![]() Regardless, we landed on top of one another as the airframe pitched onto its side and slid to a halt in a blur of fragmenting ice and shrieking metal. No doubt the reduced impact was due to the skill and the reactions of the pilot and the fact that the crewman had insisted that we had all strapped into our seats before takeoff. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, like being in a car crash, as we half slid and half bumped into the glacier’s slope. If the helicopter had impacted on hard ground or rock, the blades would have snapped back, and the bent metal would have chopped us into mincemeat. It was a miracle that the flailing blades didn’t thrash the cab to pieces with us inside it, but the ice and snow had acted as a shock-absorbing energy damper. ![]() His starboard wheel clipped the side of the crevasse, tipping the Wessex sideways, digging the tips of the main rotor disc into the side of the glacier. It was sent to the Ministry of Defence, although the ministry routinely says it does not comment on the activity of special forces.Īn MoD spokesperson said: “It is the longstanding policy of successive governments not to comment on UK Special Forces.“His visual reference suddenly gone, our pilot instinctively pulled on the power and lifted the nose up, but it was too late. The full list of countries also includes Algeria, Estonia, France, Oman, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Cyprus, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. ![]() The only deployment in Russia mentioned in the media dates back to 2014, when a tabloid newspaper reported that SAS soldiers were “on hand” to protect the security of British athletes at the winter Olympics in Sochi. A group of SBS commandos tried and failed to rescue a Briton and an Italian held by an Islamist group in Nigeria in 2012, but a couple held in the Philippines were successfully rescued in 2019 in a mission that UK special forces helped to plan, and for which it trained the country’s military. Special forces frequently participate in hostage rescues as well as exfiltrations. However, the Ministry of Defence said the operation involved members of the Parachute regiment, the Royal Marines and the RAF but it did not mention special forces. The United Kingdom Special Forces ( UKSF) is a directorate comprising the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group, 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, as well as the supporting No. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Īt the time, the Tory MP Ben Wallace, who is now defence secretary, praised the military effort involved. For more information see our Privacy Policy. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. Special forces took part in the rescue of two dozen British diplomats and their families from Khartoum in April after the outbreak of fighting in Sudan, evacuating them to an airfield north of the capital, when they were at risk of coming under attack. Men were separated from their families and reportedly shot dead after being said to have produced a weapon. This March, however, a public inquiry began into allegations that the SAS were responsible for 54 summary killings in Afghanistan in 20, typically on night raids. “The lack of parliamentary approval and retrospective reviews for these missions is deeply troubling.” “The extensive deployment of Britain’s Special Forces in numerous countries over the past decade raises serious concerns about transparency and democratic oversight,” said Iain Overton, the executive director of AOAV. While convention dictates that MPs have to vote for a war, special forces can be deployed without Commons approval – and their actions are not subject to investigation by any parliamentary committee.Īt one point, shortly after 38 people – including 30 Britons – were killed by a terrorist at a beach hotel in Tunisia in June 2015, it was reported that the SAS had been given “carte blanche” by David Cameron, who was then prime minister, to capture or kill Islamist leaders in the Middle East. ![]() ![]() The authors of the report said that the extensive list of deployments came despite a lack of oversight. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |