How to prepare for this...

[Mr Plow]

This is what I need to do to get into the TA SAS regiment (21 and 23) I've decided to go into the TA SAS for 2 years before joining the 22nd regiment, but the selection is damn rigorous.

I am very strong minded, and have a long time to get fit enough to do it (I am only 15), but here's the selection:

To be considered for selection, you must have at least three months experience in your regiment and at least three years left to serve. You must also be able to pass the Battle Fitness Test (BFT). You must file a Defense Council Instruction (DCI) which certifies that you are prepared to be put forward for arduous duties.

There are two selections a year, one in winter and the other in summer. The general idea is that you either suffer from hypothermia in winter, or suffer from heatstroke in summer. It lasts four weeks (three build-up weeks, one test week). Officers, however, have only two build-up weeks in order to pass the test week.

The recruits first go to Stirling Lines, outside Hereford, to have a medical and pass the BFT. 10% fail here. The rest are issued the equipment that they need for selection. Then they are bussed out to Dering Lines in Beacon where selection will start.

Selection is simple. Get from A to B, from B to C etc, within an allotted time. Sounds simple? It is. The only problem is that A to Z in total is over 10km away. 10km isn't a long distance, but it is when you are carrying a heavy self-loading rifle, webbing, and a Bergen (a standard issue British Army rucksack). Another problem is that the distances the soldier covers increase each day, as do the loads that they bear. Soldiers get up about 4am every morning and are not allowed to use roads. If they do, then they are disqualified. The most difficult part of selection is the Brecon Beacons - anybody who has walked them, will know exactly just how physically exhausting they are.

After a day or so, the old equipment you have been given is starting to cut into you, giving crippling blisters and sores. The best soldiers don't give up because of this - they go to the Medical Officer at night, and then get up with the rest of the recruits, ready for another day's hell the following morning. In selection, you are expected to be fit, but you've also got to be intelligent. Numbed by pain, you'll be given tasks to do at rendezvous points (RVs), such as stripping a foreign weapon and then reassembling it.

This continues for three weeks, with the recruits managing about four hours' sleep a night. The next part of selection is imaginatively called 'Test Week'.

That is part one, then here's 'Test Week'

Test week consists basically of six marches, the first five being 17 miles long requiring the soldier to march with a 30k pack on his back while map reading. However, that's not all. Test week culminates in the 'Long Drag'; a 40-mile march which has to be completed in 20 hours.

Selection is carried out alone. There is nobody in selection shouting encouragement - it's just you trying to motivate yourself. This isn't like other forces which have instructors shouting at you to do better, or mates encouraging not to drop out. The only person forcing you to go through hell is you. This is because soldiers working in isolation must have absolute motivation and must not crack up. A good example of this is Chris Ryan's 300km Trek to safety in Iraq, which, for the most part, was done solo.

You ask yourself, why is selection mostly about hill walking and map reading? Well since the SAS' conception, they were deemed to be a strategic resource, not just kick-ass tactical soldiers. Nowadays, in major conflicts, the SAS is mostly tasked with long range reconnaissance, which selection tries to recreate.

How would I go about this, I was thinking of doing pure running, but carrying weights and weaponry it would probably be a bad idea. (Apparently it burns muscle to make you lighter), what should I work on and what would be some good training regimes to pump myself up in this direction.

I know I am very young so it is hard for me to be so certain, but still, I would still like to be that fit even if I do change my mind.

Thanks

 

[Quiksilver]

This thread might help, the fields are pretty much the same.

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=49490

 

[Mr Plow]

Thank you

 

[MrS]

This has a lot to do with army smarts.
Blisters and sores are but a moment's work to prevent.

 

[Centaurion]

I went through a selection very similar to this when I was in the army. And I passed

My advice to you would be to do a lot of calisthenics (ie pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups), a lot of running and swimming. Start off with easy runs, then build yourself up to long runs with a bergen. All these runs should be done with army-issue boots, not sneakers, because that's what you will use during the selection. During these marches they will give you a ****ty bergen that has to weigh 60-80lbs (I don't have the exact figure) at THE END of the march. Meaning that it will weigh up to 100lbs when you start, because of the water you will have to carry. During the different checkpoints they will weigh your bergen, and if it's below the required weight you will either get kicked out, or they will load it up with rocks that you will have to carry until the end of the march.

Also you need to train yourself to go beyond the point of hurt. There will come a time where your entire body will hurt, every step you take will give you unbearable agony, but you just have to push yourself through it. Once you are past that threshold, you will feel nothing. You need to be not only physically strong, but also mentally strong. They will break you down physically during the selection. It doesn't matter how physically strong you are, or how good your endurance is, they WILL break you down physically. Time is on their side, some will break down within the first day, others within the first week. Sooner or later everyone will break down physically, but that's when the mental part comes in. You need to motivate yourself to take that one step when everything hurts - when in hell, keep going - as Churchill said.

Furthermore, you need to have excellent map reading and compass skills. When you get to the different check points during the marches, they will ask you to pinpoint where you are on the map. You need to show them right away, if not you will get a penalty time (ie. 10 mins extra added to your time). You need to be comfortable in navigation through the mountains in any condition, and rely on your navigation skills.

Another thing is the lack of information you receive. Most of the time they won't tell you what the cut-off time is, they will just tell you to get from A to B as fast as possible, or just be there before the evening. It doesn't look like much now, but when you are out there during the marches, you will start doubting yourself. You will start to think that you've missed the cut-off time and that there is no need to go on. But you need to block those thoughts out and keep going. Also the Training Officers (TO) won't give you any feedback at all, so you are always uncertain where you are at, and how close you are to get kicked out.

Combined with the lack of information, they will also give you 'false' information. They will trick you. They will say that at point B you will be taken back to base for the night, and when you approach point B, you'll see a truck standing there. And you're thinking 'fvck yeah I made it', but once you come closer, the truck will drive off, and the TOs will tell you that you have to march another 20 km. Sh!t like that will break the spirit of the strongest man. That's where your mental strength will come to play.

The most important thing is to be the 'Grey man'. Don't stand out, negatively or positively. When we were out running, one of the TO would be out running with us. They didn't give us any information about the cut-off time, they just said that if you were close to the TOs time, you would do OK. Those who came in behind him were kicked out, and those who finished before him drew attention. So for the rest of the selection the TOs would watch them more thoroughly then the others. And trust me, the last thing you want to do during the selection process is to draw attention to yourself. Keep your mouth shut and do what you are told. Don't go around bragging and being a loud mouth. Don't try to help everyone. The first stage of the selection is to weed out the physically and mentally weak. It's everyone against everyone. The team-spirit part will come later. Also, don't go around and shoot the piss with the TOs, you'll think that you are scoring brownie points, but you are not.


Keep in mind that during the selection process the main thought running through the minds of the TOs is : "Would I want to go out in combat with this guy?".


Good luck and ff you have any other questions, feel free to pm me.

 

[Mr Plow]

Hello again everybody, and special thanks to Centaurion for your info, and yes I mean that it actually is of help to me and much appreciated... (and well done to pass selection XD)

I did 30 minutes constant run and it just about killed me lol I have a lot of work to do hah

 

[Mr Plow]

"My advice to you would be to do a lot of calisthenics (ie pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups)"

Also doing this, I decided to start small and I followed the workout program in Quicksilver's link...

This starts at:

3 sets of 3 pull ups
4 sets of 15 push-ups
4 sets of 20 sit-ups
And some other stuff such as swimming and running.

 

[Centaurion]

You are young, and if you keep to a training plan, you'll have no problem in being fit enough for selection.

There are two things that I want to stress:

1) Map reading and compass skills are ESSENTIAL. You need to be able to navigate off the land only with a map and a compass. What I've heard from SAS-people I met during operations, is that the requirements differ from person to person. I.E., the TOs will expect more of a para/territorial, then they would of a cook. As far as I know, anyone can try out for selection if they have served x amount of years in the army. So what may be an acceptable competence level for a cook, may not be the same for a para.


2) KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! If you fvck up, and trust me you will at some point, keep your mouth shut and accept the flack you get from the TO. Don’t try to argue with them or come up with excuses. Just say : “Yes, sir. I fvcked up. I will do better in the future.” But at the start of the selection, you could be sacked for the smallest of fvckups, so try not to mess around too much. Later on, if you pass the initial selection, they will be more lenient with you, but they will nonetheless kick you out if you don’t do as they say and learn from your mistakes.

I remember when I had passed the initial selection, and hell week. We were doing cross-specialisation training with the demolition crew. I was told to make a clearing for a chopper landsite with some explosives. As the n00b I was, I went overboard with the explosives and blew up an area 2x the area I was supposed to. I’ve never seen the TOs as pissed as they were then, needless to say, I got sh!tloads of flack for it, but I kept my mouth shut and accepted my mistake. The TOs later told me that I was a cvnt hair from getting the boot, but luckily I had kept my mouth shut and learned my lesson.

Also, from what I’ve heard, the SAS have special shooting techniques that differ from the regular army. So if they tell you to, i.e., hold the pistol a little different than what you are used to, do so immediately. Don’t try to argue with them, and tell them that your way of shooting is better. It really isn’t.

Remember, it’s you who wants to be there, not the other way. They couldn’t care less about you until you show them that you are worthy.

 

[Mr Plow]

Okay I have taken geography at school anyway so HOPEFULLY I should learn a bit about compass and map skills, and I wouldn't worry about me arguing with the TOs, I don't think I'd even dare open my mouth to half of the guys there.

I have heard a little about their different techniques and how they like to use the double tap, especially on pistols. In their own words, it's like being hit by a sledgehammer twice, the enemy will NOT get back up.

I am going to the shooting range with my Aunt and Uncle some time soon, I hope I do okay, I don't know whether you would need some sort of talent to begin with. Otherwise I'm sure I could learn to shoot better.

Also I am now into week 2 of my training program