SAS partly lifts veil on a different approach to war - War on Iraq - smh.com.au
Major Withycombe said that, after securing the airport, he and his US colleagues were the first allied troops to move into Baghdad's suburbs, where it was extremely tense and dangerous.
How did he cope?
"Dare I say it - I'm pretty comfortable in that environment. Our special forces are the best in the world and our level of physical and psychological training is very high so we can cope with that sort of thing . . . easily, really. The Americans know that too and they love working with us for that reason. From our point of view, it is excellent to work with the Americans because . . . we get a reach into their intelligence and equipment, which is first rate."
Nonetheless, the approaches of the Australian and US special forces differ greatly, he said.
"The US special forces are very big and good at operating in chaos - and that's largely because creating chaos is one of their tactics. We often look for another way than always going in straight away with a lot of punch."
Another Australian special forces member, who declined to be named, said: "We look for different ways of doing things - you could say we are more lateral.
Major Withycombe said that, after securing the airport, he and his US colleagues were the first allied troops to move into Baghdad's suburbs, where it was extremely tense and dangerous.
How did he cope?
"Dare I say it - I'm pretty comfortable in that environment. Our special forces are the best in the world and our level of physical and psychological training is very high so we can cope with that sort of thing . . . easily, really. The Americans know that too and they love working with us for that reason. From our point of view, it is excellent to work with the Americans because . . . we get a reach into their intelligence and equipment, which is first rate."
Nonetheless, the approaches of the Australian and US special forces differ greatly, he said.
"The US special forces are very big and good at operating in chaos - and that's largely because creating chaos is one of their tactics. We often look for another way than always going in straight away with a lot of punch."
Another Australian special forces member, who declined to be named, said: "We look for different ways of doing things - you could say we are more lateral.
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