The passing of another Australian military legend

[Targan]

Last week the founding commander of the Australian SAS Regiment, Lt Col Bill Braithwaite, died aged 91. I've just read an interesting article in my city's main weekday newspaper which talks about a letter that Lt Col Braithwaite was forced to sign by the top brass of the Australian Army in which he agreed to take full responsibility in the event that the SAS were slaughtered by the enemy in the Vietnam War; it seems that the Generals firmly believed that SAS patrols of only 4 to 6 men were too small and that the unit would be wiped out as a result.

As we all know now, Lt Col Braithwaite (and his fellow SAS commanders in the UK and New Zealand) were proved right in the way they set up SAS patrols.