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TWO patrols of elite Australian SAS soldiers were almost killed by friendly fire during their deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Only luck and quick thinking prevented tragedies that could have changed the Australian public's support for the war on terror at critical political times for the Howard government. In the first incident, during 2002, US forces were about to fire more than 100 mortar shells in Afghanistan when they learnt SAS soldiers were in the line of fire. A year later, during the invasion of Iraq, SAS troops almost killed one another in a firefight on the second day of...

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 21, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Seeking more protection for ground forces without enhancing risk to aviators, the U.S. Air Force has engaged Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN - News), a leader in radar and data exploitation technology, to devise a way for aircraft, from a safe distance, to detect, track and target hostile forces in motion on the ground. "The U.S. owns the airspace but today's conflicts quickly move to the ground," Nick Uros, vice president for Raytheon's Advanced Concepts and Technology group, said. "We want to keep the war fighter in the air and on the ground...

AUSTRALIAN special forces will be sent to the most lawless areas of southern Afghanistan, where there has been the bloodiest fighting since the fundamentalist Taliban regime was overthrown in 2002. John Howard announced yesterday that Australia would commit 150 special forces to work with US forces to hunt down al-Qa'ida and Taliban loyalists in southern Afghanistan, but warned there was a high risk of casualties. "Military operations are dangerous ... the Australian military forces have been very fortunate in recent times ... although there have been casualties, they have not been extensive," the Prime Minister said. Supporting the deployment, Kim...

Australia will send a taskforce of 150 troops, including SAS personnel, to Afghanistan for a year from September, Prime Minister John Howard said today. Prime Minister told a Canberra news conference that the commando troops would be in Afghanistan by September, and remain there for a year. Mr Howard said the deployment was needed to combat the Taliban's renewed influence. "We think it's important that the progress made in Afghanistan is preserved and consolidated, and that the resurgence of violence, and the resurgence of attempts by the Taliban to undermine the government of that country, are not successful," he said....

BRITAIN is negotiating with Australia to hand over military command of southern Iraq to free up British troops for redeployment to the front line in Afghanistan. An announcement is expected within weeks that several thousand British soldiers are to be sent to Afghanistan. The prospect of Australia taking command at the Basra headquarters will be a key item in talks that John Howard, the Australian prime minister, will be holding next weekend with Tony Blair and President George W Bush. Howard, who is also considering sending a few hundred troops to Afghanistan, insisted last week that Australia would remain in...

AUSTRALIAN troops are set to return to Afghanistan. Prime Minister John Howard yesterday hinted that he favoured re-committing Australian forces. The Government withdrew an SAS group in November 2002 before the Iraq campaign. Almost three years later the remnants of the Taliban regime and the al-Qaida terrorists it supported are making a comeback in the war-ravaged country. Terrorist attacks have increased and US and other troops, deployed with the 10,000-strong International Security Assistance Force, are coming under regular attack. Up to 19 US special forces troops have been killed in the past 10 days. Afghan authorities have almost begged Australia...

SAS troops were last night poised to storm into Afghanistan and capture Osama bin Laden. Special forces have "good intelligence" the al-Qaeda boss or a senior henchman is holed up in a Taliban enclave. Two squadrons are on stand-by waiting for the go-ahead from reconnaissance troops on the ground in Afghanistan. Specialist counter-terrorist soldiers in the rapid-deployment group are on high alert at the SAS's Hereford base. Advertisement The other team consists of troops serving around the world. Commanders have insisted on waiting for news on the ground because of the cost of the operation, which could run into hundreds...

June 26, 2005 Hi-tech SAS troops take on Taliban Michael Smith UP TO two squadrons of British special forces are preparing to go to Afghanistan within weeks to provide the reconnaissance for an expected British deployment of more than 5,000 troops. The men from the SAS and the new Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) will form a combined joint taskforce with members of the Australian SAS, according to senior defence sources. A company of British paratroopers will provide backup. The British special forces of about 120 men will be based in the southern province of Kandahar ahead of a 5,500-strong infantry...

Phantoms of the Mountains In Vietnam they were dubbed Ma Rung - "Phantoms of the jungle." Creeping silently through the bush, setting elaborate ambushes or conducting surveillance, Australia's Special Air Service troopers earned the respect even of the enemy. BY RORY CALLINAN But in Afghanistan, Australian special forces were something of a novelty to their US commanders. On one map in the main US command center in Afghanistan, they were denoted by a cut-out picture of Australian celebrity crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin. "It was pretty disheartening, says one trooper. "The way they did use us was very inappropriate.'' From interviews...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

AUSTRALIAN SAS soldiers have been accused of being part of a patrol that killed 11 innocent tribesmen during the war on terror in Afghanistan. Time magazine says five Australian members of the Special Air Service regiment were part of a United States-led mission in eastern Afghanistan to flush out Taliban and al-Qaida forces in 2002. The SAS patrol, known as Kilo Three, opened fire on an Afghan fighter when he approached within 10m of its observation post and went for his weapon. That triggered a major assault from three flanks by what the Diggers regarded as enemy fighters using heavy...

CSGV: GUN CULTURE THREATENS DEMOCRACY Op-Ed Challenges "Guns Equal Freedom" Formula Gun lobby threatens our very way of life The price extracted by guns is simply too high By JOSH HORWITZ SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW-JOURNAL When the National Rifle Association's top lobbyist, Wayne LaPierre, addresses the crowd at "FreedomFest 2005" at the Bally's/Paris Resort in Las Vegas today, he will be preaching a message that has served his organization well: guns equal freedom. As LaPierre puts it, "The Second Amendment is the fulcrum of freedom in our nation, because freedom and the Second Amendment are mutually interdependent. They are the...

THE SAS has shot dead 12 insurgents in a secret war to protect Iraq’s borders. The incident is described in a leaked document drawn up by American and Iraqi intelligence. It said the Special Air Service soldiers “engaged” the Arab insurgents crossing the border from Syria. Following a brief encounter, all 12 were killed. The report noted that those entering the country were not usually heavily armed as they collected weapons after arriving in Iraq. In another incident the SAS arrested two insurgents who confessed under questioning that they had been trained in Saudi Arabia and briefed in Syria. The...

New Special Forces unit will spy on the terrorists By Thomas Harding (Filed: 06/04/2005) The Army's first new regiment in more than three decades begins operations today to provide covert surveillance for Special Forces fighting the international terrorist threat. The Special Reconnaissance Regiment will draw on the experience of undercover soldiers who have conducted successful operations in Northern Ireland. Regimental cap badge The new unit, the first to be formed since the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1970, will have an international and domestic role to provide intelligence to fight terrorism. Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, said yesterday that the unit...

KINGSPORT - A Fall Branch man broke into a Kingsport woman's home and took her purse and a handgun early Tuesday morning - but not before she got off two rounds in his direction. The man's night didn't get any better. He was arrested about 20 minutes later for DUI by a county officer. Clara Groseclose, 83, had just gone upstairs at her home around 3 a.m. when she heard a noise downstairs in the room she had just left, Kingsport Police Detective Cpl. David Quillen said. "She went to investigate and encountered a man inside the house near a...

PRIME Minister John Howard has defended his backflip on Australia's troop commitment to Iraq, saying he will not apologise for sending another 450 soldiers to the country. Mr Howard yesterday admitted the $300 million decision to send the troops to protect Japanese engineers and train local security forces for as long as a year would be unpopular and could put Australian lives in danger. His announcement broke an election promise not to substantially increase troop numbers. But in an interview aired today, he said: "I do not apologise." The interview was recorded with ABC radio in Perth last night and...

The number of SAS troopers leaving for lucrative jobs in the security industry has prompted the regiment to write to all soldiers urging them to stay. A letter from the regiment's headquarters has told all the SAS's 300 front-line soldiers that "it would be in everyone's best interests" if they remained in service. The SAS in action SAS troopers storm the Libyan embassy in 1980 An estimated 120 former Special Air Service and Special Boat Service troops have left, swapping a junior NCO's wage of about £2,000 a month for as much as £14,000 a month working as security co-ordinators...

At least nine British soldiers died when a transport plane crashed in Iraq. Prime Minister Tony Blair paid tribute to the troops killed, saying: "This country and the wider world will never forget them." The C-130 Hercules based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, crashed about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north west of Baghdad, the Ministry of Defence said. The final death toll from the crash, which happened at 1725 local time (1425 GMT), may rise to 15, say sources. The plane was en route from Baghdad to Balad, north-west of the capital, which houses one of the largest US airbases...

An RAF C130 Hercules transport aircraft, believed to have been carrying SAS troops, crashed 20 miles north-west of Baghdad yesterday. Rescue helicopters flew over the crash site searching for any sign of life. But with the wreckage said to be spread over a wide area there was little hope that anyone had survived. At RAF Lyneham, Wilts, Wing Commander Nigel Arnold said: "We are in the process of contacting the families of those involved and until that is done I'm, afraid we will not be releasing any details of the crew." A senior US military officer in Iraq said the...

Help keep America strong--take a kid shooting. I don’t usually make New Years’ resolutions. I liken them to lottery tickets. They’re kinda’ like wishes. People make the resolutions and then hope they can manifest their own destinies to include the elusive desire. That’s too loosey-goosey for me. I like getting as close to a sure thing as I can, so I set my sights low. Ambition. In 2002, I was appointed a Senior Training Counselor, in the Basic Firearms Training Program, by the National Rifle Association (NRA) Training Department. It feels and sounds pretty good, but it takes an extra...