It is so fascinating that the origin of Rhodesian special
air service date back in the World war 2 when the
british were fighting against Germans.Brian Robinson
who
is responsible for enabling the Rhodesian SAS to be
as
formidable it was,was attached to the British 22SAS
The SAS job was to take the war to the enemy;killing
and
wounding them at their bases before they could enter
the
country ,destroying their supply.
The SAS operated in Zambia ,Mozambique,Malawi and
Bostwana
these acted as harbours and
training grounds for the
anti-
colonialists.One of experience enriching occassion
was
Malaya war of 1951 to 1953 despite the hardships, the
Rhodesia's SAS pioneers learned a great deal about
ambushing,tracking and guerilla warfare.
Though the SAS fought many battles before 1963,they
weren't all against the enemy thus in November
1963 ,the
31 men from Northern Rhodesia volunteered to
revive
the SAS as the Federation shattered.
The early days of SAS begun with patrolling the
Zambian border along the Zambezi river and by May
1963
they begun the Kariba patrol.
As some would say behind every best men there is good
training, an SAS wannabe had to through various
physical
stints but still had to prove himself in true battle
conditions to attain the coveted beret and wings.this
included six weeks of basics training where they
learned
map reading,signals,medics and using SAS and enemy
weapons
with real ammunition.
Another gruelling six weeks followed and these
included
field work,tactical training and quick shooting and
all
this was done at Gwaai River Mine.
Other training they had to undergo was
parachuting ,bush
tracking and urban exercise .The SAS was camouflage or
plain green uniform ,steel helmet, high leather and
many
other arsenal that made a soldier a soldier.
The
enemies of SAS were ZIPRA led by Joshua Nkomo and
ZANLA first led by Ndabaningi Sithole but later led
by
Robert Mugabe.These were not the only enemies also in
the
bush were
elephants ,rhinos,buffaloes,scorpions,thorns,hippos,snakes ,
the list is endless.
The SAS did many operations like BIG BANG ,COCKLESHELL
HEROES,the RUSSIAN FRONT,CHIMOI AND the BASTILLE.
All these missions were executed with great skill and
expertise.
as they say what goes around comes around .The
SAS's days were over ,ZANU had won the 1980 elections.
The officers held their last official party dubbed the
Last
Supper by some of the officers but the SAS had to
perform
their last crossborder mission and this was to whisk
away
a25 ton marble plinth to Moth ex serviceman's house
outside
Durban,South Africa to save it from the hammer.