Special Reconnaissance Regiment

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Special Reconnaissance Regiment
Libyan Civil war
Commanders
Colonel-in-ChiefThe Queen[7]
AbbreviationSRR

The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a tier 1[8] special reconnaissance unit of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).[1]

The regiment conducts a wide range of classified activities related to covert surveillance and reconnaissance. The SRR draws its personnel from existing units and can recruit male and female volunteers from any branch of the British Armed Forces.[9][10]

Formation

The Special Reconnaissance Regiment conducts surveillance operations mainly concerning, but not limited to,

Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.[13]

Operational history

Iraq War

The regiment was active during the

Task Force Black/Knight. Although members of other British Special forces units were sceptical of the value of the regiment, by mid-2006 a handful of SRR operators were operating in Baghdad. They formed Special Reconnaissance detachments that were commanded by SRR officers. The force was made up of Task Force Black/Knight operators who carried out difficult surveillance missions throughout the city.[14]

Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom

In the aftermath of

Metropolitan Police Service's surveillance teams to provide additional capability to a seriously overstretched SO12.[15]

On 22 July 2005

intelligence collection effort leading to the shooting and were on the tube train when it happened. A partial Ministry of Defence response was reported by The Sunday Times.[16][17][18]

War in Afghanistan

On 27 June 2006, a 16-man unit from C Squadron, Special Boat Service and the SRR carried out Operation Ilois: an operation that covertly captured four

Gurkhas responded but ran into another insurgent ambush; one SBS member was seriously injured in the ambush. After an hour-long gunfight (some sources say three), Apache attack helicopters, the Gurkha quick reaction force and the 16-man unit, supported by a U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt and two Harrier GR7s managed to break contact and return to the closest forward operating base; two of the four Taliban leaders were killed in the firefight while the remaining two escaped in the chaos. Upon reaching the forward operating base it was discovered that Captain David Patton, SRR, and Sergeant Paul Bartlett, SBS were missing – one was helping wounded out of a vehicle when he was shot and assumed killed, while the second went missing during the firefight. A company from the Parachute Regiment in an RAF Chinook took off to find them, a pair of Apaches spotted the bodies and the Parachute Regiment troops recovered them. One SBS member was awarded the MC for his actions in the ambush.[19][20][21]

Dissident Irish Republican campaign

In March 2009,

Ian Paisley, Jr. said the SRR "poses absolutely no threat to any community in Northern Ireland".[22][23]

In April 2011, the Telegraph reported that a surveillance team from the SRR had spent three weeks tracking a cell of four men belonging to the Óglaigh na hÉireann (ONH)-a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group operating in Northern Ireland made up of members who split from the Real IRA. The SRR members (who were reportedly working for the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command) watched the men, who photographed key roads and buildings in London, including the Olympic Stadium. Intelligence suggested that ONH and other dissident Republicans were not aiming to launch mass-casualty attacks but continue to target police and military targets. One source said the unit was not thought to have the capability of launching a terrorist attack on mainland Britain, although some dissidents have that capacity. The cell was not thought to be targeting the royal wedding.[24]

Libyan Civil War

By the end of July 2011, a 24-man British special forces team from D Squadron 22 SAS, including members of the SRR who were expert in covert intelligence gathering had been deployed to Libya to train and mentor

Commandement des Opérations Spéciales, the French Special Forces Command (French Army), in Zuwaytinah, the command headquarters for the eastern front, 90 miles south west of Benghazi. From there they were sent to the west of the country via Tunisia to train rebels in the western mountains, in places like Zintan.[25]

Yemen and Somalia

In April 2016, it was reported that members of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment were seconded to

MI6 teams in Yemen to train Yemeni forces fighting AQAP, as well as identifying targets for drone strikes. Along with the SAS, they have been carrying out a similar role in Somalia.[26][27][28]

Role

The SRR performs clandestine intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (

ISTAR) missions.[29] It has a focus on counter-terrorism[30][31] and counterinsurgency.[32]

Uniform distinctions

SRR Beret at the National Army Museum, Chelsea

Personnel retain the uniforms of their parent organisations with the addition of an "emerald grey" coloured beret and the SRR cap badge. UKSF units display the mythical sword Excalibur on their cap badges, in the case of the SRR behind a Corinthian helmet and with a scroll inscribed RECONNAISSANCE.[13] The stable belt of the SRR is similar in style to that of the SAS, but is a darker midnight blue.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Geoff Hoon, Secretary of State for Defence (5 April 2005). "Special Reconnaissance Regiment". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 131WS.
  2. ^ Hughes, Chris (4 September 2006). "CRASHED NIMROD HAD JUST REFUELLED". mirror. Retrieved 27 September 2022. The 250-strong SRR, set up to fight the war on terror, backs the SAS and SBS.
  3. ^ a b "'New regiment will support SAS'". bbc.co.uk. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2022. the new unit, which he estimates will be between 500 and 600-strong
  4. ^ Harding, Thomas. "New Special Forces unit will spy on the terrorists". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022. The new regiment could have up to 300 troops
  5. ^ "New special force targets terror". www.scotsman.com. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2022. the new 300 to 400-strong regiment
  6. ^ "Special Forces cuts: once gone they cannot be quickly replaced". the telegraph. 3 March 2013.
  7. ^ Furness, Hannah (13 November 2022). "Royal Family's Next Generation Perform Cenotaph Duty Smoothly". Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  8. ^ "New British Army brigade: reshaping UK special operations for the better?". International Institute for Strategic Studies. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Special forces regiment created". BBC News. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  10. ^ Rayment, Sean (4 September 2005). "Army reveals secret elite unit that puts women on front line". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  11. ISBN 978-1-84605-666-6
    .
  12. ISBN 0101556624
    . Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  13. ^ a b Harding, Thomas (6 April 2005). "New Special Forces unit will spy on the terrorists". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 9 January 2007.
  14. ISBN 978-1250006967
    , p.167-168
  15. ISBN 978-1472814036p
    .12
  16. ^ Smith, Michael (31 July 2005). "Could this 'police officer' be a soldier?". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  17. ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (4 August 2005). "New special forces unit tailed Brazilian". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 January 2007.
  18. ^ Cusick, James (21 August 2005). "An innocent man shot dead on the London Tube by police... since then everything we've been told has been wrong. A cover-up? And if so... why?". Sunday Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  19. ISBN 978-1472807908
    , p.239-241
  20. ISBN 978-0007288175
    , p.2-3; 8–9
  21. ^ "Killed NI soldier 'was due home". BBC News. 6 July 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  22. ^ "Forces are a threat – McGuinness". BBC News. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  23. ^ Kirkup, James (17 March 2009). "Gerry Adams: British Army Special Forces in Northern Ireland threaten peace process". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Special forces team tracked Republican terror cell in London". The Telegraph. 27 April 2011.
  25. ISBN 978-1780274522
  26. ^ "UK special forces and MI6 involved in Yemen bombing, report reveals". The Guardian. 11 April 2016.
  27. Daily Telegraph
    . 2 November 2010.
  28. ^ "UK and US spend millions to counter Yemeni threat". The Independent. 30 October 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
  29. S2CID 158092586
    .
  30. ISBN 9781844675456
    . Geoff Hoon, then defence secretary, announced...'the pursuit of international terrorists' would be the SRR's priority.
  31. ISBN 9781843584360
    . The skills learned there were thought to be useful in the war against terror... Following the London bombings in July 2005, the SRR was deployed on the streets of the capital to counter the terrorist threat.
  32. ISBN 9781843584360
    . The British even established a new Special Forces unit called the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) in 2005 to take on insurgents.
  33. ^ "Special Reconnaissance Regiment". Who dares wins. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
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