The SAS (Special Air Service) is a special and exclusive operational body of the British Army. The main components of the SAS are recruited only from members of the British Armed Forces and never from civilians. The five-month training and selection process to join the SAS is absolutely intense: only 10 out of 125 soldiers who apply pass the training. And only the most tenacious, strongest and most motivated candidates manage to be part of it. If you think you have what it takes to succeed, read on to find out how to get through the recruiting and training process.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Meet the Basic Requirements
Step 1. Become a member of Her Majesty's Armed Forces
Outside the SAS Reserves, no civilians are recruited. To be eligible to join the SAS, you must be an official member of one of the uniformed services of the British Armed Forces, such as the Naval Service (which includes the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Corps), the British Army or the Royal Air Force.
- Keep in mind that each military corps has their own enrollment and training requirements, which, on their own, can be challenging. For example, the British Army's basic training lasts 26 weeks and includes rigorous physical training and tactical exercises.
- Also remember that, as with the other bodies of the British Armed Forces, the SAS accepts members from other countries of the British Commonwealth (such as Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, etc.).
Step 2. Alternatively, serve as a backup of the SAS for 18 months
Another way to be eligible to join the SAS is to become part of one of the SAS reserve regiments (Regiments 21 and 23) and serve as a reserve for 18 months. This is because, unlike the actual SAS, the reserve regiments recruit among civilians: it is therefore a relatively direct path for a civilian who wants to apply and join the SAS.
Step 3. You must be a man, in good health, between the ages of 18 and 32
The selection process to join the SAS involves one of the most difficult military training programs in the world. Its purpose is to test candidates to the extreme limit of their physical and mental capabilities. Although rare, there have been reports of candidates who died during the selection process. Given the extreme requirements for the training of the SAS, only young men in health and in perfect physical and mental condition are taken into consideration.
Although women have been an integral part of the British Armed Forces since the 1990s, they are excluded from the more combat oriented units, which is why, to date, women cannot be part of the SAS. There are, however, signs that the trend will change for the foreseeable future
Step 4. Get 3 months of experience and the remaining 39 months of service
The SAS requires serious commitment from its candidates. If you successfully complete the selection process, you are expected to serve loyally within the SAS for a period lasting, at least, a little over three years. For this, applicants applying to join the SAS must consider at least the next 39 months of service. And to these is added a minimum of 3 months of experience within your regiment.
Method 2 of 3: Go through the Selection Process
Step 1. Once ready, fill out an AGAI
If you think you have all the requirements to join the SAS and have a burning desire to do so, complete your decision by filling out an Army General Administrative Instruction (AGAI), which is a British Army specific administrative disciplinary procedure. This document declares that you are prepared and have full awareness of the challenging challenges that await you along the way.
Once the decision is made, you will have to wait for the next selection process to begin. The SAS organizes two a year: one in winter and the other in summer. And this, regardless of the weather: the selection process will continue regardless of how hot or cold it is
Step 2. Go through the initial selection phase
As the first part of the selection process, recruits are brought to Stirling Lines, the SAS Headquarters, located near Hereford, to undergo a basic medical exam and a Battle Fitness Test (BFT), a physical fitness test. to combat. The medical examination ensures that the recruit meets basic health and disease-free standards, while the BFT analyzes their physical fitness. About 10% of candidates fail one of these exams.
The BFT consists of a 2.5km run united in a platoon followed by the same distance traveled individually in less than 10 and a half minutes. Those who fail the test are not physically prepared to become a member of the SAS
Step 3. Complete the "Special Forces Briefing Course"
On the first SAS training weekend, recruits receive detailed information on what it means to undergo the selection process and, later, to be a member of the SAS. At this short stage, the recruits' physical and mental readiness is not yet tested to as heavy a level as it will be later on, although candidates still participate in various hill races. Additionally, recruits are subjected to a series of general eligibility tests, which include:
- Orientation test, with compass and map;
- Swimming test;
- First aid test;
- Physical fitness test for combat.
Step 4. Go through the "Fitness and Navigation" phase
After the information phase of the training, the real selection process begins. The first part lasts four weeks and focuses on the candidate's ability and stamina to move in the wilderness. The activities of this phase include excursions and timed runs and travel between the meeting points marked on the map. The intensity of these activities grows with the passing of the days of this phase as candidates have to carry heavier and heavier backpacks and respect increasingly tight deadlines. Very often candidates do not know the time limit of a certain exercise before it is assigned to them. The main tests of this phase include:
- The "Fan Dance": a 24km excursion on the Brecon Beacons, a mountain range in Wales, which takes place at the end of the first week of this phase and is the main barrier for those who are not suitable.
- The "Long Drag": the final test of this phase of the selection process. Candidates must complete a 64km hike on the Brecon Beacons in less than 20 hours, during which they will have to carry a 25kg backpack, rifle, food and water. Candidates are prohibited from moving on already marked paths and must move only with the help of a map and compass.
Step 5. Pass the "Initial Continuation Training" phase
After passing the initial training phase of the SAS, based on physical skills, the remaining recruits enter the next phase, which focuses on combat skills: for four weeks, recruits are given guidance on how to handle weapons (including those of foreign origin), demolitions, patrol tactics, and other essential skills when on the battlefield.
During this phase, the use of the parachute is taught to every recruit who has not yet obtained the qualification. Additionally, recruits learn the British Army's Regimental Standards in terms of reporting
Step 6. Pass the "Jungle Training" phase
Once the "Initial Continuation Training" phase is over, the recruits are sent to a location in Borneo where they will undergo a difficult training lasting 6 weeks, immersed in the hot and humid environment of the jungle. Candidates are divided into patrols of 4 members each, each of which is supervised by a member of the Management Staff, made up of military officers. In this phase, the soldiers learn to live, move and fight in the jungle. Activities include hiking / marching, boat driving, combat drills, setting up camps, and more.
Personal care and first aid play a crucial role at this stage. Since a regular cut, insect bite, and training blisters can easily become infected in the jungle, it's important that every recruit knows how to heal their injuries
Step 7. Pass the "Escape and Evasion" phase
As the final stage of the selection process, recruits participate in various exercises that are intended to develop in them the ability to survive in realistic combat scenarios out of any possible scheme. Recruits learn to stealth, live off the fruits of the earth, and avoid being captured by enemy forces. Activities include evasion exercises, survival scenarios and lessons on interrogation techniques.
The test that concludes this phase consists of an exercise in which the recruits must complete the set objectives while escaping capture by a Regiment of Hunters made up of enemy soldiers. Regardless of whether or not recruits are captured during the exercise, they will still have to participate in the Tactical Interrogation exercises (see below)
Step 8. Pass the "Tactical Questioning" test
A unique aspect of the final stage of the selection process to join the SAS is the Tactical Interrogation: recruits are subjected to a wide variety of physically and mentally uncomfortable conditions over a period of 24 hours. During this time, the Management Staff subjects them to numerous interrogations, during which the candidates must not reveal any significant information. Recruits can only reveal their name, rank, serial number or date of birth. All other questions must be answered with the expression "I'm sorry, I can't answer this question." If a soldier gives any other answers, he will fail his entire selection process and must return to his unit.
Although the Management Staff are not allowed to torture or seriously injure recruits, their conduct is quite strict. The recruits can, in fact, be blindfolded, deprived of food and water, forced to stay in "stressful positions" and painful, subject to continuous deafening noises and imprisoned in small cages. Punishments can also be psychological and can include verbal abuse, insults, humiliation, cheating and more
Step 9. Enter the "Continuation Training" phase
If you successfully pass the selection process to join the SAS, you can consider yourself one of the few who can proudly tell about it. Only around 10% of applicants make it this far. At this point, the recruits are given the signature beige SAS cap with the winged dagger crest and enter Continuation Training, based on teaching the special operations that new SAS operatives will need to achieve victory in combat zones around the world. at higher voltage rate.
Remember that, at the end of the selection process, recruits lose whatever ranks they previously had and assume the title of soldier. In the SAS all recruits must always start their own path of ascent from the bottom. However, if a recruit leaves the SAS, they are immediately relocated to the rank they previously held with merit for the time they served. The only exception to the rule is in the case of officers, who maintain their rank even after joining the SAS
Method 3 of 3: Prepare for Training
Step 1. Start exercising every day
The most noticeable aspect of SAS training is probably the fact that it requires more physical preparation than any other experience you have had so far. Candidates are continually required to run or walk for hours (up to twenty hours during the "Long Drag") over rough terrain and carry heavy loads, climb challenging peaks and carry out many other physically demanding tasks. To ensure the best chance of success in the SAS selection process, try to put a lot of time and energy into achieving excellent form before starting the actual training.
- Cardio exercises are an absolute must. Many of the heavier challenges during the selection process, such as "Fan Dance" and "Long Drag", are based on stamina. This means that a particular focus on cardio exercises, especially running and walking, is one of the best options for having a strong advantage during training. Plus, spending a lot of time doing these activities will get you used to being outdoors all day. See how to do physical activity.
- While cardio training is very important, remember not to underestimate strength-building exercises. SAS corps candidates must have the strength to carry heavy backpacks for long jungle journeys and, at the same time, be lethal in combat, as well as fulfill many other responsibilities. A scrupulous strength-building exercise regimen, covering the muscle groups of the whole body (from the lower limbs, to the trunk, up to the upper ones) can help you achieve the level of strength you need. See How To Do Weights.
Step 2. Prepare yourself mentally for the rigors of the training
Even some recruits, naturally inclined to be athletes, withdraw from the selection process due to the mental stress it entails. The selection and training of the SAS requires total concentration, even during times of enormous physical exertion. For example, recruits must be able to move independently in large areas of jungle with nothing but a map and compass even when completely exhausted. If you don't mentally prepare yourself for what will most likely be the most stressful moments in your life, it may seem like all your efforts have been wasted.
The precise instructions on how to mentally prepare can vary from person to person. Some find results in exercises to enhance concentration, others may prefer meditation. In any case, anyone will benefit from having very realistic expectations related to the selection process: this is not a Hollywood-style macho fanatic performance, but an absolutely demanding experience that very few are actually prepared for
Step 3. Find an inner drive to excel
The SAS is not ideal for those candidates who struggle to find inner motivation. The grueling selection process spares only those few chosen candidates who have the intense and burning desire to become some of the best soldiers in the world. For example, an unusual practice for most military training programs is that the SAS Management Staff do not shout encouragement or insult to candidates once they complete the long marches. It is up to the candidate alone to find the inner strength to do so. If you have any kind of doubt about joining the SAS, perhaps you should reconsider your decision.
- While some candidates are offered a second chance after a bankruptcy during the selection process, this is not necessarily a guarantee. After two failures the candidates are excluded for life from the possibility of trying this path again.
- As you prepare for your training, keep in mind the official SAS motto: "Chi Osa Vince". By trying to join the SAS you are risking (or "daring") a lot: who knows that the time and effort spent in preparation and training have not been in vain. With the right inner push, this risk will become slightly smaller: if you really want to win the prize, you will be able to push yourself to the absolute limit of your abilities to reach it.
