Plus ca Change...
The emphasis on recce seems to have missed the point of this unit, which is to provide heavier support and muscle to SAS/SBS team who should be concentrating on their small unit role.
We have been down this route before. To my mind it would be better for esprit de corps to reform one of the previous units holding a similar role, of which there are plenty of candidates such as: Army Commandos or the Raider Support Regiment - which operated in support of the SAS and US OSS in the Adriatic and Yugoslavia in the closing stages of the Second World War.
This is a role which any good infantry Bn is capable of performing - back in the '80s line infantry companies were sent to the US to undertake air assault training and performed pretty well.
To my mind the keys to success for this unit will be:
- Continuity in role
- A good mix of heavy infantry weapons: HMGs, Med Mortars, ATGW and MANPADS, together with significant number of trained sniper pairs.
- Integral NGS and FAC parties ( and the kit )
- Most important (and probably least likely to happen) organic logistic support to make the unit and sub units capable of self supporting sustained operations.
This is a real opportunity to deliver enhanced capability, but my fear is the result will be another lashed together light infantry Bn. It will probably depend on the the personality of the first CO and his senior ranks.
EG