Eye of the Storm

by Peter Ratcliffe

  geysh Arabic word meaning ‘army’, used in Oman of the regular troops of the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces. A high proportion of the geysh were Baluchis, and effectively mercenaries in the Sultan’s employ

  glasshouse British Army gaol

  GPMG general-purpose machine-gun: the British version of the Belgian-designed and built FN MAG, the ‘gimpy’ (as it is affectionately nicknamed) is a 7.62mm belt-fed, air-cooled machine-gun designated L7 in the British Army, and with a cyclic rate of fire of 750–1,000 rounds per minute; rugged and reliable, it has been in service for many years

  GPS global positioning system; a hand-held electronic device that receives information from a number of orbiting satellites, so allowing its operator to pinpoint his position to within a few yards at any time of day and in any conditions. An invaluable navigational aid, the SAS used the Magellan GPS during the Gulf campaign

  green maggot sleeping bag

  HALO high altitude, low opening: SAS-developed technique for inserting patrols by parachute, involving freefall from above 25,000 feet to about 4,000 feet at night and 3,000 in daylight

  Harrier see Sea Harrier

  headshed SAS colloquialism for any person or body in authority; thus a ‘headsheds’ meeting’ for a large mobile patrol might be a meeting of all officers and SNCOs (q.v.), while the ‘headshed’ at Stirling Lines would be the CO and senior RHQ (q.v.) officers and NCOs. The word derives from the Malayan campaign of the 1950s, and has its origins in the watersheds so frequently encountered in the Regiment’s operations against the communist insurgents there

  Hercules see C-130

  hexamine solid fuel in the form of small rectangular blocks, used in soldiers’ portable stoves

  Huey single-turboshaft, single-rotor general-purpose helicopter designed and built in the US by Bell, and designated UH-1 (originally HU-1 hence its nickname; its actual manufacturer’s designation is Iroquois). Widely used in different variants in Vietnam as a transport, case-vac helicopter and gunship, the Huey was built in greater numbers and served with more air forces than any military aircraft since the Second World War, and is still in use throughout the world in a number of roles, including anti-submarine and command-post versions. As a transport, it can carry up to 10 troops

  Hunter a single-seat, single-jet fast interceptor that first entered RAF service in 1954, the Hawker (now British Aerospace) Hunter saw service with the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force, and was also sold to many other countries. The aircraft’s all-round excellence and multi-role capability are borne out by the fact that it is still in service with a number of countries in Europe, South America and the Far East

  I Corps Intelligence Corps; there is an I Corps unit permanently attached to 22 SAS

  Intel, intel an Intelligence unit or members of that unit; intelligence in general as transmitted to troops in the field

  jebali inhabitant of the jebel area of Dhofar

  jebel also djebel: Arabic for hill or mountain; specifically, the mountain area of Dhofar in which the adoo (q.v.) principally operated

  JNCO see SNCO/JNCO

  JSIU Joint Services Interrogation Unit: a branch of I Corps (q.v.), the JSIU assists the SAS in resistance-to-interrogation (RTI) training, in certain types of exercise, and during the escape-and-evasion (E&E) phase of Selection (q.v.). On operations and in wartime, JSIU interrogators are attached to SAS units on active service

  Katyusha Soviet-designed and built unguided short-range rocket, often fired from multiple launchers

  Kite sight British-designed and built lightweight weapon-aiming system, capable of being fitted to most combat rifles and light anti-tank weapons; permits the firer to aim even in total darkness.

  Klepper collapsible 2-man canoe used by SAS Boat Troops and the SBS (q.v.)

  LAW light anti-tank weapon

  LAW66 shoulder-fired 66mm LAW (q.v.), carried by the SAS in the Falklands campaign. Officially designated as the M72

  LAW80 shoulder-fired 80mm LAW (q.v.), carried by the SAS in the Gulf War

  locstat to record and save the actual coordinates of a fixed feature, position or target

  loop line nylon cord, some 30 feet long, with loops at each end, and carried by SAS patrols; immensely strong, they can be quickly joined to make longer lines, and can even be used to tow vehicles

  LPD landing platform, dock

  LSL landing ship, logistic

  LUP lying-up place

  Lynx twin-turboshaft, single-rotor multi-role helicopter built by Westland in the UK, in service with both the British Army and the Royal Navy (which have their own variants, designated AH and HAS respectively), as well as the RAF. Capabilities include search-and-rescue, light support and as a troop transport, in which role it can carry up to 9 troops

  M16 the American-designed and built Colt M16 (earlier designations were Colt AR-22 or Armalite) entered service with the US armed services in the late 1950s and, like the AK-47 (q.v.), is now one of the most widely used assault rifles in the world. A fully automatic weapon of 5.56mm calibre and built largely of aluminium and plastic, it is tough, reliable and light. It was first used by the SAS in the Borneo campaign of 1963–6, and increasingly adopted by the Regiment in the ensuing twenty years; it is now the standard-issue rifle of the SAS, which prefers it to the British-designed and built 5.56mm SA80 (q.v.) assault rifle with which the rest of the British Army is equipped. SAS soldiers often use M16s fitted with the M203 40mm grenade launcher fitted beneath the barrel

  M72 see LAW66

  M79 single-shot 40mm grenade launcher, used by the SAS on Operation Storm (q.v.) in Oman

  M203 see M16

  Mentor antiquated single-piston-engined, twin-seat trainer that entered service with the USAF in 1948, the US-designed and built Beech T34A Mentor saw service in the Vietnam War as a spotter/reconnaissance aircraft. During the Falklands campaign, four Mentors of the Argentinian Air Force were destroyed on the ground at Pebble Island by the SAS

  MID Mention in Despatches

  Milan wire-guided anti-tank missile system deployed by some SAS mobile patrols during the Gulf campaign. At 35 kilos in weight the system is too heavy to be carried by foot patrols, but mounted on the rollbar of a 110 (q.v.), proved devastatingly effective against both mobile targets and fixed defences; its sighting aid, MIRA (q.v.), also proved invaluable. The 6.65kg missile has a range of 2,000 metres and can penetrate armour up to 106cm in thickness. Milan first demonstrated its worth in action during the Falklands campaign of 1982

  Minimi Belgian-designed and built 5.56mm air-cooled light machine-gun used by some SAS patrols in the Gulf campaign. With a cyclic rate of fire of 750–1,000 rounds per minute and capable of being fed either by belt or a box magazine, the Minimi can also take the standard M16 (q.v.) magazine; at 6.8kg it is light enough to be carried by foot patrols

  MIRA Milan infrared attachment, a sighting device fitted to the Milan (q.v.) missile system. Primarily a night sight, MIRA can be detached from the missile housing and used as a hand-held sighting/detection aid, in which role it proved itself with SAS mobile patrols during the Gulf campaign

  Mk19 US-designed and built fully automatic 40-mm grenade launcher, mounted on some SAS 110s (q.v.) in the Gulf campaign. Belt fed and air cooled, the Mk19 (also called M19) has a rate of fire of up to 375 rounds per minute, and an effective range of 1,600 metres; the variety of grenades it can handle includes high-explosive, smoke and armour-piercing

  MoD Ministry of Defence

  MP5 9mm, magazine-fed submachine-gun designed and built by the German concern Heckler & Koch, and available in a number of variants. The various weapons in the MP5 series have been the SAS’s preferred submachine-guns for many years

  MSR main supply route: major roads traversing Iraq, principally those from Jordan to Baghdad; some are metalled

  MTO motor transport officer

  NAAFI Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes; the organization which, for many years, has provided the British armed forces with shops, canteens, and other
services

  Naps tablets issued during the Gulf War to Coalition troops, to counteract the effect of possible enemy NBC (q.v.) measures

  NBC nuclear, biological and chemical, as in ‘NBC war-fare’; generally used of the protective NBC suits and headgear issued to all servicemen during the Gulf campaign, and of NBC precautionary measures, such as injections and tablets

  OC officer commanding

  O-group orders group; a formal briefing given by a commander before an operation to subordinate commanders, who are tasked with passing the relevant information on to their own subordinates

  OP observation post

  Operation Storm codename for SAS involvement in Britain’s then secret war against Marxist-backed insurgents (see adoo [q.v.]) in the Sultanate of Oman, 1970–6

  Patriot MIM-104 Patriot, US-built SAM (q.v.) specifically designed to destroy incoming enemy SSMs (q.v.). During the Gulf War, Patriot was used against Iraqi Scud (q.v.) missiles to considerable effect both in Saudi Arabia and in Israel

  PE plastic explosive

  PFLOAG Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf; see adoo

  PNGs passive night-vision goggles

  pot soldiers’ slang for a steel helmet

  prime time SAS nickname for free time which, if there were no operations, training or courses, members of the Regiment were permitted to spend as they wished, provided they remained within reach of RHQ (q.v.)

  PTI physical training instructor

  Pucara an Argentinian-designed and built twin turboprop close-support/counter-insurgency/reconnaissance aircraft, the FMA IA-58 Pucara was deployed by the Argentinian Air Force during the Falklands campaign; the SAS destroyed six Pucaras on the ground at Pebble Island, and shot down another with a Stinger (q.v.) missile

  Puma twin turboshaft, single-rotor tactical transport helicopter, designed and built as an Anglo-French venture between Westland and Sud-Aviation (later Aerospatiale), and designated HC1 in RAF service, which it entered in 1971. Capabilities include deployment for casevac (q.v.), as a troop transport (up to 16 fully equipped troops), as a medium-lift transport, and as a helicopter gunship

  PX Post Exchange: US armed forces equivalent of the British NAAFI (q.v.)

  R&R rest and recuperation

  REME Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

  RFA Royal Fleet Auxiliary

  RHQ Regimental Headquarters

  RQMS regimental quartermaster sergeant

  RSM Regimental Sergeant-Major

  RTU-ed returned to unit; the fate most dreaded by candidates for or members of the SAS. It usually takes effect immediately, and sees the soldier in question sent back to the regiment or corps from which he has come; however, no official stigma attaches to being RTU-ed

  RUC Royal Ulster Constabulary

  RV rendezvous

  SA80 British-designed and built 5.56mm magazine-fed fully automatic assault rifle: currently the standard-issue rifle of the British Army (but not the SAS, which favours the lighter and more reliable US-built M16 [q.v.])

  SAM surface-to-air missile

  SARBE see TACBE

  satcoms satellite communications; satellite-link telephone

  satlink see satcoms

  SBS Special Boat Service (formerly Squadron), Royal Marines; in some respects the SAS’s sister service although, as its name suggests, geared more towards maritime operations

  Scud antiquated Soviet-designed and built intermediate-range SSM (q.v.), deployed by Iraq during the Gulf War against targets in Israel and Saudi Arabia. Although inaccurate, Scud can carry conventional, biological, chemical or nuclear warheads, and can be fired from mobile, as well as fixed, launch sites, which are difficult to locate by aerial reconnaissance; furthermore, Iraqi engineers had considerably extended its range and marginally improved its crude guidance system, making it still a weapon to be feared

  Sea Harrier shipborne version of the British Aerospace (formerly Hawker) Harrier in service with the RAF, the Fleet Air Arm’s Sea Harriers downed 22 Argentinian air-craft during the Falklands campaign for the loss of just 6 of their own (2 of which were lost in accidents, and the remainder to ground fire or SAMs [q.v.]). The world’s only vertical take-off and landing combat aircraft, the Harrier is also in service with the US Marine Corps, in which form it is built in the USA by McDonnell Douglas as the AV-8

  Sea King twin turboshaft, single-rotor naval search-and-rescue and anti-submarine helicopter designed by Sikorsky in the USA as the SH-3, and built by Westland in the UK. Used in a variety of roles, it is now designated the H-3. Operating with the Task Force, Sea Kings provided valuable service during the Falklands campaign, although one aircraft, carrying 3 crew and 27 men, crashed into the sea with the loss of 22 lives, the majority of them SAS

  Selection the process undergone by all servicemen seeking to join the SAS. Run by the Regiment’s Training Wing at Hereford, it is a mentally and physically gruelling combination of training and endurance tests, divided into phases and run over many weeks. At the end of it, a successful candidate will be badged (q.v.), although it will be another two years before he is either accepted or rejected as a full-time member of the Regiment. The two TA (q.v.) regiments, 21 and 23 SAS, have their own Selection training programme

  SEP surrendered enemy personnel; term used during the campaign in Oman (see Operation Storm [q.v.]) for adoo (q.v.) who gave themselves up to the authorities, many of whom would then join a firqat (q.v.)

  shaped charge a powerful explosive demolition charge, the ‘shaping’ directing the blast in such a way as to cause maximum destruction to the object to be breached or destroyed

  shemagh Arab headdress cloth; also called a keffiyeh

  sitrep situation report

  Skyvan a twin-piston-engined light transport aircraft designed and built by Short Brothers of Belfast between 1963 and 1986; many are still in service as short-haul cargo or passenger transports. Capable of carrying 19 passengers, the SC7 Skyvan saw service with the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force during the campaign in Dhofar, two of these aircraft being damaged irreparably in accidents in 1974; during the Falklands campaign of 1982 a Skyvan of the Argentinian Navy was wrecked in an accident at Port Stanley, and another destroyed on the ground by the SAS at Pebble Island

  SLR self-loading rifle: 7.62mm semi-automatic magazine- fed rifle designed by the Belgian FN arms concern. The standard-issue rifle of the British Army, by which it was designated L1A1, until the introduction of the SA80 (q.v.) in the 1980s, the British version was hampered by the fact that it could fire only single shots, and by its length and weight; the almost identical FNs used by the Argentinians in the Falklands were fully automatic

  SNCO/JNCO senior/junior non-commissioned officer

  SOE Special Operations Executive; British clandestine organization formed during the Second World War to insert agents into German-occupied Europe and maintain them in place

  SOPs standing operational procedures; instructions issued as guidelines in the British Army, for instance by directing staff (see DS) or regimental headquarters (RHQ), and designed to cover widely differing circumstances a soldier or soldiers might encounter

  souk Arab market

  ‘Spargan’ SAS approximation of the Russian name Shpagin, a term used for a Soviet-designed and built 12.7mm belt-fed, air-cooled heavy machine-gun, usually tripod mounted. The weapon’s actual designation is D.Sh.K M1938/46, the first part of the abbreviation standing for the joint designers, Degtyarev and Shpagin, and the ‘K’ indicating ‘heavy’

  SP team Special Projects team: the Regiment’s counter- terrorist team, formed by each of the four Sabre Squadrons in rotation, serving in the role for roughly six months at a time, and based in the UK

  spy glass a compact, hand-held night-vision device that operates by thermal imagery

  SSM surface-to-surface missile; squadron sergeant-major

  Stinger US-designed and built, shoulder-launched SAM: utilizing a passive infrared homing system and equipp
ed with an IFF (identification friend or foe) device, Stinger is a ‘fire-and-forget’ weapon, meaning that once the missile has locked on to a target the operator does not have to guide it. Introduced in the US in 1981, it was used with success by the SAS in the Falklands (see Pucara), and was carried by SAS patrols in the Gulf War

  stun grenade see flash bang

  Swift scope a telescopic single-lens monocular – a powerful optical instrument used for observation at long ranges

  TA Territorial Army. The SAS has two TA regiments, 21 and 23 SAS

  tab SAS and Para slang for march, equivalent to the Royal Marine Commandos’ ‘yomp’

  TACBE tactical beacon: a light and compact surface-to-air rescue beacon, weighing only some 250 grams, which is used to make direct contact with aircraft flying overhead if other means of communication have failed. Its principal disadvantage is that its signals are easily detected by enemy direction-finding equipment. Also known as SARBE (search and rescue beacon)

  time pencil chemical timing device used to detonate explosive charges

  Trimpack electronic satellite-navigation device, used by SAS patrols in the Gulf campaign

  UAE United Arab Emirates: an independent group of seven emirates on the Persian Gulf, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai

  Unimog Mercedes-Benz 4×4 light truck, used as a support vehicle by SAS mobile patrols

  VC10 airliner originally designed by Vickers in the mid-1950s for BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation – later, with other companies, British Airways). Although a fast and comfortable aircraft, it did not succeed commercially, but remains in service with the RAF as a fast transport and as a tanker for in-flight refuelling.

  wadi Arabic for valley or dried-up watercourse

  Wasp single-turboshaft, single-rotor five-seat general-purpose shipborne helicopter. Designed and built in Britain by Westland, the Wasp was deployed on board Royal Navy warships during the Falklands campaign; a missile from HMS Endurance’s Wasp severely damaged the Argentinian submarine Santa Fe off South Georgia. Navy Wasps were given the designation HAS1