| Special Reconnaissance Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Badge | |
| Active | 6 April 2005 – present[1] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Special forces |
| Role | Special reconnaissance,Surveillance |
| Size | 200-600est.[2][3][4][5] |
| Part of | United Kingdom Special Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Stirling Lines,Hereford,United Kingdom |
| March | Argus |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-in-Chief | Queen Camilla[7] |
| Abbreviation | SRR |
TheSpecial Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is aspecial forces unit of theBritish Army that provides advanced and specialistsurveillance andspecial reconnaissance capabilities. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of theUnited Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).[1]
The regiment conducts a wide range of classified activities related to covert surveillance and reconnaissance. The SRR draws its personnel from existing units and can recruit male and female volunteers from any branch of theBritish Armed Forces.[8][9]
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment conducts surveillance operations mainly concerning, but not limited to,counter-terrorism (CT) activities.[10] It was formed to relieve theSpecial Air Service and theSpecial Boat Service of that role and is believed to contain around 500–600 personnel.[3] Media reports stated they are based alongside the Special Air Service atStirling Lines barracks,Credenhill inHerefordshire.[8] The SRR was formed to meet a demand for a special reconnaissance capability identified in theStrategic Defence Review: A New Chapter published in 2002 in response to the 2001September 11 attacks on the US.[11] The regiment was formed around a core of the already established14 Intelligence Company, which played a similar role against theProvisional IRA inNorthern Ireland duringthe Troubles.[4] The first commanding officer of the SRR wasTim Radford, then alieutenant colonel.[12]
The regiment was active during theIraq War as part ofTask Force Black/Knight. Although members of other British Special forces units were sceptical of the value of the regiment, by mid-2006 a handful of SRR operators were operating inBaghdad. They formed Special Reconnaissance detachments that were commanded by SRR officers. The force was made up of Task Force Black/Knight operators who carried out difficult surveillance missions throughout the city.[13]
In the aftermath of21 July 2005 London bombings, the SRR attached one of its members to each of theMetropolitan Police Service's surveillance teams to provide additional capability to a seriously overstretchedSO12.[14]
On 22 July 2005Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by armed police officers on aLondon Underground train atStockwell tube station. Three media reports carry unconfirmed assertions by unattributed UK government sources that SRR personnel were involved in theintelligence collection effort leading to the shooting and were on the tube train when it happened. A partial Ministry of Defence response was reported byThe Sunday Times.[15][16][17]
On 27 June 2006, a 16-man unit from C Squadron, Special Boat Service and the SRR carried out Operation Ilois: an operation that covertly captured fourTaliban leaders in compounds on the outskirts ofSangin,Helmand province. As they returned to theirLand Rover vehicles, they were ambushed by an estimated 60 to 70 Taliban insurgents. With one vehicle disabled byrocket-propelled grenade fire, the team took cover in an irrigation ditch and requested assistance while holding off the Taliban force. The Helmand Battle Group had not been informed of the operation until it went wrong; aquick reaction force made up of a platoon ofGurkhas responded but ran into another insurgent ambush; one SBS member was seriously injured in the ambush. After an hour-long gunfight (some sources say three), the Gurkha quick reaction force and the 16-man unit, supported by a U.S.A-10 Thunderbolt and twoHarrier GR7s managed to break contact and return to the closestforward operating base; two of the four Taliban leaders were killed in the firefight while the remaining two escaped in the chaos. Upon reaching the forward operating base it was discovered that Captain David Patton, SRR, and Sergeant Paul Bartlett, SBS were missing – one was helping wounded out of a vehicle when he was shot and assumed killed, while the second went missing during the firefight. A company from theParachute Regiment in an RAF Chinook took off to find them, a pair of Apaches spotted the bodies and the Parachute Regiment troops recovered them. One SBS member was awarded theMC for his actions in the ambush.[18][19][20]
In March 2009,Chief Constable SirHugh Orde informed theNorthern Ireland Policing Board that he had asked for the Special Reconnaissance Regiment to be deployed inNorthern Ireland to help thePolice Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) gather information ondissident republicans. He stated that they would have no operational role and would be fully accountable, as required by theSt Andrews Agreement.Deputy First Minister andSinn Féin MPMartin McGuinness and Sinn Féin leaderGerry Adams condemned the move, butDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP) MPIan Paisley, Jr. said the SRR "poses absolutely no threat to any community in Northern Ireland".[21][22]
In April 2011, theTelegraph reported that a surveillance team from the SRR had spent three weeks tracking a cell of four men belonging to theÓglaigh na hÉireann (ONH)-a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group operating in Northern Ireland made up of members who split from the Real IRA. The SRR members (who were reportedly working for theMetropolitan Police'sCounter Terrorism Command) watched the men, who photographed key roads and buildings in London, including theOlympic Stadium. Intelligence suggested that ONH and other dissident Republicans were not aiming to launch mass-casualty attacks but continue to target police and military targets. One source said the unit was not thought to have the capability of launching a terrorist attack on mainland Britain, although some dissidents have that capacity. The cell was not thought to be targeting theroyal wedding.[23]
By the end of July 2011, a 24-man British special forces team from D Squadron 22 SAS, including members of the SRR who were expert in covert intelligence gathering had been deployed to Libya to train and mentorNTC units against theGaddafi regime during theLibyan Civil war. These forces linked up withCommandement des Opérations Spéciales, the French Special Forces Command (French Army), in Zuwaytinah, the command headquarters for the eastern front, 90 miles south west ofBenghazi. From there they were sent to the west of the country viaTunisia to train rebels in thewestern mountains, in places likeZintan.[24]
In April 2016, it was reported that members of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment were seconded toMI6 teams inYemen to train Yemeni forcesfightingAQAP, as well as identifying targets for drone strikes. Along with the SAS, they have been carrying out a similar role inSomalia.[25][26][27]
The SRR performs clandestine intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions.[28] It has a focus onspecial reconnaissance[4][23] andsurveillance[29][30][31] to aid in counter-terrorism[32][33] andcounterinsurgency efforts.[34]
Personnel retain the uniforms of their parent organisations with the addition of an "emerald grey" colouredberet and the SRRcap badge. UKSF units display the mythical swordExcalibur on their cap badges, in the case of the SRR behind aCorinthian helmet and with a scroll inscribedRECONNAISSANCE.[4] Thestable belt of the SRR is similar in style to that of the SAS, but is a darkermidnight blue.[35]
The 250-strong SRR, set up to fight the war on terror, backs the SAS and SBS.
the new unit, which he estimates will be between 500 and 600-strong
the new 300 to 400-strong regiment
As a Lieutenant Colonel, he developed the Army's leadership doctrine at Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, before forming and commanding the Special Reconnaissance Regiment.
{{cite news}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)Geoff Hoon, then defence secretary, announced...'the pursuit of international terrorists' would be the SRR's priority.
The skills learned there were thought to be useful in the war against terror... Following the London bombings in July 2005, the SRR was deployed on the streets of the capital to counter the terrorist threat.
The British even established a new Special Forces unit called the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) in 2005 to take on insurgents.
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