SAS Trooper: Death Is Nature's Way Of Saying You Failed Selection
4 December 2017, 10:46
The SAS are considering easing their brutal selection tests to allow women a "fair" chance, this former soldier says they should be making the process harder.
Britain's special forces are considering adapting their notoriously gruelling entry process to provide women with a "fair" chance of joining.
Members of the SAS have been told, though, that the selection standards for the regiment, which prides itself on operating one of the most brutal military recruitment courses in the world, will not be lowered.
Nick Ferrari spoke to Paul who had served five years in the regiment and toured Northern Ireland.
He felt that as the personal fitness of modern day soldiers increased, so should the difficult of selection. The point of the process being to test mental fitness, not physical, he said.
Paul said: "THere's a misconception that carrying heavy weights, doing long journeys, is about fitness, it's not.
"They're designed to break you. Passing these physical tests you had to dig deep, testing your mental stamina to go on when you're knackered, rather than test your fitness.
"My son is in the marines now, and marines are smashing selection on the fitness side, but that isn't necessarily what you want.
"If you breeze selection because you're very fit, it means you've never been properly tested. That is part of the reason of selection.
"it's not just to get fit guys, it's to get guys who can push themselves beyond their limits when the fitness side has gone.
"When I did my selection there were about 120 guys did it, about 10 of us passed. But it should not be about fitness.
"Those two guys died, recently, during selection. There were a lot of complaints by the relatives, and I can understand their point of view, about them being tested toon hard etcetera etcetera.
"We used to have a saying in the old day: 'Death is nature's way of telling you that you've failed selection.'"
Watch the conversation at the top of this page.
