a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab McNab, Andy (1993). Bravo Two Zero. Great Britain: Bantam Press. ISBN 0-552-14127-5. In the opening hours of the Gulf War, the SAS were flown deep behind enemy lines to hunt down Saddam Hussein’s Scud missiles. There were three SAS patrols that fateful January 1991 morning: Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero and Bravo Three Zero. The SAS selection training is in three parts. The first part is the hill phase and the navigation tabs. The middle part is the jungle phase and the last part is the escape and evasion phase. So over six months is split into three phases. The most difficult one, I think that most guys find it also, is the middle phase, the jungle. So on selection, because the jungle is such a harsh environment, they keep that as a tester.

Had we done the right thing? Had we bottled it? Should we have blown him away regardless? It was Jim who broke the silence. There were three patrols that fateful January 1991 morning:Bravo One Zero,Bravo Two ZeroandBravo 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. The patrol has been the subject of several books. Accounts in the first two books, one in 1993 by patrol commander Steven Mitchell (writing under the pseudonym Andy McNab), Bravo Two Zero, and the other in 1995 by Colin Armstrong (writing under the pseudonym Chris Ryan), The One That Got Away, do not always correspond with one another about the events. Both accounts also conflict with SAS's Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) at the time of the patrol, Peter Ratcliffe, in his 2000 memoir, Eye of the Storm. Another book by a member of the patrol, Mike Coburn, titled Soldier Five, was published in 2004. What should my average pace be with loaded Bergen? No military experience, but looking into taking on a challenge next year. There were three SAS patrols that fateful January 1991 morning: Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero (Andy McNab) 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.And as Damien mentioned, when I heard he was on the Bravo Three Zero patrol, the sister patrol to the famous one, I was hooked. I’d always known of the Bravo Two Zero patrol – it’s a famous SAS mission. I never knew there were two other Bravo – B Squadron – patrols, Bravo One and Bravo Three. Just that was amazing – it made the story stand out. The first public literary mention of the patrol was in Storm Command, [18] the autobiography of Lieutenant-General Peter de la Billière, who served as the commander of the British Forces during the Gulf War, although the patrol is only mentioned in passing. The book was released in 1992. Damien Lewis has been a war reporter over two decades covering conflict in Africa, the Middle and Far East. Special forces had not originally been intended to play a large part in the Gulf War, but following an escalation in the conflict were rushed to the Middle East. They were therefore badly equipped and prepared, Des Powell was even in the middle of buying a house when he was deployed. a b c "Honours and Awards", The London Gazette (Supplement), Gazettes online, no.54393, p.6549, 9 May 1996, archived from the original on 11 June 2011 , retrieved 25 October 2011

Even as warnings came in that McNab’s patrol was on the run,Bravo Three Zeroremained 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. 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. 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. Despite suffering from the effects of hypothermia, Bravo Three Zero we’re able to avoid capture and death to call in airstrikes that inflicted significant casualties on the enemy.The men ofBravo One Zerostepped off the chopper, took one look at the flat desert devoid of any cover and decided no way were they deploying into all of that. But Andy NcNab’s famedBravo Two Zeropatrol did deploy, with fatal results – all bar one being captured or killed.

This is a story that needed to told, a story that deserves to be read, a story that needs to be read, a story which makes you stop, think and rememberEven 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. Because of a malfunctioning emergency radio that allowed them only to send messages and not receive them, the patrol did not realise that while trying to reach overhead allied jets, they had in fact been heard by a US jet pilot. The jet pilots were aware of the patrol's problems but were unable to raise them. Many sorties were flown to the team's last known position and their expected exfiltration route in an attempt to locate them and to hinder attempts by Iraqi troops trying to capture them. The story of Bravo Two Zero’s patrol during the First Gulf War is the stuff of legend, not surprisingly it is less well documented that there were two other ‘Bravo’ patrols. Bravo One aborted due to conditions on the ground and Bravo Three is the subject of this book.

How does your time training for and serving in the SF world help you today in your Civvy St, and how does it hinder you? 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.As I get ready to leave, he fixes me with that direct gaze and adds: "You know, this is another thing: Bravo Two Zero is a piece of insignificant military history. The controversy that surrounds it is well out of proportion to the deed. I was involved in a lot more operations that were more significant and more rewarding. As I said before, I find it remarkable that it actually came to this." The narrative is interspersed with Des Powell’s life story, portraying a very human side to a seemingly ordinary man, who gets injured, makes mistakes, wonders how many times he can cheat death and worries about his wife at home. Yet is capable of extraordinary acts on a day to day basis.