close to sleep, I’d be quickly brought back to reality by the dread of what my future held. How could I be so fucking stupid? I’m so much better than this. In my line of work, I just couldn’t afford to drop my situational awareness even for a moment, otherwise this sort of shit happened. I decided sleep was a waste of effort and sat up to watch the guard patrol pass the gate. As I sat in the dark I discovered I wasn’t alone in my cell. Two rats scurried in and out of the cell and ran right past me without fear — their fear not mine. I suppose it was because these rats looked massive, like cats with short legs. I was worried about the diseases they might bring. It’d be just my luck to survive this and then get some terminal illness from the place. I really needed to focus now and change my mindset so I could get through this night and get out of here tomorrow. As far as my life went till this point, I’d certainly done much harder things than this —much harder.
6.
SAS SELECTION COURSE
In 1987, I’d been in the army for about 18 months and was doing quite well. I was already the acting 2IC of my section, but I had become disillusioned with the army. Most of the guys just got by; they weren’t really into the army way of life and didn’t really accept soldiering as a profession. I felt out of place, but had no option but to plough on as best I could.
One day two blokes from the platoon approached me and said that they wanted to do the SAS selection course. No worries, I approached the Platoon Commander and explained the situation. Given that the course was to start in March 1988, he said the men could spend the time after Christmas break training for the course. To me this sounded great because, at the time, a few of us were competing in every triathlon held in the Townsville area, and full-time training would be perfect for our triathlon program. So, off the cuff, I told the Platoon Commander that I was also interested in doing the course. ‘Great,’ he said, ‘you write up the training program and take care of it.’
So the three of us applied to the SAS and were accepted to do the pre-selection test in August 1987. This consisted of doing 20 chin-ups and 80 sit-ups in two minutes, and a five kilometre run in under 20 minutes. Then, two days later, we had to do a 3.2 kilometre run in under 16 minutes wearing greens and boots, carrying a rifle and wearing webbing that weighed 10 kilograms. The 3.2 kilometre run is one of the hardest runs that I’ve ever had to do, but I managed to pass with a minute to spare. We then had to do a monster psyche exam before being interrogated by a shrink. With these results in hand, we all had to front the Board for an interview. The Board consisted of the Commanding Officer (CO) of the SASR, the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM), the Officer Commanding Training Squadron and the shrink. I managed to pass this part of the pre-selection although, at this time, I still had no idea what the SAS was all about. All I wanted was time off to train for triathlons. Everyone I asked had a conflicting story and I don’t think anyone really knew what the SAS was about apart from the members of the SAS themselves.
Now let me take this opportunity to dispel a myth commonly circulated by loud-mouth wannabees. The process to get onto the selection course and, if successful, into the SAS, is the same for everyone. People who brag, ‘the Army asked me to go to the SAS, but I said no,’ are spouting bullshit. No-one ever gets asked to go to the SAS. You ask them and, if you are very lucky and a good soldier, they might give you a go at the selection course.
For me, 1987 was a great year. Two months after we returned from the Fiji coup, we went to Malaysia on a three-month deployment. For a single bloke, the three-month deployment was just great. I spent the first month of the deployment at the Butterworth RAAF Base. I was fortunate enough to be nominated to do my first promotion course
6.
SAS SELECTION COURSE
In 1987, I’d been in the army for about 18 months and was doing quite well. I was already the acting 2IC of my section, but I had become disillusioned with the army. Most of the guys just got by; they weren’t really into the army way of life and didn’t really accept soldiering as a profession. I felt out of place, but had no option but to plough on as best I could.
One day two blokes from the platoon approached me and said that they wanted to do the SAS selection course. No worries, I approached the Platoon Commander and explained the situation. Given that the course was to start in March 1988, he said the men could spend the time after Christmas break training for the course. To me this sounded great because, at the time, a few of us were competing in every triathlon held in the Townsville area, and full-time training would be perfect for our triathlon program. So, off the cuff, I told the Platoon Commander that I was also interested in doing the course. ‘Great,’ he said, ‘you write up the training program and take care of it.’
So the three of us applied to the SAS and were accepted to do the pre-selection test in August 1987. This consisted of doing 20 chin-ups and 80 sit-ups in two minutes, and a five kilometre run in under 20 minutes. Then, two days later, we had to do a 3.2 kilometre run in under 16 minutes wearing greens and boots, carrying a rifle and wearing webbing that weighed 10 kilograms. The 3.2 kilometre run is one of the hardest runs that I’ve ever had to do, but I managed to pass with a minute to spare. We then had to do a monster psyche exam before being interrogated by a shrink. With these results in hand, we all had to front the Board for an interview. The Board consisted of the Commanding Officer (CO) of the SASR, the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM), the Officer Commanding Training Squadron and the shrink. I managed to pass this part of the pre-selection although, at this time, I still had no idea what the SAS was all about. All I wanted was time off to train for triathlons. Everyone I asked had a conflicting story and I don’t think anyone really knew what the SAS was about apart from the members of the SAS themselves.
Now let me take this opportunity to dispel a myth commonly circulated by loud-mouth wannabees. The process to get onto the selection course and, if successful, into the SAS, is the same for everyone. People who brag, ‘the Army asked me to go to the SAS, but I said no,’ are spouting bullshit. No-one ever gets asked to go to the SAS. You ask them and, if you are very lucky and a good soldier, they might give you a go at the selection course.
For me, 1987 was a great year. Two months after we returned from the Fiji coup, we went to Malaysia on a three-month deployment. For a single bloke, the three-month deployment was just great. I spent the first month of the deployment at the Butterworth RAAF Base. I was fortunate enough to be nominated to do my first promotion course
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