Special Air Service Regiment

Not to be confused with SAS (R).
This article is about the Australian regiment. For the British Army, see Special Air Service. For the New Zealand Army, see New Zealand Special Air Service.
For other uses, see SAS Australia (disambiguation).

Special Air Service Regiment
Cap badge of the Special Air Service Regiment
Active
  • 25 July 1957
    (as 1st SAS Coy)
  • 20 August 1964 – present
    (as SASR)
Country Australia
Branch Australian Army
TypeSpecial forces
Special mission unit
Role
SizeOne regiment
Part ofSpecial Forces Group
Garrison/HQCampbell Barracks, Swanbourne, Western Australia[1]
Nickname(s)
  • "Chicken stranglers"[2]
  • "Snake eaters"[2]
Motto(s)"Who Dares Wins"[3]
March
Engagements
Decorations
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Insignia
Unit colour patch
AbbreviationSASR

The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957 as a company, it was modelled on the British SAS with which it shares the motto, "Who Dares Wins". Expanded to a regiment in August 1964, it is based at Campbell Barracks, in Swanbourne, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, and is a direct command unit of the Special Operations Command.

The regiment first saw active service in Borneo in 1965 and 1966 during the Indonesian Confrontation, mainly conducting reconnaissance patrols, including secret cross-border operations into Indonesian territory. The regiment's three squadrons were rotated through Vietnam, carrying out tasks included medium-range reconnaissance patrols, observation of enemy troop movements, and long-range offensive operations and ambushing in enemy dominated territory. They also served with US Army Special Forces, and conducted training missions. The SASR squadrons were highly successful, and were known to the Viet Cong as Ma Rung or "phantoms of the jungle" due to their stealth.

Following the Sydney Hilton bombing of February 1978, the regiment became responsible for developing a military counter-terrorism response force in August 1979, known as the Tactical Assault Group (TAG). SASR troops have also served in Somalia, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as many other peacekeeping missions. The SASR also provides a counter-terrorist capability, and has been involved in a number of domestic security operations. It has been alleged that some SASR personnel committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

  1. ^ Lee 2007, p. 30.
  2. ^ a b "SAS: Combat Fatigue". Background Briefing. ABC Radio National. 9 March 2003. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  3. ^ Jobson 2009, p. 133.
  4. ^ Festberg 1972, p. 25.
  5. ^ "MUC – SASR". It's an Honour. Australian Government. 19 December 2002. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  6. ^ "Former SAS Commander says no to women in combat". ABC News. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2017.