Special Air Service Regiment

Special Air Service Regiment
Cap badge of the Special Air Service Regiment
Active	25 July 1957 (as 1st SAS Coy) 20 August 1964 – present (as SASR)
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Special forces Special mission unit
Role	Special operations Counter-terrorism
Size	One regiment
Part of	Special Forces Group
Garrison/HQ	Campbell Barracks, Swanbourne, Western Australia[1]
Nickname(s)	"Chicken stranglers"[2] "Snake eaters"[2]
Motto(s)	"Who Dares Wins"[3]
March	Quick – The Happy Wanderer[4] Slow – Lili Marlene
Engagements	Indonesian Confrontation Vietnam War Somali Civil War 1999 East Timorese crisis  • INTERFET War on Terror  • Afghanistan War   • Operation Slipper  • Iraq War   • Operation Falconer  • Military intervention against ISIL   • Operation Okra 2006 East Timorese crisis  • Operation Astute
Decorations	Unit Citation for Gallantry Meritorious Unit Citation[5] Presidential Unit Citation
Commanders
Notable commanders	Michael Jeffery (1976–77) Jim Wallace (1988–90)[6] Duncan Lewis (1990–91) Mike Hindmarsh (1997–99) Tim McOwan (1999–2001) Gus Gilmore (2001–02) Rick Burr (2003–04)
Insignia
Unit colour patch
Abbreviation	SASR

The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957 as a company, it was modelled on the British SAS with which it shares the motto, "Who Dares Wins". Expanded to a regiment in August 1964, it is based at Campbell Barracks, in Swanbourne, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, and is a direct command unit of the Special Operations Command.

The regiment first saw active service in Borneo in 1965 and 1966 during the Indonesian Confrontation, mainly conducting reconnaissance patrols, including secret cross-border operations into Indonesian territory. The regiment's three squadrons were rotated through Vietnam, carrying out tasks included medium-range reconnaissance patrols, observation of enemy troop movements, and long-range offensive operations and ambushing in enemy dominated territory. They also served with US Army Special Forces, and conducted training missions. The SASR squadrons were highly successful, and were known to the Viet Cong as Ma Rung or "phantoms of the jungle" due to their stealth.

Following the Sydney Hilton bombing of February 1978, the regiment became responsible for developing a military counter-terrorism response force in August 1979, known as the Tactical Assault Group (TAG). SASR troops have also served in Somalia, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as many other peacekeeping missions. The SASR also provides a counter-terrorist capability, and has been involved in a number of domestic security operations. It has been alleged that some SASR personnel committed war crimes in Afghanistan.