The Big Breach - Index of

The Big Breach; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments of http://www.192.compulled out the blue flag to show that she should give way. But it wasto no avail. Lap after lap, the leaders sat on her bumper, trying toget past. Being lighter than the men behind her, she could acceleratemore quickly on the straights, but tiptoed around the corners. Themarshalls waved their flags more vigorously, but it was in vain. Shejust took one hand off the steering wheel and waved back at them. Ifound out from Julian that she was called Sarah.After the karting we went for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. Inthe mˆl‚e as we waited to be seated, to my surprise I found that sheseemed to be trying to get a seat near me. We chatted all evening andended up going out to dinner again two days later.Although the core activity of MI6 is agent-running, its charter, knownas the `Order Book', requires it to maintain a capability to plan andmount `Special Operations' of a quasi-military nature. MI6 officers donot have the necessary military skills to carry out such operationsthemselves. Their role is to set the objectives of the operation andobtain political clearance for it from the Foreign Secretary.Thereafter the operation is executed by specially trained officers andmen from the three branches of the armed forces.The Royal Air Force provides a small detachment of around ten pilotsknown as the `S&D flight'. They are selected by the RAF for theiroutstanding skills and most arrive with prior experience in the specialforces flights which service the SAS and SBS. They operate a HerculesC-130 transport aircraft and a Puma helicopter, are trained on manyother military aircraft, and because they may be required to flycommercial aircraft the lucky selectees also obtain civilian commercialpilot's licences. The C-130 is mostly used for delivering or recoveringequipment at overseas stations which are too big or dangerous to travelin a diplomatic bag, and the Puma is used for ferrying MI6 personneland VIPs around the UK, particularly on the shuttle run between HeadOffice and the Fort. It can frequently be seen at Battersea Heliport orover London on such journeys, distinguishable from normal RAF Pumas bythe large undercarriage containing long-range fuel tanks.The army provides a detachment from the SAS regiment, calledRevolutionary Warfare Wing in Hereford, and the navy provides a smalldetachment from their Special Boat Service in Poole. Both have similarroles as far as MI6 is concerned and are known collectively within theservice as the `increment'. To qualify for the increment, SAS and SBSpersonnel must have served for at least five years and have reached therank of sergeant. They are security vetted by MI6 and given a shortinduction course into the function and objectives of the service. Ifthey have not already learnt surveillance skills, they take a threeweekcourse at the Fort. Back at their bases in Hereford and Poole,their already substantial military skills are fine-tuned. They learnhow to use improvised explosives and sabotage techniques, as well asadvanced VIP protection skills, study guerilla warfare organisation andpractise advanced insertion techniques - for example high-altitudeparachuting from commercial aircraft or covert landings fromsubmarines. Advanced civilian qualifications are acquired: several ofthe SBS Increment have commercial ship's skipper's tickets in theiralias name, enabling them legally to hire, say, a fishing trawler.page- 48 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version of this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com