www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...wafg16.xml

from link...

"The team, about 20-strong, was led by Flying Officer Steve Turner, of 34 Sqn RAF Regiment. Normally, the regiment is charged with the mundane work of airfield protection. In the special circumstances of Afghanistan it has taken on a more dashing counterinsurgency role, earn-ing it the nickname "RAF-SAS".

The patrol advanced slowly across a field the colour of donkey hide, ridged with irrigation channels. Some of the men had grown brigand beards.

"It shows respect for the people and their culture," said Sgt Simon Evans. "All the men here have beards. It's a sign of wisdom and virility. Not that you'd get much chance to prove your virility here."

I'm no fan of these wannabe clowns, but to be fair the beard thing has been around for a while now. As for the 49 Para bit, you can only hope it is a press annointed title (they usually are - 'crack' unit was the only cliche missing).

Still fecking eedjuts tho'.

I guess they are better than the UKRAINIANS!

''The soldiers staggered to their feet — body armour is murder on the knees ''

Are they wearing it correctly?
Have they got special heavy weight issue body armour?
Or are have they got to used to sitting outside the naffi in WMK landies trying to look hard in foreign legion style berets and sunglasses
I hear it gets the WRAF's dripping with excitment

The full Osprey body armour IS murder on the knees , however i agree with the WMK landrover comment .Some good lads in the RAF REG but their seems to be a high proportion of complete choppers as well.

Given the alleged shortage of choppers in theatre (which of course is not true because I've heard time and time again from the MOD that the commanders have the resources to do the job) shouldn't this be good news?

I have heard rumours that they are going down like a lead balloon at St Athan.

I always wonder what the attraction of joining the RAF Regt is.

Surely if you want to be a solider, you join the army

That said, I have come across some good blokes, and also the choppers as mentioned above. Get both kinds in every walk of life!

I heard it was because they singlehandedly brought down the Soviet Union...

Makes me sick to say it.

"Good on them for getting out (Finally) and doing the job they talked about doing for years"

Good luck fella's!

Seconded Bad Crow! It is good to see that the pebble monkeys are actually being employed in a proper Inf role rather than big timing it around the nearest RAF base. My opinion of them hasn't been all that good since seeing a large group of RAF Regt in the EFI at Basra Air Station. They had parked their (spotless) WMIK's outside, each of which seemed to have far too many GMPG's hanging off it. They Rock's themselves were all sat outside the EFI, stripped down to t-shirt and shades, trying to out pose one another inbetween quick patrols of the airfield perimeter. No wonder they picked up the nickname "Short Range Desert Group" which they just LOVED..........

SRDG. Like it.

I knew a lot of Rock Apes when I was in Blues.Some were alright but the ones at Bruggen thought they ruled the funking place! One asked us in the Armoury one day if he could have wooden furniture on his SLR instead of the plastic.When asked why he said it would look nicer!

That's alway's puzzled me, as well.
Why join the RN as a driver???

Must be the uniform.

Great. theyr'e doing the job everyone else has done for years. Apparently that makes them 'special'.

I have been out so long that I was surprised when someone told me that the bow and arrow had been replaced! However is this standard paractice now for landrovers in operation areas?

my bold

Sounds like a C130 coming in to land or take off.

..........Bird control unit...............

3 Sqn by any chance?

RAF regiment members think they are one of the big three or so they call it of the Paras and Royal Marines which is what I find funny.

Raf Regiment withdraw with all the skill that has made them one of the worlds most feared nightfighting units

www.illyria.com/pyro.html

Standard weapon fit on Raf WMK landrover

members.aol.com/yodashous3/fett.htm