- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
It‘s interesting how New Zealand government officials are able to get the point across clearly, succinctly, in a no-nonsense fashion with regard to the requirement for operational security, whereas their Canadian counterparts come across as bumbling fools and blithering idiots (from the Evening Post, on the other side of the international date line):
SATURDAY, 22 DECEMBER 2001
N A T I O N A L N E W S S T O R Y
Military may expand elite SAS force
21 December 2001
The military are looking at expanding the size of the elite Special Air Services in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.
And because of the difficulty of recruiting and retaining highly skilled soldiers required for the SAS, it may set up a second-tier SAS, defence chiefs told Parliament‘s foreign affairs and defence select committee.
The SAS is believed to have 120-160 troops. A number of them are now in Afghanistan. It also has a standby domestic anti-terrorist role and is one of the few Defence Force components constantly held at a high level of readiness.
Defence Chief Air Marshal Carey Adamson said that as a result of September 11, the areas of intelligence gathering and dissemination were being addressed. Defence was also looking at what resources were being put into special forces.
Special forces were now more important internationally. They were being used as the force that went in first and were increasingly having a role to play on their own.
Army Chief Maurice Dodson said there was trouble keeping SAS numbers up. It was constantly recruiting from the Army, Navy and Air Force but there was a shrinking pool of people available. It was also looking at employing women and it could set up a second tier that was not as well-trained as the present SAS.
Air Force Chief Air Marshal Don Hamilton said a greater use of special forces highlighted the shortfall in the present Iroquois helicopter fleet. This could be "a driver for an enhanced helicopter capability."
AM Adamson said it was too early to say what extra equipment was needed, but special forces were commonly equipped with specially fitted-out Hercules and helicopter fleets to get them in and out of operations.
He also defended secrecy surrounding the deployment of the SAS to Afghanistan. Saying they were in a country or not in a particularly country "would set the hares running". Public identification of individual members of the SAS could result in their families being targeted, he said.
The committee was also advised that the Army‘s Mistral low-level air defence missile system was lacking special radar needed to identify friendly or enemy aircraft.
The system cannot safely be deployed to a war zone without that.
- 30 -
SATURDAY, 22 DECEMBER 2001
N A T I O N A L N E W S S T O R Y
Military may expand elite SAS force
21 December 2001
The military are looking at expanding the size of the elite Special Air Services in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.
And because of the difficulty of recruiting and retaining highly skilled soldiers required for the SAS, it may set up a second-tier SAS, defence chiefs told Parliament‘s foreign affairs and defence select committee.
The SAS is believed to have 120-160 troops. A number of them are now in Afghanistan. It also has a standby domestic anti-terrorist role and is one of the few Defence Force components constantly held at a high level of readiness.
Defence Chief Air Marshal Carey Adamson said that as a result of September 11, the areas of intelligence gathering and dissemination were being addressed. Defence was also looking at what resources were being put into special forces.
Special forces were now more important internationally. They were being used as the force that went in first and were increasingly having a role to play on their own.
Army Chief Maurice Dodson said there was trouble keeping SAS numbers up. It was constantly recruiting from the Army, Navy and Air Force but there was a shrinking pool of people available. It was also looking at employing women and it could set up a second tier that was not as well-trained as the present SAS.
Air Force Chief Air Marshal Don Hamilton said a greater use of special forces highlighted the shortfall in the present Iroquois helicopter fleet. This could be "a driver for an enhanced helicopter capability."
AM Adamson said it was too early to say what extra equipment was needed, but special forces were commonly equipped with specially fitted-out Hercules and helicopter fleets to get them in and out of operations.
He also defended secrecy surrounding the deployment of the SAS to Afghanistan. Saying they were in a country or not in a particularly country "would set the hares running". Public identification of individual members of the SAS could result in their families being targeted, he said.
The committee was also advised that the Army‘s Mistral low-level air defence missile system was lacking special radar needed to identify friendly or enemy aircraft.
The system cannot safely be deployed to a war zone without that.
- 30 -
