MilitaryForums.co.uk

SAS facing recruitment crisis
Applications to join the SAS have fallen by more than a third, according to reports.


By Ian Johnston
Published: 10:32AM BST 14 Jun 2009

About 150 soldiers a year usually seek to join the elite regiment, but this year that number fell to 93 with only eight making it through the selection process.

A source told the Sunday Mirror that during times of relative peace, joining the SAS is seen as an attractive proposition by soldiers who are eager to see some action.But as ordinary regiments are now experiencing more fighting in Afghanistan, there is little need to do so, creating manpower problems for the SAS which have been exacerbated by a high casualty rate.

The source said: "Before, when the regular Army rarely saw any real fighting, everyone wanted to join the SAS.

"It meant you would get to do what you joined up to do: fight. Now you get that in any front line infantry regiment.

"The fall in people coming forward for selections is putting the [SAS] regiment under increasing strain.

"If you have a dramatic drop-off of people, it will inevitably lead to problems.

"If you add that to the high casualty rate the SAS suffered in Baghdad during the surge, then you are looking at a recruitment crisis.

"Senior officers are now desperately trying to persuade more and more people to remain in the SAS. One possibility is to offer a cash incentive."

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said it did not comment on "anything to do with Special Forces".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... risis.html



Don't know the accuracy of this so I can't vouch for it.

PS is the pass rate still that low, what with everything going on and other factors?

i have heard something similiar to this, i hear that some of 1 para SFSG have got trained in counter terrisom to make up for the shortage.

Hopeful news for all our budding McNabs on this forum, their odds are already better. lol.

I dont think its down to other infantry forces seeing more action to be honest.

I know for one I wouldnt be tough enough for the training!

Purely from a speculative position here, please dont take anything from this post as hard fact.

If they are having a recruitment crisis they still wont make the selection process or training any less vigorous or "selective" just to make up numbers. They are still an elite unit ( I probably shouldnt call them that though) so the recruits should be chosen as such. Just because they need more personnel doesnt mean they have to take whatever scrot decides to apply. So sorry Mr_man_2168 the "budding Mcnabs" will still have to keep hoping!

waynepe wrote:Purely from a speculative position here, please dont take anything from this post as hard fact.

So sorry Mr_man_2168 the "budding Mcnabs" will still have to keep hoping!

I was being sarcastic mate, of course they're not about to relax the standards just to fill gaps. Considering how many of the applicants who start selection actually pass, I doubt there'll be a huge drop in numbers of SUCCESSFUL applicants anyhow.

I'm one of the hopefuls of the site. Fact that I'm actually on the site and not out running in my shorts and nothing else in the pissing rain sort of gives away that i might not make it haha. No jokes aside I'm hoping to go SAS after serving a few years in the Para's. I think with the circumstances of FL Infantry getting what they signed up for and less people trying for SAS shows that the people who will be/are trying for it really want it. With less time wasters it'll be easier to focus on the job at hand and be one of the successful applicants. You don't want to make it to E&E and be trooped with 3 people who are just doing it because there not getting what they want right now in there Regiment, you want to be with people who want to be in 22nd Regiment more than anything else, so you know that there going to be giving it there all. Not that it really matters at the end of they day, caught or not your still going to have (what is it, 48 or 72 hours?) of interrogation to witstand. In my mind that will really sort the men who want it from the ones who just want a bit of glory.

Anyway , lightens the mood a bit knowing that there won't be as any applying, even though i know it won't affect the standards. I'm glad it won't affect the standards so no-one can turn around and say "Sure standards have dropped anyone can get in". After 6 months ardous training and selection thats the last thing you wana hear. Then you'd have like 20 years to serve for killing the wee bastard who said it lol.

Running out in the pissing rain in nowt but your shorts will only get you a decent dose of the flu, not the beret.

Also, its not "22nd Regiment" its just 22 SAS. The reason its called 22 is because in ww2 when the blades formed there was 1 SAS and 2 SAS. They were disbanded in 1945, but reformed in '47 (I think) as 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists Rifles) which still exists today as a TA unit. The number 21 was chosen as a nod to the old 1 and 2 SAS and reversed for some reason. When the Malaya Crisis kicked off, lads from 21 formed a new unit - 22 SAS - as a direct sequel to 21. Hence the name.

I'll shut up now....

O right ok my mistake, and yeh I don't think i'd be stupid enough to do that lol.

I would think that one of the reasons that the numbers are dropping for the SAS is that the Para's are now attached to them and are doing a lot of the same work as the SAS in the SFSG. Now at one time nearly 70% of all the SAS troops were from the Para's, so why put your self through all that trouble to get into the SAS when you can do the same work from where you are

Tab wrote:I would think that one of the reasons that the numbers are dropping for the SAS is that the Para's are now attached to them and are doing a lot of the same work as the SAS in the SFSG. Now at one time nearly 70% of all the SAS troops were from the Para's, so why put your self through all that trouble to get into the SAS when you can do the same work from where you are

Good point tab. I have also heard rumours of an "unnoficial ban" on paras applying for selection. Not sure if there is much to it though...

I must admit I have not heard of any Para's being banned from applying for the SAS. If they did that they would just every ones back up.

I think the rumour about the ban probably came about because before the 2008 Afghan tour there was a ban of sorts on blokes going on courses etc.. so that the Battalions would all be upto strength.

There's plenty of half truths and rumours that fly about that end up being reported as facts so unless you're actually in the Regiment it's hard to know what is and isn't true.

Sounds like possible misunderstanding to me, maybe along the lines of Paras who wished to pusrsue SAS career being discouraged by their OCs due to shortages within their battalions,
in which case rejected->annoyed persons could be heard to talk about this and be misunderstood as being refused as a blanket ban.
I would be very suprised if the SAS would themselves refuse applications from their prime source of high quality professional men!

we had a shit load of bloke from 3 para go on selection after 08