SAS Bravo Three Zero: The Gripping True Story

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There were three patrols that fateful January 1991 morning:Bravo One Zero,Bravo Two ZeroandBravo Three Zero. It was the opening hours of the Gulf War and the SAS were flown deep behind enemy lines to hunt down Saddam’s Scud missiles, the use of which threatened a Third World War. Don’t under estimate what was endured, unfortunately for some the biggest sacrifice of all. Reading through the book you have to be amazed and in awe that Des Powell is actually around to tell his story The patrol has been the subject of several books. Accounts in the first two books, one in 1993 by patrol commander Steven Mitchell (writing under the pseudonym Andy McNab), Bravo Two Zero, and the other in 1995 by Colin Armstrong (writing under the pseudonym Chris Ryan), The One That Got Away, do not always correspond with one another about the events. Both accounts also conflict with SAS's Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) at the time of the patrol, Peter Ratcliffe, in his 2000 memoir, Eye of the Storm. Another book by a member of the patrol, Mike Coburn, titled Soldier Five, was published in 2004. The men of Bravo One Zero stepped off the chopper, took one look at the flat desert devoid of any cover and decided that no way were they deploying into all of that. But Andy NcNab’s famed Bravo Two Zero patrol did deploy, with fatal results - all bar one being captured or killed. Damien Lewis is known for repeating himself. The last book I read that he was involved in was the one with the Apache crews - not the Ed Macy books.

Usually, special forces operators have grown up in broken homes, usually the dangle on the edge. If you weren’t military and SF, which direction would you see yourself going? And so there I was having a chat with Des Powell about how the collaboration with Damien Lewis and the book came about and about the mission itself. In 2003, the television series JAG ran an episode ("The One That Got Away", S9, EP04) loosely based on the story of Bravo Two Zero involving US Marines Force Recon in Iraq. The name of the team that was involved was Bravo Two One. ITV produced a one-off dramatic version of Armstrong's book, also titled The One That Got Away, in 1996. The film starred Paul McGann as Ryan and was directed by Paul Greengrass. The first public literary mention of the patrol was in the autobiography of Lieutenant-General Peter de la Billière, the commander of the British Forces during the Gulf War. Storm Command ( ISBN 0002551381) only mentioned the patrol in passing. The book was released in 1992.Also in 2002, the BBC's Panorama series released a documentary titled "A Question of Betrayal" featuring both Coburn and MacGowan, alleging that the patrol's distress calls had been received and ignored. [22] [23] The patrol also had a PRC 319 HF patrol radio carried by Lane, [1] :24 four TACBE communication devices (carried by McNab, [1] :55 Ryan, [1] :55 and two others) to communicate with allied aircraft, a Magellan GPS carried by Coburn, [1] :41 and a KITE night sight carried by MacGown. [1] :62 The total weight of each member's kit was estimated at 95kg (15.0st; 209lb) by McNab [2] :66 and 120kg (19st; 260lb) by Ryan. [1] :29 Des Powell served in the Parachute Regiment as a sergeant major before spending 20 years in the SAS at the heart of Counter Terrorism and Special Projects teams. A former PT instructor in 1 PARA, he became the Unarmed Combat and Fitness instructor for B Squadron, and pioneered HALO, HAHO and other covert airborne entry techniques. He was the second-in command of the Bravo Three Zero patrol in 1991.

Colin Armstrong wrote The One That Got Away ( ISBN 0-09-946015-7) under the pseudonym Chris Ryan. It criticized Mitchell's leadership of the patrol and was particularly hostile in tone to the conduct of Phillips. Armstrong used the same pseudonyms as McNab for those who survived, but also referred to Phillips, Lane and Consiglio by their real names. Ratcliffe said of this move that it was "insensitive" for Mitchell and Armstrong "to hide behind pseudonyms when they named their dead colleagues in their books, in deliberate contravention of the Regiment's traditions." [6] :247 The book was released in 1995. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap Ryan, Chris (1995). The One That Got Away. London: Century. ISBN 978-0-09-964161-2. This article is about the actual events. For the book by Andy McNab, see Bravo Two Zero (novel). For the film, see Bravo Two Zero (film). I would hope that we may be able to read more about the exploits of Des Powell, to be able to spend some time in this mans company would be some experience There were three SAS patrols that fateful January 1991 morning: Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero (Andy McNab) and Bravo Three Zero. It was the opening hours of the Gulf War and the SAS were flown deep behind enemy lines to hunt down Saddam’s Scud missiles.Even as warnings came in that McNab’s patrol was on the run, Bravo Three Zeroremained undetected – the furthest Coalition forces behind Iraqi lines. Slipping through enemy positions, a string of targets were taken out. But with the desert turning bitter and snow starting to fall, they were forced to fight a running battle against the elements as much as the enemy. Though overshadowed by the fate of Bravo Two Zero, the achievements of this highly-decorated patrol are the stuff of elite forces legend. Now, for the first time, SAS veteran Des Powell reveals their story in gritty, blow-by-blow detail. Written with acclaimed military author Damien Lewis, this is a tale of edge-of-the seat daring deep inside enemy lands. Brutal, savage, unrelenting – prepare to be blown away, in a tale that proves utterly the SAS motto – who dares wins. Honours and Awards" Supplement to The London Gazette, Number 54393, 10 May 1996" (PDF) . Retrieved 25 October 2011.

The story of Bravo Two Zero’s patrol during the First Gulf War is the stuff of legend, not surprisingly it is less well documented that there were two other ‘Bravo’ patrols. Bravo One aborted due to conditions on the ground and Bravo Three is the subject of this book. This is a story that needed to told, a story that deserves to be read, a story that needs to be read, a story which makes you stop, think and remember a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Asher, Michael (2003). The Real Bravo Two Zero. England: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-36554-8. Even as warnings came in that McNab’s patrol was on the run, Bravo Three Zero remained undetected – the furthest Coalition forces behind Iraqi lines. Slipping through enemy positions, a string of targets were taken out. But with the desert turning bitter and snow starting to fall, they were forced to fight a running battle against the elements as much as the enemy.

Des Powell was a member of the Parachute Regiment who got selected for the SAS and during a twenty year career with 'Them' he was involved in Op Granby as part of the Scud hunting patrols Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero and Bravo Three Zero. Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an eight-man British Army Special Air Service (SAS) patrol, deployed into Iraq during the First Gulf War in January 1991. According to Chris Ryan's account, the patrol was given the task of gathering intelligence, finding a good lying-up position (LUP), setting up an observation post (OP), and monitoring enemy movements, especially Scud missile launchers [1] :15 on the Iraqi Main Supply Route (MSR) between Baghdad and North-Western Iraq; however, according to Andy McNab's account, the task was to find and destroy Iraqi Scud missile launchers along a 250km (160mi) stretch of the MSR. [2] :35 Speed was of the essence and the patrol had to improvise with poor equipment and beg, borrow and steal basic supplies. The most concerning aspect of this was the poor intelligence. The patrol was told to expect mild weather, ‘England in the spring’ and were unprepared for the ‘worst winter in living memory’. The weather became their main enemy, with snow drifts in the desert to combat. The book chronicles the patrol’s tenacity and initiative to survive, even resorting to wearing their rubber NBC suits. Des Powell gives a harrowing account of the constant cold, with little protection from the elements and having no way to get warm. It is the patrol that Des Powell was part of being Bravo Three Zero, these men decided they had a job to do and no matter they were going to do the job they trained to do. Meanwhile Bravo Two Zero was in serious trouble with men wounded or killed. All bar one of that team got out. Bravo One Zero did not deploy as it was too dangerous. This left Bravo Three Zero and this is the story of Des Powell and what took place in the desert. Damien Lewis has been a war reporter over two decades covering conflict in Africa, the Middle and Far East.