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Posted on 01/18/2003 7:06:09 AM PST by yankeedame
SAS revved up as riders on the storm
By Frank Walker
January 19 2003
Australian SAS troops will have to change their operational tactics drastically in a war on Iraq and could end up riding to war on the back of trail bikes.
The bikes are most likely to replace the long-range four-wheel-drive jeeps they used in mountainous Afghanistan which are far too visible in the flat, open deserts of Iraq.
Military experts said the SAS would likely be used for desert missions deep behind enemy lines to spy out Iraqi positions.
Rather than attack, they would call in air strikes or US special forces to attack from battle helicopters.
The SAS squads on these types of missions would operate in groups of four or five and aim to be as invisible as possible. The trail bikes would be dropped with them from helicopters.
"We learnt from the mistakes of the British SAS in the '91 Gulf War that it is very hard to hide in that sort of flat desert terrain," said David Horner, author of SAS
- Phantoms Of War which details the history of the Australian elite force.
In a rare glimpse inside the operations of the SAS, the survivor of a botched British SAS mission deep inside Iraq wrote a book called Bravo Two Zero which revealed that bad planning and support had left the squad stranded in the desert fighting Iraqi troops.
They were spotted by a goatherd who alerted Iraqi troops and they had to flee hundreds of kilometres on foot trying to escape.
"That British SAS unit got rumbled very easily and then had no way of getting out except on foot," Professor Horner said.
The Australians wouldn't make that mistake with bikes easily hidden under a tarpaulin, ready for a quick getaway.
They are rigged to run very quietly, with a top speed of 165kmh and extra fuel tanks to give them greater range.
The SAS has been using the bikes for some time. Yamaha sold 500 XT600 bikes to the military with special conversions for gun racks, heavy-duty suspension, large rear panniers and long-range fuel tanks.
Former motocross champion Stephen Gall trained army instructors at Puckapunyal base in special techniques for combat and desert riding.
Prime Minister John Howard has said 150 SAS soldiers were on stand-by to go to the Persian Gulf.
The Yamaha XT600
Weight 156kilograms; top speed 165kmh.
Alterations for military use: long-range fuel tanks doubling the range to 300kilometres; gun racks on front and rear of bike; rear carriers for equipment.
Perhaps the "quiet" kit could be used by civilians. I see no reason why motorcycles should be as loud as they are.
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