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Old 16th February 2006 | 01:49
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gadgetguru
 
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 188
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From: Victoria
SASR Vietnam fatality

one of the few casualties for the regiment in SVN was an extraction where a trooper clipped into a loop made by the free end of the rope & the tape fastening it to the line, instead of the figure-8 loop.

Following the incident SOP's requried all figure-8 knots free ends be taped flush to knot to prevent repetition.

i think they were under fire at the time or not when it happened, (i am uncertain, story was conveyed by the SASR cadre staff rope-master when we were doing our training) but those lads were always in tiger country & it's not the sort of mistake you make when you're fully aware of where you will be in a few seconds. I don't recall whether they retrieved the blokes body or not - i think they did.

maybe there is an crusty ex-RAAF huey pilot lurking about here with some more (accurate) info...
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