To be eligible for SBS selection, a candidate formerly must have served for at least two years in the Royal Marines or the Royal Navy, but now they can volunteer from any arm of the services. If selected they must then pass a rigorous selection course to qualify as a swimmer canoeist.
There is also an SBS Reserve (SBS(R)), and candidates must have previous military experience or have served at least two years in the Royal Marines Reserve before attending a Specialist course and gaining the specialist qualification of swimmer canoeist. SBS(R) provides individual reservists to serve with the regular SBS.
Role
The SBS's role is not confined to seaborne and maritime operations; their responsibilities do not end at the tide line. The SBS usually provides the special forces element of 3 Commando BrigadeRoyal Marines and is responsible for Maritime Counter-Terrorism operations, including the protection of oil rigs and vessels at sea.
It also has the responsibility for conducting coastal reconnaissance before amphibious operations. This involves conducting hydrographic surveys (surveying beaches and coastal waters to determine their suitability for amphibious landings) and landing small teams ashore covertly, to conduct reconnaissance patrols or set up coast-watch observation posts; as the SBS and Boat Troops of the SAS did in the Falklands war in 1982.
Training
SBS training concentrates on swimming, demolitions, diving, infiltrating ships at sea and oil platforms, and parachuting. Klepper canoes are standard issue. They are also trained to parachute and to undertake high-speed rope deployments from helicopters. One of their roles is to protect Britain's offshore oil rigs.
Those who pass the selection course then undergo a Swimmer Canoeist (SC3) (frogman) training course. During this course the candidates are still considered to be on probation. The swimmer canoeist course includes survival training in the wilds of Scotland and diving training in cold water with poor visibility. In the diving phase they swim underwater for miles in dark and mud. The course includes beach reconnaissance, canoeing, photography, underwater demolitions, and maritime counter-terrorism training.
Like members of the Brigade Patrol Troop, SBS marines are trained as parachutists and are distinguishable by wearing the parachute wings badge on the shoulder of the right sleeve on their uniforms.
Formerly all ranks could serve for up to three years in the SBS. But, as there was shortage of people applying and the SBS was unwilling to lower its entry standards, it was decided that the best alternative was to let some of its men serve for longer. An officer now can spend the rest of his career in the SBS, but an NCO has to return to the Royal Marines after his term is up (this is the opposite situation from in the SAS). Normally whether or not an officer can stay for the rest of his career, is decided case by case.
Organisation
The SBS is thought to have a complement of around 100 "Swimmer Canoeists" at any one time. These are split into four squadrons.
C and X squadrons rotate through three specialist roles.
M squadron is the maritime counter-terrorism and shipboard operations unit. Within M-Squadron is the Black Group, the counter-terrorism team that uses helicopter-borne assaults.
Z squadron takes care of small watercraft and minisub insertions.
1941: The Special Air Service was formed in World War II during the north African conflict. The SAS later formed a unit comprising eight-man sections of divers and canoeists to reconnoitre enemy fortifications from land or sea, raid enemy ports, and conduct sabotage operations against merchant shipping. Originally this unit was named the Special Boat Section to fool German radio operators listening in on British military communications. It was assumed that Wehrmacht operators would have little interest in a "Special Boat Section" when there was so much else going on.
1942 April: The British Royal Navy formed a frogman and manned torpedo unit called "Experimental Submarine Flotilla": see British commando frogmen for more about them and their deeds in 1942 to 1945.
1951: Another two squadrons were formed from British troops in West Germany.
Two volunteer squadrons were later added. Their first missions were in Palestine (ordnance removal) and in Haifa (limpet mine removal from ships).
1950-1953: In the Korean War the SBS were in action along the North Korean coast. They gathered intelligence and destroyed railways and installations. The SBS operated first from submarines, and later from islands off Wonsan, behind enemy lines. They used two-man canoes and motorised inflatable boats.
1952: SBS teams were held at combat readiness in Egypt in case Gamal Abdal Nasser's coup turned more violent than it did.
1956: The SBS were alerted during the Suez Crisis, but did not see action.
1969 September: The SBS were alerted during a coup against king Idris I of Libya, but did not see action. Similar situations followed.
1961: The SBS primarily gathered intelligence and trained other special forces during the Vietnam War.
1961: Iraq threatened to invade Kuwait for the first time, so the SBS put a detachment at Bahrain.
later: The SBS was stationed in Gibraltar, where they gathered intelligence in case Franco's Spain decided to invade.
The SBS were involved in anti-drug operations in the Caribbean.
1972: The SAS and SBS came into the spotlight for a moment during their involvement with a bomb threat (which later proved to be a hoax) onboard the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth II, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
1977: The SBS changed its name to Special Boat Squadron.
1987: The SBS changed its name to Special Boat Service and was brought under the command of the Director of Special Forces.
1991: During the Gulf War, the SBS made raids on the Kuwaiti coast to draw Iraqi troops away from the land attack. The liberation of the British embassy in Kuwait was one of their most high-profile operations.
1999 or later: The SBS were involved in operations in East Timor.
2006 June 27: One SBS Marine and one seconded Parachute Regiment officer were killed and one seriously injured in a Taliban ambush in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan.
Throughout the Cold War, the SBS was organised to perform a "conventional " special forces role for the 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines . However, in recent decades the SBS's role has become more and more devoted to counter-terrorist operations.
