Australia to Boost Special Forces Troops

AP | 12/22/02

[Sparta]

PERTH, Australia - Australia will recruit 300 new special forces troops to strengthen its fight against terrorism at home and abroad, the government announced Thursday.

Prime Minister John Howard said he would create a new commando company and appoint a special forces commander to oversee counterterrorism operations.

"The new initiative will further increase Australia's ability to use non-conventional war-fighting means to respond to the threat of terrorism," Howard said in a statement.

Speaking ahead of the announcement, Howard said his government had been forced to reassess its ability to respond to terrorism after bombs that ripped through two night clubs on the Indonesian of Bali on Oct. 12 killed more than 180, including 88 Australians.

"In the wake of what occurred in Bali, we have, over the weeks that have gone by, looked at what needed to be done and what needed to be re-prioritized."

Since the attack, the nation has been on high terror alert and the government recently said it had received a "credible" threat that terrorists would strike Australia in the next "couple of months."

"We've put more resources into intelligence gathering — you haven't probably heard the last word on that either," Howard said.

Howard made the announcement at the home of the Special Air Services, Campbell Barracks in Perth, as he welcomed home special forces who have just spent four months fighting the war against terrorism in Afghanistan

[joesnuffy]

Will they trust them with firearms?

[RAY]

Great question. Those in power will probably trust them as long as they point them at the law-abiding citizens and not the criminals.

[Brian Allen]

<< Great question. Those in power will probably trust them as long as they point them at the law-abiding citizens and not the criminals. >>

1. Better pray that neither you nor those you love ever come up against Australia's [Or New Zealand's or Israel's -- come to that] SAS -- or equivilent -- in a tight spot;

2. Australia always has been, is -- and always will be -- Our Nation's Very First and Very Best Ally. The Aussies [And Kiwis] are Our First Cousins. Don't knock 'em -- love 'em!

[shaggy eel]

,,, good on ya Brian. If I don't catch you tomorrow, all the best for 2003 and have a great Christmas. I'm offline Dec 25 thru Jan 6.

[rocknotsand]

Our SASR are the toughest 'cause they have tubes of Vegemite in their ration packs. Ooops. "Loose lips sink ships!"

What they actually said was "more anti-terrorist commandos" as opposed to genuine SASR bods which takes a heap of time and experience to train up. Fast tracking SASR numbers cannot happen. I know a bod, a base PTI built like a superman who 'only' lasted 3 weeks of SASR selection trials. Only a small number make selection at the end of the 'exercises'. The MOs and stretcher bearers hang around the 'exercise' like crows waiting for a break in the traffic to get at roadkill. They taunt with a sign on their RAP saying "RING the Bell, anytime, 24hrs: YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!". Most applicants "Ring the bell" (the bell at the RAP) and fall out -literally. He had been to their Regimental Dinners etc whilst there in WA. He was stripped of all SASR insignia, letterheads, orders, etc. All he had at the end of his attempt was a lousy SASR mess coaster and he had never worked harder in his whole Army career. Standards.

[rocknotsand]

Aussie General Infantry Induction at Blamey Barracks - not marked up for the web yet, just a list of pics and a MSWORD .doc called "Civilian To Soldier in 7 weeks". A good read from a Aussie Army recruit who took notes thru 'boot camp' last year. CAUTION: NCO language used in abundance. All the bad words... you can start with the "armypics/bombadier.jpg" if you'd like to catch up real fast with what this guy's "Civilian To Soldier in 7 weeks".doc is about.

[rocknotsand]

An SASR pic is in order. This one is a PR dept one of the SASR is Ashtranistan 2001-2.

[RAY]

No disrespect for Australia's SAS intended – however, history tells us that in some cases governments that disarmed their citizens have had an increased tendency to then use guns on the citizens.

[Brian Allen]

<< No disrespect for Australia's SAS intended ? however, history tells us that in some cases governments that disarmed their citizens have had an increased tendency to then use guns on the citizens. >>

We are not on different sides of that issue, Ray. A volunteer [Immigrant] American and a Jeffersonian Constitutionalist, I joined the NRA, Gun Owners of America, JPFO and the Republican Party, pretty much in that order, before I was qualified for the American Citizenship whose aquisition fulfilled my lifetime's ambition.

Best ones -- Brian

[RAY]

Glad to have you with us.