SAS Bravo Three Zero

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Fowler, Will (2005). SAS Behind Enemy Lines: Covert Operations 1941-2005. London: Collins. p.179. ISBN 0-00-719990-2. According to McNab, the four captured patrol members (McNab, Pring, MacGown and the wounded Coburn) were moved numerous times, enduring torture and interrogation at each successive location. [2] According to MacGown, however, "incidents such as teeth extraction and burning with a heated spoon did not happen. It is inconceivable that any such incidents could have occurred without them being discussed or being physically obvious." [17] At the time of the release on 5 March of MacGown and Pring, they were described as "in good shape" by a Red Cross representative. [10] Honours and Awards" Supplement to The London Gazette, Number 54393, 10 May 1996" (PDF) . Retrieved 25 October 2011. Join Damien Lewis and Des Powell as they launch their new book, marking both the 80th anniversary of the SAS and the 30th anniversary of the Gulf War.

Told in first person in an almost conversational style, it was so easy to fall into step alongside Des Powell and his regiment as he navigates his way through that fateful, and almost fatal, mission into Iraq to hunt down the locations of Saddam Hussain's scud missiles. As a unit who almost didn't get deployed to Iraq, originally due to remain in the UK on counter terrorism duties, we join the Powell and his fellow soldiers as they learn of their impending deployment, as they engage on pre-mission training, much condensed, and as they make those first moves behind enemy lines. Interspersed with this story are some of the key moments in Des Powell's career, from his initial attempt at selection for the SAS - which, aside from the intensive and gruelling exercises he needed to endure, ended in pretty grim fashion - through to some of the happier moments in his private life and the near miss moments in his career that make you wonder just how many cats he had to barter will to obtain some of their extra lives. It certainly seems as though he used a good number up without even making it into combat. Des Powell was a member of the Parachute Regiment who got selected for the SAS and during a twenty year career with 'Them' he was involved in Op Granby as part of the Scud hunting patrols Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero and Bravo Three Zero. Jim was right. We were here now, deep in it, and no one was going to get us out but ourselves. Not that I rated our chances highly. a b Cowell, Alan (5 March 1991). "AFTER THE WAR: P.O.W.'S; 6 Americans, Including Woman, Among 10 Released by Baghdad". The New York Times . Retrieved 25 October 2011. Six wheels, yellow cab, rust-encrusted bulbous orange rear. A water tanker, of the sort that accompanied Iraqi military units.

Damien Lewis is a Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author whose books have been translated into 40 languages worldwide. For 20 years, Damien worked as a war and conflict reporter for the world’s major broadcasters. Several of his books are being made into feature films. SAS Bravo Three Zero continues Damien’s iconic elite forces series: Churchill’s Secret Warriors, The Nazi Hunters, Hunting The Nazi Bomb, SAS Ghost Patrol, SAS Italian Job, SAS Shadow Raiders, SAS Band of Brothers and SAS Great Escapes. In part the book is autobiographical of Des Powells life it gives a sense of his upbringing and utter determination to succeed, where most would fail

Both Mitchell's and Armstrong's earlier accounts were critiqued by SAS reserve veteran Michael Asher in The Real Bravo Two Zero ( ISBN 0-304-36554-8). In 2001, Asher followed the original path of the patrol, interviewing local Iraqis who witnessed the events. The book was released in 2002.Even as warnings came in that McNab's patrol was on the run, Bravo Three Zero remained undetected - the furthest Coalition forces behind Iraqi lines. Slipping through enemy positions, a string of targets were taken out. But with the desert turning bitter and snow starting to fall, they were forced to fight a running battle against the elements as much as the enemy. There are obvious comparisons between ‘SAS Bravo Three Zero’ and Andy McNab’s ‘Bravo Two Zero’. They are both firsthand accounts of an SAS patrol sent behind Iraqi lines, something the authors do not shy away from, referencing Andy McNab‘s patrol throughout. This article is about the actual events. For the book by Andy McNab, see Bravo Two Zero (novel). For the film, see Bravo Two Zero (film). Coburn is withering about the leadership and intelligence failures that led the team to be dumped on a main supply route, almost on top of their target, where they were soon spotted. With no vehicles, they then discovered that none of their communications equipment was working. Not only that, they had also been given the wrong escape route and were then left as expendable once the higher-ups knew something was wrong. For the first time, Cambridgeshire SAS veteran, and second in command of Bravo Three Zero, Des Powell reveals their story.

How one SAS patrol launched a fusillade of 'kill-and-tell' books, then a fierce war of words". The Independent. 7 December 2000. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009 . Retrieved 25 October 2011. In conversation with ex-spook Paul Hughes, Des Powell provides us with an intimate look into the life of the SAS on this timely, commemorative evening. There were three patrols that fateful January 1991 Bravo One Zero , Bravo Two Zero and Bravo Three Zero . It was the opening hours of the Gulf War and the SAS were flown deep behind enemy lines to hunt down Saddam's Scud missiles, the use of which threatened a Third World War. Bravo Two Zero. For many people those three words conjure up the image of the soldier hero: the special-forces trooper - the kind of cool-minded killer who could go anywhere and seemingly do just about anything. It was the call sign for a British Special Air Service (SAS) patrol during a mission in the 1991 Gulf War that was "compromised" behind enemy lines. Three of the eight-man team were killed, and four captured and tortured, while trying to destroy Scud missile launchers in north-west Iraq. One managed to escape by foot across the desert into Syria.

They [the government\] acted like a bunch of Nazis, and they have done so through the whole process. I find it laughable they're now struggling to find reasons for their action in Iraq," he says, "and Tony Blair writes speeches about freedom. On the highway we might just make it ‑ as long as we avoided the Iraqi military, our SAS brethren, plus the scores of high-tech US warplanes quartering the skies. What is the explosive part of this story? The friction between the Des the patrol second in command and Jim the patrol commander is at times palpable, and under terrible weather and operational pressures is understandable. That the SAS, Britain's fighting elite, would do what appears to be an 'arms plot' move in the build up to a war; would equip patrols going into an active enemy environment so badly, and would give such poor weather, intelligence and signals briefs. It may be 30 years ago but there was plenty knowledge about the Iraqi armed forces from the Iran Iraq war; there were satellite intelligence and weather systems, and signals provision was hardly an unknown either. I would also say the book is not a positive advert for Land Rover, and probably should get a mention in the ARRSE thread 'Land Rover Horror Stories'. As a result of this I hope some officers careers went sideways rather than upward.

We pulled up on the far side to inspect the damage. By feel alone Driller could tell the underside had taken a hammering, but without light he couldn't say more. The Gulf War Chronicles ( ISBN 0595296696) by Richard Lowry recounted much of the patrol's story, though appeared to borrow heavily from the earlier story published by Mitchell. The book was released in 2003, aiming to "set the story straight". a b c Taylor, Peter (10 February 2002). "BRAVO TWO ZERO A Question of Betrayal". BBC News . Retrieved 25 October 2011.a b c d Coburn, Mike (2004). Soldier Five. Great Britain: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84018-907-0.