SAS Bravo Three Zero: The Gripping True Story

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This is not my ordinary type of read, however, I feel as though my reading experiences have been enriched for having read. In 2003, the television series JAG ran an episode ("The One That Got Away", S9, EP04) loosely based on the story of Bravo Two Zero involving US Marines Force Recon in Iraq. The name of the team that was involved was Bravo Two One. 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 ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap Ryan, Chris (1995). The One That Got Away. London: Century. ISBN 978-0-09-964161-2.

Des Powell is an 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 Brave Three Zero. And generate a lot of questions about the mission and what happened to the other two patrols, knowing the ill-fated Bravo Two patrol story. My third book regarding SAS patrols in Gulf War 1 completes the picture of the true grit and termination of the squardrons deployed during this conflict 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.The men of Bravo One Zero stepped 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 famed Bravo Two Zero patrol did deploy, with fatal results – all bar one being captured or killed. 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 Hussein’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.

There were three patrols that fateful January 1991 morning: 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.

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. The patrol also had a PRC 319 HF patrol radio carried by Lane, [1] :24 four TACBE communication devices (carried by McNab, [1] :55 Ryan, [1] :55 and two others) to communicate with allied aircraft, a Magellan GPS carried by Coburn, [1] :41 and a KITE night sight carried by MacGown. [1] :62 The total weight of each member's kit was estimated at 95kg (15.0st; 209lb) by McNab [2] :66 and 120kg (19st; 260lb) by Ryan. [1] :29 The key difference between Bravo Three Zero and the other two patrols was their decision to take vehicles, which weren’t fit for purpose, but ‘better than nothing’. There was clearly something very wrong in SAS at the time. I assume that it's all been swept up and fixed. For sure there won't be an authoritative book in public domain in my lifetime. Although given that the SAS wannabes of the Pathfinder Platoon made similar mistakes (insufficient cold weather gear) I doubt it.

What is the most difficult part of SOF training and what did you learn about yourself during and after the training? Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an eight-man British Army Special Air Service (SAS) patrol, deployed into Iraq during the First Gulf War in January 1991. According to Chris Ryan's account, the patrol was given the task of gathering intelligence, finding a good lying-up position (LUP), setting up an observation post (OP), and monitoring enemy movements, especially Scud missile launchers [1] :15 on the Iraqi Main Supply Route (MSR) between Baghdad and North-Western Iraq; however, according to Andy McNab's account, the task was to find and destroy Iraqi Scud missile launchers along a 250km (160mi) stretch of the MSR. [2] :35 ITV produced a one-off dramatic version of Armstrong's book, also titled The One That Got Away, in 1996. The film starred Paul McGann as Ryan and was directed by Paul Greengrass. 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.Everytime he wrote down a.chat he had with the crew, it was "Barry remarks", "Tom remarks", Bob remarks". It was used dozens of times in the first few chapters.