Description
Description: Selous Scouts (Other Ranks) beret badge
Maker’s Name: N/A
Condition: Very Good
Comments: Selous Scouts (Other Ranks) beret badge complete with 2 lugs.
The Selous Scouts was a special forces regiment of the Rhodesian Army, which operated from 1973 until the introduction of majority rule in 1980. It was named after British explorer Frederick Courteney Selous (1851-1917), and their motto was pamwe chete, which, in the Shona language, roughly means “all together”, “together only” or “forward together”. The charter of the Selous Scouts directed them to “the clandestine elimination of terrorists/terrorism both within and without the country.”The badge signifies the osprey, a fish-eating bird of prey that is not common, but is instead found in small numbers in many parts of the world where there are large stretches of water.
The Selous Scouts acted as a combat reconnaissance force, with the mission of infiltrating Rhodesia’s tribal population and guerrilla networks, pinpointing rebel groups and relaying vital information back to the conventional forces earmarked to carry out the actual attacks. Members of the regiment were trained to operate in small under-cover, clandestine teams capable of working independently in the bush for periods of weeks and of passing themselves off as rebels. The Selous Scouts were an entirely volunteer force. On one occasion, 14 out 126 candidates a mere 15 percent of the total applicant pool passed the selection process.
A major component of the Selous Scouts besides pseudo-operations was the long-range reconnaissance and to direct a fire force against guerrillas. As a result by 1974, the Selous Scouts had captured or killed 100 guerrillas. By the end of 1976 they killed 1,257 guerrillas that year alone. On the other hand, the other security forces of Rhodesia combined had killed only 400.
