SGT Neil Spackman, kitted out with body armour, helmet and rifle, on patrol in the area of Tarin Kot, Uruzgan as part of winter operations. Sergeant Neil Spackman is the last ‘Nasho,’ or National Servicemen, to have served with the Special Forces in Afghanistan. He has recently returned home from a deployment with the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) in Afghanistan, mentoring security forces and conducting population centric operations in enemy territory.
SGT Neil Spackman stands in front of a Bushmaster in Tarin Kot during his winter deployment to Afghanistan.
Немного инфы про этого знатного дядьку. Его история впечатляет.
Drawing on years of SF experience SGT Neil Spackman recently returned home from a deployment with SOTG in Afghanistan as the last National Serviceman to
serve with special forces.
Sgt Spackman was called up in 1971 at age 20. With the withdrawal from Vietnam already under way, he was spared from a deployment to the South-East Asian theatre.
“It would have been a great experience to go and do what we had trained so hard to do, but it wasn’t to be,” he said. “Sometimes you want to be careful what you wish for.”
Attempting SASR selection in 1972, Sgt Spackman was one of three successful candidates in a field of 30. After qualifying, he was posted to 3 Sabre Sqn, L Tp, where he served until 1973 when major changes in the regiment shifted him to 1 Sqn, C Troop, to hone unconventional, guerrilla and special warfare skills.
In 1975, Sgt Spackman discharged to spend some time back on the family farm at Wellington, but a year later he applied to go back to the SASR.
“They told me I had to pass selection again, and I did,” he said.
He was posted back to 3 Sqn, L Tp and promoted to corporal in 1978. He then joined 1 Sqn in a newly forged counter-terrorism team, trained by the British SAS.
As a senior NCO, Sgt Spackman was posted to the Special Warfare cell in Perth as an instructor.
Transferring to the ARes, Sgt Spackman worked as an instructor with 1 Cdo Regt and SASR on a part-time basis.
In 2003, he deployed to East Timor as personal security for the UN Deputy Commander.
Four years later, he became an assessor for SASR selection. In August last year, while on a selection course, he received a phone call from the OC of 1 Cdo Coy, in charge of the main operational group for SOTG’s winter rotation. “He wanted to know
whether I would be interested in joining a company on their tour in Afghanistan, I said ‘pick me’ before the OC finished his sentence,” Sgt Spackman said.
His four-month tour started in late November and his main role was to mentor elements of the local security force including the Provincial Response Company Uruzgan, a subunit of the Afghan National Police.
“We were training them in the techniques they required to conduct and plan their own operations and honing their skills in the field,” he said.
“They’re continually improving; the more training and operational experience they get, the more professional they become.”
With his successful tour of Afghanistan over, Sgt Spackman will now spend more time with his family, but will also continue to support SASR on a part-time basis.
“I’ve served for so long because of the people I work with and the pleasure I get when I teach people what I know. I love the Army and I love the regiment.
“I’m proud to have served most of my career with the SASR, but I’m equally proud to say I was a Nasho.”
Ссылка на статью о его участии в ротации в Army The solddiers newspaper от 14 апреля 2011, 1256 выпуск.
http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews ... 6/1256.pdf