SBS Disgrace (SBS 'ran away from Iraqis') FACT OR FICTION???

[ratso]

Well if what they have written in the 'Mail on Sunday' today is right then the boys at Hereford will be laughing their socks off.
60 SBS all asleep when they get attacked, no patrols out, no sentries, a Major and Sgt who went AWOL, all their equipment captured, mass sackings and RTU's for all.

What the hell is the world coming to when the best of the best can't get it right.

I just hope it's not true! but the details are too accurate to be made up.

[rabby]

Where?!! I have the Sunday Mail and canny find it. If that is true then I'm truly shocked!

[ratso]

Rabby you'll have the (Scottish) Sunday Mail I dare say, it's in the Mail on Sunday. I have been trying to find it on the web but they don't show all their stories.

It's bad though over half a page and two pics....

Never thought I would ever read anything this bad about the SBS......

SAD very sad!

[rabby]

Ah, I normally buy the Mail on Sunday, it usually has interesting military stories, however I was forced to reduce myself to the Sunday Mail today, problems with supply or something .

Very sad indeed, where was this, in Iraq? On exercise? I can't believe 60 of the best would get caught with their pants down like that!

[ratso]

This is what is now being heralded as the true account regarding the two who crossed the border in similar exploits to Bravo Two Zero.

The two who crossed over the border were a Captain and a Seargent who took a Quad Bike from two other ranks.

It reads like a comical farce. This is truly a sad day!

[joe]

Well, against my better judgement, I went and bought the Mail specifically to read this article. Here it is for those of you who don't normally read the tabloids:

Two senior members of the elite Special Boat Service have been thrown out of the Regiment and 58 others face dismissal after they abandoned military equipment in Iraq and ran away from enemy troops.

The SAS major in charge of the operation and a Royal Marine SBS squadron leader have already been dismissed from their posts and returned to their original units.

The rest of the troops now face a Royal Navy Board of Inquiry.

Last week two of the SBS men - a captain and a sergeant - were hailed for their courage after allegedly making a tortuous trek on foot across the desert to the border with Syria. But but today The Mail On Sunday can reveal the true story of what happened.

For from being heroes, the two are at the centre of humiliating series of blunders which has heaped embarrassment on the elite regiment and led to a top-level inquiry into the whereabouts of several customised Special Forces Land Rovers, abandoned as the troops fled amid fears that they could have ended up in the hands of terrorists.

The incident occurred two weeks into the war after the SBS troops had already spent ten days in the desert on a mission to find and destroy Iraqi military equipment and hunt for weapons of mass destruction.

But face with a surprised attack by the Iraqi Republican Guard, they opted to flee rather than fight, leaving behind 12 vehicles, including the Land Rovers, which carried a range of weapons, including top of the range anti-tank Milan anti-tank missiles, general-purpose machine guns - known a 'gimpys' - heavy machine guns and M40 grenade launchers.

They also abandoned quad bikes, personal weapons, secret radios, laser target designators and sophisticated American communications equipment worth hundreds of thousands of pounds which were spirited away by the Iraqis.

To leave even a trace of military presence on the ground breaks one of the first rules of Special Forces. To flee - leaving such eqipment for Saddam Hussien's men to exhibit triumphantly to the world - after making no attempt to defend their position, is shocking, military experts said last night.

And they describe the actions of the SBS captain and sergeant how jumped on a quad bike belonging to other troops and sped off to the Syrian border as 'shameful'.

Despite their name, the Special Boat Service served on land, from helicopters, as well as at sea in the Iraqi war.

They were a key element of the Special Forces working on covert operations alongside the SAS and US Delta Force troops behind enemy lines.

Marine Squadron, one of two SBS units, had spent ten days in the desert in a column of Land Rovers, quad bikes and Honda 400 motor-cross bikes and were growing increasingly frustrated that they had seen no Iraqi vehicles and Scud launchers, or found any weapons of mass destruction. Nor had there been any sign of the enemy.

Their food and water supplies were running low - forcing them to stop and set up camp, while they waited for a resupply convoy.

They should have chosen a position which could be easily defended, provided cover from enemy fire and offered two vehicles escape routes. But to assist the resupply team, and choose a central position, they selected a site in a wadi, a dried-out river bed, in a valley, that met none of the key criteria.

And they were being watched by a reconnaissance patrol of Saddam Hussien's ultra-loyal Republican Guard, who called in reinforcements.

Even so, had the SBS troops followed standard operating procedures, they would have been able to defend themselves against what came next.

They should have had at least ten sentries, working in groups of two, to ring fence the camp and provided early warning of attack. But only single sentries were posted, and they carried only pistols.

When the Iraqi reinforcements arrived - a convoy of civilians and military vehicles which bought their strength up to 100, almost double the number of SBS troops - the British unit was caught hopelessly unprepared.

The first sign of an attack came in late afternoon, when the stillness of the desert was shattered by the sound of revving engines.

"Who the hell is that?" said one SBS solider, peering through the fading light. "Tell me it's the Americans," said another in desperation.

A hail of gunfire from AK47's bought the answer; it was the enemy, and the SBS troops were in deep trouble. Hours earlier they had stripped the Land Rovers of remaining kit in readiness for the resupply vehicles. Many solders were sleeping and were not even near enough to their weapons to attempt to fight back.

"Contact front! Contact front!" screamed one soldier as Iraqi vehicles spread across the horizon coming towards them. At the same time enemy troops were rushing forward to close in on his position.

Then the cry went up: "Bug our of the LUP (lying-up position), now!"

All the mean would have practised responding to surprise ambush countless times. Yet they were not remotely ready to return fire. Indeed all they seemed to think of was escape.

Each man scrambled desperately to get out and make it to the emergency RV - about 5km west of their camp - where they would be met by RAF CH-47 Chinook helicopter which would transport them back to base in Kuwait.

Amid the commotion the SBS captain and sergeant spotted an unattended quad bike - it wasn't theirs but they jumped on and sped off, leaving their troops to fend for themselves. They were the lucky ones. There were not enough vehicles to remove all the SBS personnel. Some ran away while others clambered on to the back of overcrowded Land Rovers.

Unluckiest of all were the two men who had owned the quad bikes. They were left running around to find a means of escape, only to find their own vehicles had been stolen.

The first troops to arrive at the emergency RV used their TACBE radios - equipped with GPS navigational systems - to alert the RAF to what had happened and call for back-up air assistance.

Within hours all but two had arrived safely. But the helicopters waited in vain for the pair on the quad bikes. Finally they were officially declared Missing in Action.

The SBS radioed to base in Kuwait that their position had been compromised - confessing at the same time that top-secret kit and weaponry had been left on the ground.

But the unenviable job of informing the US commanders what had happened was left to a senior Special Force commanded. Predictably, the Americans were furious.

Meanwhile satellite images on the SBS's former camp position revealed the Republican Guard were now based there. They were now vulnerable to US air attack, but the mission could not be carried out for nearly 12 hours.

Just before dawn a single A-10 tank buster plane, one of the most lethal aircraft in the US Air Force's armoury, came over the horizon and, riddling all the abandoned SBS vehicles with bullets and automatic cannon fire and surprising the celebrating Iraqis.

The Americans were livid that they had had to destroy such valuable equipment to stop it being used by enemy troops. But the SBS had left them no option.

After the raid Delta Force troops - the US equivalent of the SAS - were dropped by helicopter to search the wreckage at the scene, resulting in a three-hour fire fight and killed all remaining enemy forces.

Last night a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "It is not our policy to comment on the operations of Special Forces. But I can say there is always an inquiry after an incident like this. There had, however, been no disciplinary action in any chain of command or over the two men involved."

[/quote]

[ratso]

Thanks Joe I was nearly finished scanning it in to post it.

Now I just need someone to come on here and tell me it's just one big pile of cr**, though having read it three times and phoned people who are serving it now seems it is all true.

[rabby]

Bloody hell, it was the Yanks that came to our rescue this time, by destroying the kit, that really is a bad day when the Delta Force has to come in and mop up our mess.

[faddius]

I really don't believe it or rather I really don't want to believe it but if it is true, it is a BLOODY disgrace!

[joe]

I personally believe very little of what is published in tabloid newspapers. Let's face it; unless you were there, or have heard from someone who has, how sure can we be that the "facts" presented in the article are indeed true? For example:

Their food and water supplies were running low - forcing them to stop and set up camp, while they waited for a resupply convoy.

B0llocks! They would have expected to be resupplied after a period behind the lines. Why does the Mail describe it as "forcing them to stop"?

Many solders were sleeping and were not even near enough to their weapons to attempt to fight back.

If it was daylight, you would expect most to be resting as they were presumably operating at night - and I just can't believe that they didn't have their personal weapons within arms reach. The Mail is trying to tell us that they ALL disregarded one of the most basic rules? I don't think so!

But only single sentries were posted, and they carried only pistols.

More b0llocks. They would have had their personal weapons. Why would they choose to only take pistols when they would have be armed with at least a C8 assault rifle?

Tabloids are full of shite designed to sell papers - they are not interested in the truth. There is nothing like a slanging-off of something that is held in high regard to allow the tabloid scum to sell more papers.

I am sure there will be elements of the story that are true, such as the contact with the Iraqi forces and the extraction by the Chinooks. Beyond that, I wouldn't believe the rest. I suppose if anyone wants to know what REALLY happened, you need to speak to someone who was involved on the ground, or at least in that unit.

What we should really be asking is WHO "leaked" this so-called "story" to the press in the first place! They should be in court martialed in my opinion.

Joe

[Rotary Booty]

I can only hope, and hope again, that this has been the first newspaper report by Comical Ali in his new job for the Sunday Mirror!

It sounds more like the Keystone Cops!

[harry hackedoff]

I agree with Joe, for two reasons.
Firstly, this is the Daily Mail we`re talking about.
Secondly, the earliest report of any SF action on April 3, that I saw(Reuters?) spoke of a very intense firefight.

The wording of the piece looks like it was written by an avid reader of books with flames on the cover, I don`t believe a word of it

[Charlie]

I too bought the Mail on Sunday and had a jaw dropping experience when I read the article.

I sincerely hope this is a load of old b*****ks

[ratso]

Just spoke to the guy who owns next door he works for Reuters in London high up, he is sure that they had cover on this story and it was a major gun battle which he thinks involved a number of tanks and ran for many hours resulting in a need for resupply that was impossible to organise, leading to a withdrawal. He is going to check into it on Tuesday.

We need the true story and the Mail sorting if it is untrue.

Sorry changing the title again.

[Artist]

Read it...Mmmmm

I reckon it'll come out in the wash.

But the old addage comes to for fore.

Q. What sells papers?

A. Anything that stirs the sh*t.

We will get the truth in time like everything else that has been reported as fact over the years by our marvelous British press.

aye steve evans