made it without the natives of new Guinea a lot of soldiers would've died in the dence landscape. Its honestly such a good story and as Australians we should be doing more for new Guinea especially after how much they helped the Aussies through their lands
As someone who has worked and lived in PNG I was quite amazed to hear that the Japanese had the same experience as the allies with the natives. My hausboi Peter could not speak english but could speak japanese. When I talked to him about supporting the Japanese his reply was " wan dei white man masta , anatha dei yellow man masta, we no savi."
So in fact they worked for who ever was in power. There used to be a lot of Japanese old soldiers come back to Rabaul and visit and pay homage to their dead. They also visited the old command bunker there. No one took any notice and left them alone in their grief.
Our military is very small, but our alliance with USA, UK, EU etc, makes us just as strong as the collective group. AUS has fought along side USA in every international conflict. The only other country to do so I think.
Every war since 1918 in WWI, when the USA and OZ served together, under Australian Command.
@@BassMatt1972 Yea battle of Hamel 4 regiments of Americans were under Australian command for first time ever of being under a foreign leader in war.
And now Japan and NZ to join AUKUS. Alliance with other countries so important for us.
We were First in and Last out - that's not an alliance! As in WWII, the US is always keen on claiming our successful actions as there own, and barely acknowledging us! 😏
You are wrong
SASR were inserted by road vehicle from Jordan and US helicopters and captured the Al Asad airbase in Western Iraq in 2003.
They have worked alongside allied Special Forces, including the British SAS.
My old man was attaché to the US MACV-SOG and coordinated between US Command and SASR. The Viet Cong called them "Ma Rung"..."Phantoms of the Jungle".
These chaps do not muck about.
Sasr special forces ,commandos in Australian uniforms have a long history of excellence and professionalism, and conducted many missions that likely will never be known to the general public,
Unfortunately, we’ve had a number of politicians who despise them.
Yeah by gutless Labor and gaybc, bed wetters
Wouldn't it be a good idea if - given general national service as it was when I joined up in the sixties - our politicians were also obliged to serve a stint in uniform? I believe it would give them a whole new outlook on service for one's country.
@@MikeWellington-w7j You mean instead of Politicians being money grabbing, scumbag criminals who have no loyalty or morals?
Holding military personnel responsible for their actions, is hardly hatred. It is infact, a sign of a civilised society.
@@pomx2900True. But I suspect you have absolutely no idea of what OP is referring to. Politicians in a certain progressive party hate our military because they are military.
Stand strong and proud Aus and UK, Islaamists are trying to make us feel ashamed of our strength when in unity and disgrace our hero’s. Never be ashamed 🇦🇺 from an Aussie/Aboriginal
Well said and so true.
Just like to give a special thank you for combining Aussie/Aboriginal. I see so much crap in the country these days from both sides who either don't want to forgive (not forget) the past and appreciate what both cultures have to offer, those who for some reason think that one race is better than the other and lastly seeing a fortune being thrown at the problem in mostly all the wrong places. We're one nation, I prefer to look to the influence the future, which we can, not make up for the past, which we can't.
@@Happionesis almost impossible to make up for, but even just looking like we are trying or understanding is a positive step. Many blackfullahs, went to fight for our country in WW2, and lost their lives..... Lest we forget 🥀
@@nedesnikderpherder7529 This is what I'm saying, we're in this together and they should be recognised as Australians in every sense of the word. If we are to remember the black fellas who died in the pioneer wars we also have to remember the pioneers who died as well as they knew no better. Both sides need to forgive. Unconditionally
@@Happiones very true, unfortunately most white fullahs don't recognise this, I think there are a lot of indigenous people who have already accepted this, and are waiting in the middle for us. Most Aussies have no idea there was a 140 year guerrilla war , or that the cornerstone of British colonisation is built on lies for a start, and once the majority try to understand why they feel the way they feel, it will remain a problem, and it's very sad
Australians & New Zealanders were part of the Long Range Desert Patrol Group in WW2 that eventually became part of the SAS. An Australian branch of the SOE was set up in parallel with & with the assistance of the British SOE, forming Z & M force & later the AIB.
The dilemma is that our SF guys have been active all over the world either directly or as part of an embedded element within allied forces and various global organisations, since Timorese independence. This is not the case with the big green. SF meet so much of the political requirements eg small in size, capable in terms of skills, deniability and much smaller logistics element to plug into joint ops.
The Australian and New Zealand military may be small in regard to other countries, but our guys and girls are extremely skilled and are borne in a land where everything either wants to eat or kill and then eat you so they are fearless or be born from a family of warriors. We do not scare easily and the colors of our flag and animals on our crest do not run nor step backwards. Aussies and Kiwi's pick on each other freely for jokes because we know we have spilled the same blood in the same mud and have respect for one another, but at the same time neither of us will ever let someone bully our neighbors and friends as we see this as a highly personal attack on all of us. We may be separated by sea but we are the same, so do not take our quiet nature and welcoming smiles as a sign of weakness or it will be the last smile you ever see!
Anzac pride for all our elders.
For what it is worth anyone who has seen either a proper Mouri or Aussie on a pub fight will know the truth....and fear of what one man can do, now imagine what a bunch of them can do with more hate and weapons!!
Yep, don't take the piss out of a Kiwi or Aussie, that's our job (Aussie/Kiwi) LOL
there is a video on TH-cam by 'the Natasha and Debbie show' reacting to Australia's Z special unit explained that you might enjoy which explains some of the most noteworthy accomplishments of that unit that includes 1 member surviving against 1,000 enemy.
Thanks, I’ll watch it!
Successive Australian governments are guilty of overusing special forces units in Afghanistan. The number of tours those men undertook, relative to the overall size of Australia's special forces, is unconscionable. The burden on these men, especially their mental, health will long be felt. Decisions by the gutless politicians to keep committing special forces rather than regular army units to Afghanistan were based on their hope that the elite and highly trained capabilities of the special forces would mean less boys coming home in body bags. It wouldn't have 'looked good' for the governments of the day if the casualty rate was too high. 41 made the ultimate sacrifice. Lest We Forget 🌺😪
7 of them were murdered by Afghan National Soldiers but we don’t see our government or channel 9 reporters persuing justice for them or their families.
@@BRETTYZCAReh that's not really an argument in this case as the Afghan government ain't pursing anything for there soldiers or civilians killed by allies nor will they ever really.
@@highcountrydelatiteno they definitely were in a similar sense to those but not as bad as the vietnam veterans. As there's set amount of time your deployments are supposed to last and how many you take in a given war. Yeahs it's there Job but there job has regulations as well that are abused by those in power.
@@highcountrydelatite they were definitely over used and overworked. Enduring that hell hole of a country for more than 4 tours with not even a year in between them? That's overusing.
@@highcountrydelatite tells me you have no idea of how hard they were pushed, they are men not robots. Shame on you.
These members of Commando are the bravest fighters in our ADF alongside the SAS We are proud of them all
Watching this on ANZAC day here in Australia. Great video and a new sub. Cheers.
did you go the the dawn service?
@@SaltysWorld always
It could be argued that the commando operations go back to Z-force, a small group, primarily Australian, but including British, New Zealand, Indonesian, Timorese, and Dutch members. They most famously sailed a small fishing boat (captured from the Japanese by the Americans) from Australia to Singapore, pretending to be native fishermen, sinking several Japanese ships in Singapore harbor using limpet mines. Japan never learned the source of the attack until after the war and at the time blamed local partisans. That early force established the British commando connection, working with local forces and allies, and demonstrated the value of specialist forces operating deep in enemy territory in covert operations.
It is believed that some of their most covert operations are never revealed to the public as they may be in countries we are not officially at war with.
In Iraq it was both Australian and British special forces that were sent into Iraq 6 months before the war, primarily to find and sabotage Saddam Hussein's mobile scud missile launchers in the desert. This was not known to the public at the time, but was part of the behind the scenes deal to keep Israel out of the war by neutralizing Iraq's ability to strike Israel. The decline in Iraqi missile launches suggests this operation was largely successful.
I am coming out with government info.
There is one regiment not listed which is the scss standing for spider cavalry special services unit
It’s a pity that the narrator failed to mention the two Victoria Crosses awarded to SASR members during the Afghanistan war. He also skipped over the fact that no SAS member has/was found guilty in a criminal court of law of murder or unlawful killing.
It’s 3 years old
It's ironic the first person to be charged for war crimes in Afghanistan was the man who exposed it #freemcbride
BS no one has been convicted for War crimes, what you are referring to is a civil defamation case. One person has been charged as of last year, but still hasn’t proceeded to trial
@@spunterage Did ypou notice the date of this vidio? This bloke might need to get some up ti date information.
Mate.... ya might wanna check that, a member was charged and is awaiting sentencing
General Angus Campbell should be thrown out for what he has done to our armed forces.
After ww2 the highest commanding officer takes responsibility for any and all charges brought while he is in charge. He must face the same punishment as his men. Campbell and the other generals giving orders stripped the medals from the sas but gave themselves medals for the same operation.
He is also responsible for introducing diversity, inclusion and equity. Men have trouble getting into the forces and it’s being packed with women and trans.
He forced other groups to remove “scary” badges and insignias so they wouldn’t scare children.
He’s a joke and needs to be sacked and stripped of everything.
I notice that Angus Campbell wears SAS para wings. Interesting to say the least.
@@MikeWellington-w7j he was sas. That’s the sad bit. He knows what they had to do and still is a dickhead.
Campbell should be stripped of all of his insignia/medals. He deserves none of them and is a disgrace to the Uniform.
I would like to put him out of a B-52 above 45,000 Feet and then see if he has wings. He is a bloody disgrace!
he is the enemy within hes probably been blackmailed thats they all go against the norm
Hes an embarrassment to the uniform. Unfortunately, the higher you go in rank the more your political and career goals take precedence over looking after the troops.
It's a disgrace to criticise soldiers for what happens overseas in war, we weren't there, don't know the circumstances, and these people were sent by our government, to do their bidding.
“Charging someone for murder here is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500” Apocalypse Now.
You weren’t there, but soldiers who WERE there blew the whistle.
The Five Eyes ranked:
USA (#1), UK (Top 10); Australia (Top 20); Canada (#27); NZ (well, it's small)
How embarrassing for Canada to be weaker than Australia.
LOL so far off track
The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter was withdrawn from service by Navy in 2022 and Army in 2023 and into this year due to safety issues. They were due to be in service until 2037. They're being replaced with the latest Blackhawk variants. The Australian government tried to sell them off but there were no takers which speaks volumes. Their development was a joint operation so probably a case of "too many chefs", much like the "Joint Stike Fighter". Norway has also withdrawn the Taipan from service.
JSF is a program that has vastly improved since it's "too many chefs" days.
Well, the Ukranians put their hands up to take em off our hands, but the Albanese government said no.
You know all this for a fact and can sight references to what your claiming. As nothing wrong with NRH90's other than not suited to purpose, very big difference to what your claiming.
Yes it has been said recently there was nothing wrong with MRH-90s and it was the night vision gear that had issues!
Regardless the helicopters have apparently been dismantled and the fuselages buried on a military base. A bit extreme.
@@TheHsan22 Yes, if you want my opinion, we waste great amounts of weaponry, Like you said the Taipans could have been retained for a time when we are in threat...take a look around the planet to see what is happening.
The Americans are no fools when it comes to this, they spend a lot of time and money mothballing their expensive assets..Not to mention we could have sold them or even gave them to the Philippines who desperately wanted them as they wanted the retiring Anzac frigates, and spent the money on other equipment..
Likewise the Leopard 2 tanks are now sitting around rusting in certain towns around oz, and our F 111 bombers are buried in a tip in Queensland.. we should have mothballed them, as we still haven't fully replaced their capabilities.
At the mo we are awaiting delivery of ah 64 Apache's as replacement for the Taipans.
They are trained to kill....then, those who sit in high places, well away from any action nor have ever seen action...judge these brave young men!!!!
Ben Robert Smith, I thank you for your service Sir.
LEST WE FORGET
Glad it didn't hide the recent problems.
Here's the crazy thing, the whistleblower that revealed the information relating to Australia's Afghanistan war crimes is the ONLY PERSON WHO WENT TO JAIL FOR ANYTHING RELATED TO THE WAR CRIMES. Australia's military might be great, but the government and laws surrounding whistleblowers is far from great.
A chosen family member, SASR, someone I love so very dearly, survived the Townsville Black Hawk disaster in 1996. He is missing some body parts thanks to the crash but fark me, he's a still deadset legend. I could not have more respect and admiration for these blokes. Most of us wouldn't survive the first 5 minutes of training, much less a deployment somewhere..... 🙏🏻🥰🩷
Thank him for his service. My husband always spoke highly of the SASR squadrons. He was a Huey crewman in the RAAF and worked with a number of SAS units in Vietnam.
My fathers cousin was SASR and 2CDO, retired after a black hawk crash in Afghanistan. He has represented Australia during Invictus and won gold. He now mentors returned vets and police for the RSL in QLD. My father was stationed at Lavarack during his service.
I was in Townsville at the time of this terrible accident and attended your family member's parade at Lavarack Barracks. It was definitely the saddest time in my short military career. Those men are lost but never forgotten.❤
Every man and woman who puts on that ADF uniform deserves every inch of love and respect 🙏
@@highcountrydelatitewe may have crossed paths, my section was tasked with securing the site, mostly to keep the media vultures in check.
Is British origins in all Australian military but British sometimes learn tactics off Aussies since Boer war and WW1 and WW2 also.
Special Z Force was started by British and so was Sparrow. Aussies would just add tactics to the base models, hard to say as Aussies came form British also lol.
SASR is based on British SAS and why has same motto and name, but as some Brits lie that we completely followed their SAS is a false history.
I once found a story while researching WW2 and it mentioned the founder of British SAS came to Australia and studied Australia Sparrow Force tactics and used some in British SAS.. i can not find it now or if fully tue.. everyone studies one another tactics and why our countries all train together.
SASR are more elite at long recon and jungle guerilla warfare, Never really done much hostage rescue but train for it, Think if Aussie SASR were based off SAS, in Vietnam SASR made their own name and came up with their own tactics and styles of warfare.
Was a US seals unit took over from SASR in Tarin Kot Afghanistan and were amazed at the level of recon and information gathered and how detailed it all was.
Even Australian regular army are trained in special forces tactics, is funny as many complain they are regular army and should be doing normal army training and not special forces tactics.
Australian SASR are also based off Special Z Force WW2 the most successful special forces of WW2, then is Sparrow Force WW2 the most successful longest behind enemy lines of WW2. guerilla warfare in Timor against Japanese with barely any resupply they had to live off the land. 1 mission they sat watching Japanese cook a meal before going and wiping them out then eating their food.
Still SASR are taught to survive long durations behind enemy lines living off the land and reason became one of most successful and most feared in Vietnam war.
Vietnamese nicknamed them Phantoms of the jungles or Ma Rung in their language.
Was a VC saying if your friends were dying or dissapearing silently around you then it was the Phantom Aussies.
Phantoms of the Jungles is a book about the start of the SASR and told of stories of Borneo and Vietnam history of SASR and how was based off British SAS but even British SAS studied the Aussie tactics in Vietnam and changed their tactics after leaving 1 SASR member behind in Borneo Malaya emergency conflict.
Phantoms of the jungles book tells of a few missions were you understand were the most feared.
SASR even taught famous MACV SOG and were members of them in Vietnam also.
Also a good interview with US Navy Seal Rodger Hayden known as baddest navy seal during Vietnam and how spent 10 days on mission with SASR and his whole career in to 1980's, he said no other special Forces including British SAS had the trade craft those Aussies did, interview is on JOKOWILINK youtube channel podcast 37 and 77.
SASR were inside Iraq 2003 2 days before invasion March 18th and only made public around 5 years ago.
They called in airstrikes and hit targets and did recon behind enemy lines, looking for WMD also and said to be the closest units to Baghdad during the whole invasion doing recon and calling in air strikes..
Afghanistan Operation Anaconda SASR were highly awarded for their part, where Devgru unit and a KSK German SF failed in similar missions SASR excelled and even saved Navy seal's after a helicopter crash.
2 SASR imbedded with US Marines in Operation Anaconda in Hell's Halfpipe also highly awarded by US for saving many Marines
They say SASR trained for the mission using VR Virtual reality programme to help prepare for low visibility and bad weather and this was reason for their high success where other SF failed. And first time ever used in a training scenario.
Australian SASR are very under rated at around 9th place in the world and are equal to USA and British tier 1 operators.
Then there now is Aus 2nd Commando unit special forces, a member used to have world no 2 longest sniper shot but now number 3.
Also founder Sgt Paul Cale nicknamed Killer Commando because of a mission in Afghanistan, He now teaches Devgru and other top world special forces CQB - CQC, close quarters combat as after mission where got his nickname realised CQB being taught was useless. during mission he lost his weapons and had to strangle a enemy with his bare hands.
Devgru commander said Paul Cale is years ahead of anyone in CQC tactics.
SASR also hold record for longest out on patrol mission during Afghanistan of 50 days straight of not returning to base. they are one of most elite in long recon units in the world.
War crimes of SASR are giving them a bad name but British SAS are acused of even more then the Aussies, US, Canada and almost every allie did crimes, so no one should single them out.
Australia press and a defamation court case made SASR war crimes world wide news and a lot of blind even from Britain acusing Australia like their countries are saints. Australia is acused of 35 crimes and 18 members of doing these.
Britain is accused of over 600 crimes and show Australia is small if comparing.
If read 18 Hours a SAS story of Afghanistan Operation Anaconda a story about Martin Jock Wallace SASR signals, who was inbedded with the Marines in Hell's half pipe after Operation Anaconda the American General also said SASR were again the Phantoms, referencing the Vietnamese Nickname.
There is also a rumour that Taliban feared the men with the red beards the most in Afghanistan and is reference to the Aussies or mainly the SASR.. not sure if exageration or truth.
Great information, thank you.
Of some of the reports I read regarding SASR War Crimes, it was mentioned that these elite units were over-used, meaning they were given assignments that could/should have been carried out by ADF troops rather than these elite forces, as well as their regular heavy load. Hence why fatigue, desensitisation etc. was a factor in their behaviour along with what was mentioned in this video. I am by no means an expert on the Australian military but I’ve always remembered reading this information.
You seem very informed so I was wondering if you agreed/disagreed with this point or have more information regarding the subject?
Thankyou.
@@Reneesillycar74 Yea i also heard they were not let off the leash enough by the Americans and got bored as underutilised.
It is in the book i mentioned 18 hours a SAS story Wallace mentions it
Aussie SASR wanted more work they were most suited to.
Hard to say about war crimes unless there and doing it, i will not say they are in the right either,
The video of them blowing up the Taliban in that hide after a Afghan team mate was killed said was a war crime.. not sure how or if just bad journalism on the incident,
Blooding a new guy has been in war since beginning of time also. think all militaries just look the other way.
We call our WW2 war vets heroes but were so many war crimes back then also and no one said's anything except are our heroes.
I know Aussies in New Guinea WW2 did many crimes after seeing what the Japanese did to our own men.
After learning of the death marches and eating Australian's and other thing's Japanese did Aussies sent Japanese on their own style of death marches also.
WW1 at Hamel when Americans were under command of the Aussies, the Aussies told Americans not to take any German's prisoner and to kill them all.
Aussie exact words were, we have no need for the Hun.
Americans thought was absurd until were in battle and realised not enough men to guard them and Germans were even worse for war crimes and understood why.
I do not believe war crimes are right, but i could not imagine seeing friends or family killed and still act nice to the enemy either.
Taliban were never nice to our captured guys either. It is a hard topic but if caught should be punished.
Also a lot of discussions that too many will be scared to join military now incase put on charges.
One Afghan witness during the trial seems hard to believe, he was calling our guys infidels and way spoke could tell he hated us and be hard to believe if he was speaking truth or lie.
Have read Phantoms of the Jungles and can see why named it.
One mission they snuck in to a VC camp undetected just to leave a note that said.. you have been visited by the SAS.
Was a mind game to let them know they were not safe anywhere.
They would lay for a long time beside a path and wait for VC to walk past and then snatch the last 1 or 2 and take them back for interrogation.
Funny a SASR member said was scary because did not know if the one they were about to snatch was a kung fu ninja or a fast draw western gun fighter.
How VC said if your friends were vanishing around you silently it was the Phantoms.
Many more stories and is amazing how many more SASR did not die in missions.
@@Reneesillycar74 no charges have ever been laid
They are all Bloody Legends!
Google "Ben Roberts-Smith"....its all there.
Yeah or David McBride
Australia dont post much Military stuff for the public eyes. Thats why our SAS and Military is so Great. Never rell the left hand what the right hand is about to do. Oldie but true as the air in our lungs.❤
The comments about unlawful killings in Afghanistan are a fairly deep and very dark rabbit hole.
Suffice to say it's true, we have veterans who have boasted about it in their podcasts after the fact.
If you want to look into that I'd start with Friendly Jordies' video "True (war)Crime Podcast" and go from there.
We're talking abominable acts which tarnish the honour of all our armed forces. I don't want to go into it.
It's war..........People die!
3:00 note the trooper second from the left. He is carrying (resting on) a modified L1A2 fully automatic, heavy barrelled version of the 7.662mm FN-FAL. The forward wood furniture has been removed and replaced with a grenade launcher and pistol grip. The flash suppressor has been removed (with a hacksaw). This modified weapon was one of just a few L1A2s modified in this manner and they were passed from one squadron to the next as they rotated through theatre. They were affectionately nick-named 'The Bitch'.
To the best of my ability I am writing this.
Unfortunately, it came to light that a few personnel in the SASR supposedly broke the ROE and murdered Afghans.
Ben Roberts-Smith VC recipient (big deal) was outed as one of the persons responsible. There is not enough evidence to prove this is the case. Although there is secrecy to the silent professionals as such, it was stated that personnel in the units also reported ROE being broken.
For what I know SAS in England and SASR in Australia all operators deserve the highest respect for what they go through
In saying this, the operators in Aus who stood up for what is right deserve the highest respect and honours.
To all the English and Australian Military personal and operators thankyou for your service.
By putting training together it reduces the arrogance between them as they know their training was equal, this they are equal. Also allows better friendships to firm thus teducing the risk of arrogance breding
no hate or anything but the 'ou' in some words almost made me laugh
As an Aussie Vet, we do our job and we do it well. Regardless of how people feel about what is published, one day they will need to beg us to come back. The Aus armys biggest issue is retention
I assure you all the Australian military especially the sas have very high and harsh standards to joining and training and in warfare or peacekeeping. The levels of fitness and intelligence are required to be high. Generally Australian military have an excellent reputation and seriousness in unfortunately there are always some that take things too far. Sometimes that comes with the nature of military and war. Most are called out and held to account. Thank goodness with the technological advancements there is less need for masses to be in military therefore generally less mass body counts. Unfortunately the west has far less military numbers and loyal trusted population hence why we rely upon all advancements that can be utilised. All of it is unfortunate for the west and even - more so - since globalisation ! As having so much so called integration does not equal and in fact does not advance western peoples safety - in any aspect. At home -or abroad.
About the killing I think that the SASR went around and killed the villagers even though they shouldn’t have. I think
Some issues with that video. No criminal case has been opened, no referrals to the Hague and so far there is an ongoing deformation case into the matter and allegations.
Entry level into the SAS is extremely high and almost as for commando. Both regiments were set up with guidance of their UK ancestor regiments and training courses are similar, but adapted to Australia's mixed terrain and climates.
Incorrect. Ben was charged... your denial shows lack of knowledge
@@logic.and.reasoningWhen was he charged and what with? Had he been charged that would most certainly have been highlighted in the media....haven't seen anything as yet...and I've been following it pretty closely.
@@logic.and.reasoning he’s never been charged. He lost a civil suit he brought against a newspaper who printed the story of his crime. He lost the case with the judge saying the paper substantially proved what they’d written
The AFP or the Military courts haven’t yet charged anyone.
@@logic.and.reasoning he wasn't charged, he lost a civil defamation case against a reporter, no criminal charges have ever been laid.
The video is 3 years old
I can't imagine how hard it is for these guys to be dropped into somewhere like Afghanistan to fight an enemy who don't play by any rules and have to justify every action they take in minute detail. It must be like fighting with one hand behind your back.
Who do you want in a real life fight?
The Australian government went after these guys. Shameful.
1:32 there was a clip going around where a soldier killed an Afghani civilian for no reason. His reasoning was "he was reaching for something" or something like that
Google Ben Roberts-Smith who received the Victoria Cross but proceeded to shit all over it
SASR is a scalpel and 2Commando is a hammer.
Fun fact: David McBride, whistleblower within the military exposed the "accused" Afghan war crimes to the Australian media when the higher ups in the military and the government wouldn't listen to him when he was trying to simply do his job. Now he's been sentenced and is in jail for being a good human being.
Hypohysterical history is a great channel - excellent source material mate!
Heard many stories from Older ex military people & sons of , talk about just how Elite / Insane our Aussie special forces are. they all mentioned we had to have the best because we lack in Numbers which actually makes sense. No one needs the Australian Army to help them win a war but Any country would bend over backwards to have our special forces on their side. I guess that’s our bargaining chip. No point having a tiny army and being fodder on the frontline for Allies when you could be a total Asset to Allies & in turn their Army will protect you.
Our military as a whole punches well above its weight on a global scale and our SASR are among the best and well trained in the world .
With our smaller population, Australia concentrates on quality over quantity in all our defence forces. The SASR is, as the video stated, the tip of the spear, the best of the best of an already high-quality army.
Did things go bad with a few? I think they did but I wasn't there so I'm just going on the information we have from reports, investigations and even the the Ben Roberts Smith reporting and subsequent defamation case that is still running after years.
While I don't condone it, I can maybe understand that when you are put in situations like the SASR were in Afghanistan it might be easy to start making morally questionable decisions. I think it does highlight that at least it came out and wasn't totally hushed up.
I’m really glad that we know what happened and I hope those that are responsible are punished I personally f'ckin hate the military especially cause my mate that was in the army ended up pretty f'cked up from it
My dream job is the SASR currently I’m 12 and this has been my dream job since I was 10 but don’t know if I can join since it is extremely hard to join.
You need to look into the battle of Brisbane
It was never proven
I used to work with a whole bunch of ex SAS guys. Incredibly smart, resourceful, and driven. The selection and training are a kind of brain washing, and I think whatever is done, there will always be a risk of something going wrong in the culture on longer deployments. They're charged with doing things that are beyond anything that we can image, and the kinds of ethical decisions they have to make every day are completely outside the parameters of anything any normal person outside the military would ever face.
I think it's inevitable that there are risks, but we send teenagers overseas with weapons, so there are all sorts of risks of bad behaviour and tragic accidents in our overseas deployments. The abilities of our SAS, and their competence and focus inevitably leads to a saving of lives amongst civilians and others in achieving strategic goals on the battlefield. Even just the fact they're much better shots reduces collateral deaths. I'm sure even they realise they're a necessary evil, and we should all be proud of the jobs they do - outside of any incidents of killing or torturing the unarmed on purpose.
As the son of a Ex marine my dad told me many time Australian soliders saved his ass, god bless USA, God bless Australia 🇺🇸🇦🇺✝️
my own personal experience and opinion, as an average australian, that plays a lot of military simulator video games.
and is an enthusiast for military technology and equipment.
i can say that the australian special forces are indeed one of the worlds most intimidating.
throughout our military history, the engagements we have been put into have been some of the hairyest and toughest battles on the planet.
and we have solidified ourselfs as a small,
yet very heavyweight combat force.
just of the top of my head.
a great example was in vietnam. in the "battle of long tan"
outnumbered 10-1 we held ground against an insurmountable force.
the vietcong had many names for the australians. many of them representing a force not to be underestimated.
going back to ww1 what was then the ottoman empire. and now the turkish.
the turkish to this very day.
have storys of the australian forces they faced.
to sum this comment up without taking up too much.
we are some of the bravest and most hardwilled people out there.
the storys from Iraq where australian "commandos"
where dropped in to do covert hit and run attacks on enemy positions are haunting.
if you need a big job done by only a few men, and done well.
you ask the australians.
if you need to put men into a position that would make most men s**t themselves,
you ask the australians.
We (Australia) have a major problem within the ADF and it's direction, the way it treats our soldiers and returned servicemen as well as over rotation of special forces. I stand with BRS.
need more people to sign up problem solved
their names have been tarnished not by accusations, but rather the persons in question self-incriminating themselves through verbal self admission and video evidence, bragging about killing civilians for years on social media, how much they liked killing civs, how they dont even consider them humans and even explaining in vids how they would plan and kill civs and cover their back if questioned and even when they got caught out for committing genocide and they thought they would get in trouble nope not a problem, they even bragged and laughed about this saying how great it was.
as it turned out it wasnt just a isolated issue, but a systemic issue, the ADF was basically selecting verifiable psychopaths for special forces and encouraging them to kill civilians with immunity, naturally after this came to the light of day because some of them were dumb enough to brag about it all online etc thinking they had immunity... well the censorship previously applied started to crumble, when they were openly self-incriminating themselves and even supplying evidence...
end result they got told to zip it, wiped all their social media accounts, deny everything etc, while damage control went into effect, yet they were even dumb enough to admit part of this verbally at latter date, so obviously not the brightest folks in the special forces, they make cops look smart.
AU government here is openly corrupt and basically owned and operated by the CCP, during lock downs police were treating all ages like this was a nasi concentration camp and the ADF was helping as well, they were also very heavy handed on censoring it as well confiscating phones, banning people from social media, internet, electronic devices, associates eg: friends, total isolation and if they even dared peep = jail time.
this is why most footage of authorities committing crimes including ADF is mostly live feeds, but almost anything to do with the ADF was also heavily censored, blocked and like with anything they dont want the public to see, could be deemed even a crime to upload showing authorities breaking laws, abusing their powers etc, which people have been arrested exposing abuse of powers and corruption, they were not protected, but jailed, thats how far the AU gov will go to keep themselves looking good, they do a even better job then the CCP, thats why they have to force people to vote in AU, even some kids toys are considered firearms in this country and having these kids toys could actually net you more time behind bars then if you murdered someone, AU looks good on the surface, but unless your a fan of the CCP, its not a good place to live anymore unless your $$$.
ye its disgusting hard to be proud of this country anymore
Thank you for making this video my brother served in the army here in Western Australia.
My Step dad was in the Australian army for 20 years they would promote him or something so he left. He wasn't a nice person. Maybe that was why
My Step dad was in the Australian army for 20 years they would promote him or something so he left. He wasn't a nice person. Maybe that was why
Rifleman here, worked with 2nd commando and the regiment but was never a member of the unit
I like that the only points out the bad thing 🙃1:17
The regular army call them the SNEAKY PEEKIES
When I did a course in security, the teacher was ex-Australian Defence Force; he told us about when serving in Afghanistan some of the "locals" they were training to defend against the Taliban actually turned the gun/s on Aussie soldiers and shot as many as they could before fleeing into the hills. The camp then sent out a regiment of SASR to capture them and, well, the Afghans did return to face justice - quite a bit worse for wear I might add 😅. Our Special Forces are right up there with the best training & equipment.
Yeah the media etc skip over this.
Happened on numerous occasions and become more frequent in later deployments. One of the guys i severed which took a few shots to the leg before the threat was naturalized. Unfortunately, some werent so lucky.
Phantoms of the Jungle - Book on SAS in Vietnam. My Grandfather was a WO2 and served 22yrs in the SAS and was awarded The Bronze Soldier Statue. Who Dares Wins.
Regarding the "unlawful killings" comment. There was a massive uproar when one (maybe more) of our ADF special forces were found to have committed war crimes in the middle east. I don't know the full story but the dude never faced repercussions as far as I'm aware.
EDIT: I recommend reading the story of "The Rats Of Tobruk" one of my favourite WWII stories save for the ANZAC story.
I’m not condoning war crimes but these operators are the absolute best in the world and Australian SAS are sought after especially by the US Navy Seals.
Realistically all soldiers are killers but Australias SAS are the absolute best there is and before they combined the SOCOM training the SAS training was designated to make every soldier fail in that they only are allowed one attempt to join the regiment… you fail and that’s it.
There’s is no regiment in the world that compares to Australian SAS. Not even The UK who started the SAS.
The Australian special forces (sas) was responsible for the killing fields where a soldier known as Oliver Schulz killed an unarmed Afghan man, there was also other incidents where an Australian soldier marched a captured soldier from Taliban out in a field with a waka or something like that can’t remember(Afghan soldier) and gave the signal to the Afghan to execute the captured soldier. You can watch the videos of Australian Sasr and a medic explaining the trauma him and others went through because of the war crimes. Killing fields on prime video for anyone curious
Look up "The Last Commando" one of our best Warriors Cameron Baird VC. My old School mate was Merv MacDonald who was KIA in a helicopter crash in Afganistan he was in the same unit 2CDO and a friend of Cameron Baird VC.
cheers to our long history together and lets hope for many many more years. U.S, Canada, New Zealand and all the other allies. Much love and Respect
They aren’t just accusations of unlawful killings. The only person to be jailed in Australia for war crimes was actually the whistleblower who told on the Australian soldiers who committed them.
Z-Force in World War 2
The reason they combined the training for commandos and SASR was to avoid competition/ego between the two units.
As a generalisation, Australian special forces are known for modesty, however I think it is still a smart change.
There's a multiple part series here on yt showing training involved to join the SASR or Commandos.
It’s called ,SAS. In search of a Warrior’ Two part series.
David McBride
He is refering to high profile case of a VC recipiant being investigated for unlawful killing. Its worth nothing that as of yet that memeber hasnt been found guilty of anything and is entitled to a presumsion of inocence.
Im joining the Australian special forces
I didn't think you could id yourself. I hope your name isn't henry, and hackers can easily id you.
Since its formation, the SASR has lost more men in training than in combat, due to the nature of the training regime. That shows the level of training.
Or bad training practices.
@@davidandrew1078 You have no idea what the training is like.
@@crusher8017 Actually, I do. Back to COD Wannabe for you.
@davidandrew1078 Whats a COD?
@@shakengandulf Call of Duty, it's a video game
My father who would be 103 if he was alive, was enlisted as a trooper as he was a jackaroo with horse skills. Long story short as there was no cavalry they are were formed into Idecpendant Companys (Commandos). My father was at Kokoda, Salamau and Lae in the 2/3 Independant Company holding the line waiting for the Choco is arrive. Dad served his entire life after WW2 Korea Kapyong (wounded), Malaya Confrontation Sarawak, Viet Nam several tours, Then PNG for the devolution. He never spoke much about his exploits rarely went to ANZAC Parades. However he was President of the Australia Commando Assocition at one time. I remember he had 12 gongs. Gees I miss him what a man.
Read about Australia's W.W.2. Independent Forces who, half way through that war were re-designated as the Australian Commando Squadron.
Also interesting follow up is ..
"Secret Armies" by James Adams.
BS! They do? They have nothing but ZERO! RESPECT. For any Officer's family member.. in this world?
You should check out "The Battle of Beersheba; the Light Horsemen's daring WWI cavalry charge" .
The victory marked the beginning of the fall of the Ottoman Empire. My grandfather was 10th Light Horse.
Angus Campell did anything to advance his own career, to the detriment of so many good officers, and let the CIA have complete freedom of the SASR to conduct kill/capture missions on both Taliban and Al Qaeda HVTs. Men from the Australian Regular Army were on a known deployment of 6 or 8 months, dependent upon the season. The special forces were sent in and out of that confusing shithole more than anyone could stand with no clear mission. Yes, search the transparent Australian Governments mission in Afghanistan. Our best men were sent in to kill horrible, despicable human beings that orchestrated uncomprehendionable acts of punishment and cruelty, like beheading females and reporters, just for being a female or a reporter. Yet they single our our soldiers for killing these people? It's like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500. We all should reflect on our history, before passing judgement.
All soldiers need to know they are being watched constantly and are accountable for their actions. The Australian SAS is strongly modeled on the British SAS. Au SAS covers a number of specialities that includes counter terrorism, and airborne capabilities.The SAS is more focused on gaining intelligence. The Commando units are for more direct action assault operations. Both share many skills so some combined training is practical. The Australian spec ops units work more closely with the US and NZ than the UK. Australia has recently signed a new defense agreement with the UK. Also India, Japan and the US. Britain is likely to share a multibillion $ submarine project with Australia for nuclear powered submarines. Not nuclear armed. Nuclear powered subs are better suited for very long operations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
australian music about war is a little different.
Eric Bogle "and the band played waltzing Matilda. (guy comes back from war broken physically)
Redgum "i was only 19" (guy comes back broken mentally)
there is also a hiphop cover by The Herd of "i was only 19" i dont really like the sound of this one but the music video is touching
Since they are in the midst of a War Crimes Investigation. Not much.
The investigation has finished. War crimes investigations involving British and US special forces are still underway in Britain and the USA.
Sadly the Australian Special Forces had a... major problem lately.
Got bad, real bad. What they did was that the SASR fell into elitism, and figured they knew better than their commanders and the ROE.
The accusations, later proven, were that they just started killing people. Got to the point where they brought on missions foreign made guns, grenades and weapons for WHEN they killed civilians. Not if, WHEN.
Then there was the fact that when they got a new guy they'd do a "bloodying" where they wanted to make sure the new guy was dependable, by grabbing a random local, tying him up , and making the new guy prove himself by killing the tied up civilian, and if you didn't, they'd get rid of you up to the point where they'd falsify mission reports.
Last I heard the ADF had started criminal investigations, but that was months ago.
People might say I'm lying, but I'm referring to the Brereton report which lists over 30 unlawful killings by Australian Special Forces.
The "Unlawful" killings accusation is a political one and I'm ashamed of my Government for putting the SASR through a load of garbage accusations. , especially against Lance Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith.
The Ozzie SAS were always staunch!But a couple of woke sooks shat on others due to being jealous & didn't get recognition for there valour.The true SAS expect nothing & never talk out of school to outsiders!
WHO DARES WINS is a proud motto & to get in used to be 1%.Then came the Commandos which changed many things.Twice I knew someone who got booted out of SAS training selection in the last weeks of making it, for mouthing off.But he refused to join the Commandos as the SAS is the Elite & so was he.He Didnt get in but was proud to stay staunch by saying SAS or nothing.He got out after 2nd fu.But he got out & is training others.Crazy thing is he could do it now 10yrs later as things have changed!!
During 1956-57, the Australian army was tasked to take over the English run Malaysian army bases. My father served in Malaysia in 1957-58. I would suggest that the English also trained the first troops, of what would be the SAS. Dad never spoke much about his service time. Only recently on his passing, I learned that he was in one the jungle patrols as a sniper. Small groups of men would go on jungle patrol a week at a time. Sounds pretty similar to what today's SAS patrols do.
Hypohistorical History - the channel shown here - has an extraordinary documentary series on Australia's participation in the SW Pacific in WW2 (New Guinea). Highly, highly recommend it.
Hypohistorical History - the channel shown here - has an extraordinary documentary series on Australia's participation in the SW Pacific in WW2 (New Guinea). Highly, highly recommend it.
Dude are you for real. They said it was based on the brittish unit, and giving we are still part of the Commonwealth, yes a lot of our milirty ops are closely tied to brittush interests
"You know your country is fucked mate donchya?"
"Yeah bruvah, so's yours, why aunchya back 'ome fixin it ven guv?"
"Coz mate, they dont teach us that, no one is qualified to train that sort of shit."
Best to let sleeping dogs lie in regards to the internal issues of the SASR. It did gain much media attention which blighted the service of all Special Service Forces due to a few senior soldiers who weren't exactly into following the rules of war and became arrogant and rogue. I'm very much against mixing different Units, yet if training etc. was held on a general basis before selection into either Service, that should work out better, without ongoing competition and ego. A culture had developed which made some members think that they could do what they liked. That lookout pictured on the ground, well restrained by the soldier, plus another with his attack dog, was killed by the soldier in the picture despite technically being a prisoner of war. These incidents needed to be addressed and now put to bed, only to learn from. It pays to look up Z Force, where there is much to search for on the internet.
In regards to the British SAS, they would also have many areas of expertise, which is the basis for Australia setting up its own SASR.
Having the SASR and Commandos train together is stupid, having competition between units isn't a bad thing. The reason for the SASR murdering Afghanis is due to the fact that to make it in the SASR you need to basically be a psychopathic serial killer. They were just being themselves.
I knew an ex commando, entry is completely brutal. I've heard stories about SASR. A tiny percent of the best of the best make it. Much like British SAS .Just think hotter than hell and no water. Australia is mostly desert. And no, they should not combine them, one is better than the other. Now we will lose our elite SASR. I am Scottish, and live here, it is a shame. You need the competition. Though Australian culture would rather see men behind bars, or in chains. It is a disaster. When war comes knocking, nobody will be home.