Originally Posted by Hector_Chavez_V

Only in the UK can a former special forces soldier with an MM and a DCM be described as this;



The poster Archamades is from the.....wait for it..........steady now................. !!

Andy Mcnab

Airsoft forum.

Well, I registered as 'Nobby McKnob', trolled and cnuted them off like a man possessed and was binned for trolling within 10 minutes!

All on a sunday afternoon.

Seems like they take them thar airguns seriously! Thank feck we never had to go up against that lot of ill informed, pie eating, waltish cocks.

His real name was on the 'Not Allowed in' list at the Paludrine club at H. Him and a load of others...quite interesting as it had their Pen Names, with real name next to it.

Old General Sir Peter DLB was on the list.. there was some irony to this but due to Persec I can't say anymore on here !!

Originally Posted by jumpinjarhead

.

It is at such times that adult leadership is required to say "no" or "not until you are mission ready" .

That's the $64,000 question, and probably the most difficult to inclucate into the processes of a command and control culture.

"Group Think" must be one of the most pernicious and dangerous facets of human psychology.

Interesting article below which deals with subject quite well IMHO.

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/...nk_johnson.pdf

Originally Posted by ex_sigs

His real name was on the 'Not Allowed in' list at the Paludrine club at H. Him and a load of others...quite interesting as it had their Pen Names, with real name next to it.

Old General Sir Peter DLB was on the list.. there was some irony to this but due to Persec I can't say anymore on here !!

oh go on, don't be a spoil sport, I've got a fresh roll of black nasty and was hoping I'd be number 48 on the list....

Originally Posted by jumpinjarhead

With respect to you and THEM, I have to say I would not have written Bravo Two Zero if I had had any leadership position in the ill-fated patrol that spawned such bravery.

While I realize from experience that the best patrol plan becomes outdated the nanosecond one departs the wire, the screw-ups in planning, supply, patrol prep (no cold weather clothing!), rehearsal (was there even one?) etc. etc. make the ensuing heroism appear a bit needless. IMHO the failures on the front end of the op were of the sort one would expect from cadets in their first field exercise rather than THEM and the short-fused warning order is no excuse. [SNIP]

At the time it was published, I was working closely with (among others) a Them Lt Col SO1. He took pretty much the same view (with sufficent passion that you could see the veins bulging in his neck when he discussed it). He was particularly critical of the fact that McNab's team broke Rule 1 - and did not have their most basic survival gear on their persons when they had to leg it.

Not to excuse, but mebbe to explain - it is worth remebering that 'They' had, for the previous decade and a half been getting most of their operational experience in the alleyways and hedgerows of Norn Iron.

Your best chefs knives will lose their edge if you don't get 'em out of the block and sharpen them up once in a while, is how I see it.

Why don't you just join the TA and do (The DVD) MATT 8 - Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract (SERE) if you want more.

Originally Posted by Nobby Sapper

Talking of cashing in on ones celebrity status, is "Married to the SAS" a well read tome on this highly esteemed site?
Written by Francis Nicholson, Andy's/Steve's second wife I think. She met him in '85 had a daughter and married in '87 and split in '93 just when the money was rolling in. What was she thinking there?
I'm sure in real life she is a lovley person and an active member on the Yank version of the WI, if she still lives out there. She did seem to have had a bit of a hard time of their time together, but no more than any other Pads wife.
But hey, if you can write about your traumas and make a few quid, everyones a winner.

I read that book after finding a copy in work. When I say read, I actually mean flicked through the first 40 pages before coming to the conclusions;

1. Francis was an SAS groupie and adored SAS penis.

2. Her book was shite.

3. See point No 1.

The book was lobbed into the recycling bin.

Originally Posted by Badger_Heed

I read that book after finding a copy in work. When I say read, I actually mean flicked through the first 40 pages before coming to the conclusions;

1. Francis was an SAS groupie and adored SAS penis.

2. Her book was shite.

3. See point No 1.

The book was lobbed into the recycling bin.

You still would though, wouldn't you?

Originally Posted by jimmys_best_mate

The RSM of 22 at the time (Peter Ratcliffe I think) wrote a book called 'In The Eye Of The Storm' which, naturally, mentions the B20 patrol and the build up to it. McNab comes in for a fair amount of criticism from Ratcliffe for his planning and prep and Ratcliffe claims that both he and the CO (from memory) tried to get him to change elements of it.

I won't criticise him too much because he's done far more as a soldier than I ever have or will but it does appear to have been a monumental fuck up from start to finish and both him and Ryan appear to have been slightly economical with the truth in their books.

Yup, best way to criticise the writer of tales is to errrrr............. write a book, strickly to correct the record of course.

Originally Posted by Alec_Lomas

You still would though, wouldn't you?

That goes without saying