Word: squadrons
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...first SAS contingent, One Squadron, arrived in southern Afghanistan in late 2001. Under the direction of the American generals overseeing the war, its job was to scour the rugged terrain on foot, locate al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, and help eliminate them. The squadron won high praise from U.S. commanders, particularly for its role in locating and orchestrating an attack on a senior al-Qaeda leader. When Three Squadron replaced One Squadron in April 2002, its members felt they had much to live up to. Redback Kilo Three's first mission, in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, kept...
...fighters. Intelligence reports suggested there were gun emplacements and bunkers on the mountainsides and that the enemy were using part of the area as an escape route to Pakistan. The patrol was to observe for one or two days and then remain in place while the rest of the squadron patrolled openly through the valley...
...Thirty-five kilometers to the south, the rest of Three Squadron were lying about on their vehicles, dozing in the sun after an exhausting night patrol, when a message came over the radio - Kilo 3 was in trouble. Forming a convoy, the squadron charged to the rescue, telling the patrol they were on the way. But it would take them more than two hours to reach the besieged men: RK3 would have to hang on until nightfall. As the shadows lengthened, and the assault grew less intense, the troopers saw the SAS vehicles' lights heading up the Taraka valley...
...bombing forced them back until daybreak. One of the tribal elders had a walkie-talkie. He managed to call a nearby police station, whose officers contacted the coalition base at Khost, about 60 km away, to say U.S. warplanes were killing innocent tribesmen. Once out of the valley, three squadron found a safe area and made camp. There, says the patrol leader, the trooper who had taken the trophies began showing them off, even putting on the dead man's turban. When the patrol leader found out about this he informed the squadron sergeant-major, who confiscated the looted items...
...According to the patrol leader, Khan called the squadron's members together, reminded them of the rule against taking cameras on operations, and smashed the RK3 trooper's camera in front of them. Khan told the patrol members he would deal with them when they returned to Australia, but the leader said, "'That's not acceptable,' " he recalls. "People forget things in four months." Because "the allegations against me were serious," he reported the incident to the SAS regimental commander. The trooper who had taken the camera on patrol and looted the body was charged with a minor offense, received...