SAS - secrecy

[tali122]

sas are a top secret organisation, but when can they eventually reveal their identitie -is it when they retire and if so how long after retiring?

[Toureman]

Practicaly half the SAS have revealed their Identity so they can make loads of money by writing mostly ficticious books on their supposed experiences.

[rugeleyboy]

i work in retail and i have had so many old folk tell me they was in the SAS i think nearly everyone over 60 has been part of the crack secret force!!

[Loosehead]

Yeah there's a load of blokes in my local who've been in the SAS and even the SBS. Must be the largest regiment in history!

[OBonio]

There's a chap round my way claims to have been in the SAS. Was sectioned a few years ago for letting off a couple of rounds of his Smith & Wesson into the air because he got barred from a pub.

We call him Big Vern. Vernon is his real name to boot!

[gammaray]

They are bound in part by the official secrets act. They won't as a general rule tell you anything that isn't already in the public domain. What they do is add the detail and the credability to a story (depending on your viewpoint) the details of which you could already research if you wanted to.

[noxlumos]

Pretty much only Pub Muppets as already mentioned claim to be SAS. The real deal tend to keep their mouths shut as a general rule, but you can usually see them, they have a very certain look/air about them and are a very certain character type.Not nerarly so secret as they'd like to think they are...lol

[tali122]

i think the point of my question is being missed by a country mile - what about the1980 iranian embassy seige?- the sas soldiers showed their faces in a documentary (not actors or pixelled out ), what about the tragic case of jacob wragg -his dad was reguarly mentioned as ex-sas- so where does the secracy end?- THERE MUST be specific rules/guidlines

[trevHCS]

So far as I can find out the rules are basically that anyone in the SAS can't tell anyone except very close family members that they are in the regiment, and any mention of them in the public refers to them by their original regiment title.

Once you've left the SAS however there don't appear to be specific rules about revealing your involvement, but there are things you can't reveal about specific operations. This especially applies to so called 'black hat' operations which are essentially operations that the MOD deny ever happened.

As mentioned above, it's pretty likely that most ex-members won't mention it as it could be slightly dangerous, eg: if members of the IRA found out you'd worked against them or were involved in the Operation Flavius in Gibraltar.

Trev

[bucker200]

I could tell you but then I would have to kill you (National Security). 'Only joking'

[the.dr]

i know one person, personaly, who has been in the sas and he has told us stories about ira and shooting ira weapons smugglers in graveyards, but he doesnt like to talk about killing people and out of politeness we dont ask, but he says there are no specifc rules except for black ops "which didnt happen" the other guy is the brother of a friend at uni and he is young and tells us loads but i think that is youth coming through...they pay very well too, 2 cars and a big house..

[Ward-Minter]

Sorry to come in late on the thread, only just read it on the AB Blog.

I worked closely with SAS whilst in the forces. No I was not dropping out of helicoptors and eating earwigs. And I admit I was nowhere near the standard required yet considered myself an excellent soldier. Yes there is a degree of secrecy about them and on the whole it is fair to say that anybody who claims to be ex-SAS is living in fantasy land.

However, whatever their code of secrecy is, it is impossible to keep the entire Army and RAF Regiment quiet about squaddies recruited to them. For example I knew of a few men leaving my unit and all of a sudden were living in Hereford. It does not take a genius to realise where they are.

Further, to the best of my knowledge the SAS are recruited for their sheer normality. They basically score high in every test the Army throws at them but they just blend in. No showmen whatsoever.

The Official Secrets Act will apply to any governmental organisation from SAS to your local town hall.

I therefore imagine they are silent about their job because the exact people recruited are just Mr nobodies, blending in and getting on with one of the toughest jobs in the world.

[periwinkle]

do you have to join the army first to get into the SAS?

[rd14962]

periwinkle, in answer to your question, Yes you do need to be a serving soldier in the British Army. Members of the SAS keep their own Regiment, ie if they are in the Royal Engineers, when not wearing the grey beret and badge of the SAS they will wear the black beret and badge of the Royal Engineers. The SAS is made up from many different Regiments, as various skills are needed within the SAS units. To dispel a popular myth; the SAS are not made up of the 'hardest' blokes in the Paras'.

Rupert

[Ward-Minter]

Ahh is Rupert a real name??

Further, one gets demoted when recruited to the SAS. i.e whatever rank joins they all start from corporal.

[john2b]

With regards to many of the myths/bull, talked about the Regiment - there are no self-proclaimed 'hard men' or James Bond characters; only good self reliant soldiers. A few ex personel have gone on to write fictitious books and others like Collins, have written informative studies of what initial training/ops were like. The pay is slightly better, depending on what you've been up to and I assure you, you don't get 2 cars and a house! (as mentioned in a reply) Whilst serving in the Regiment, you don't tell ANYONE that you are in the Sass. On leaving, well only a muppet would share this info - especially in today's climate, dealing with the rag heads. Happy days - John