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The SBS is a, somewhat unfairly,
much less well known British elite special forces unit. Some people consider
the SBS to be a better, and more highly trained organisation than the SAS.
The author of these pages will not get involved in such an esoteric argument.
It should however be noted that the SBS is a more specialist force than
the SAS, its speciality being naval and amphibious operations. It is also
a more select organisation, with far fewer members (although it does draw
from a smaller organisation).
The Special Boat Service was formerly
known as the Special Boat Squadron.
SEa Air Land (SEALs):
US elite special forces unit (although US Marine Recon Companies, or Force
Recon, are closer in terms of duties)
The Röjdykarna
(Swedish Navy's Mineclearance Diving Unit), are not an equivalent to the
SBS, but a subset of the SBS's skills would include mineclearance diving.
The SBS Headquarters is RM Poole in Dorset.
The SBS is about a fifth the size of
the SAS, around 90-100 men, whose average age is 23. The members of the
SBS are drawn exclusively from the Royal Marines. The selection process
is different from that of the SAS in that a lot of the emphasis is placed
on swimming and diving.
The SBS and SAS now train together on
common skills, such as their anti-terrorism roles.
The SBS has now been combined with sections
of the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Diving Team into a unit called the MCT -
Marine Counter Terrorism. The base at Poole has or will be closing down
and the units will be based at Whale Island in Portsmouth.
In an article on
Paddy Ashdown MP (the Liberal Party Leader), who has been the focus of a
recent series of threats and attacks, The Telegraph reported that the MP
was a former member of the "Special Boat Squadron". Could they
mean the SBS? (The Telegraph 05/02/96)
