#coburn

oc-tober day 11: your ocs as children

I paused on top of a ridge line for a quick brew and something to eat. I had just settled down to my fare when two camouflaged men rudely interrupted me.

"Hello, there", one of the men said in a very posh sounding voice. "Do you think you've got time to spare for that?" I regarded the two of them cautiously over my mug of steaming coffee.

Neither was carrying a bergen of any sort; in fact, both looked as though they were out for a quiet country stroll. "I'm well ahead on my time so I'm allowing myself a 15 minute break before continuing."

"You're not British. Where are you from, Australia?" "New Zealand" I replied carefully, aware that I was obviously talking to an officer of some sort.

The man turned to his companion. "I didn't know we had any foreigners on selection." "Yes, sir" he replied, "There are a couple of Kiwis on this one." He turned back towards me. "Well, I wouldn't stay here too long. You still have a considerable distance to go."

With that, the two of them moved off down the ridge and were out of my sight within minutes. I didn't know it at the time, but that was my first introduction to the CO and RSM of 22 SAS.

- Mike Coburn, SAS special forces operator and author of Soldier Five: The Real Truth About the Bravo Two Zero Mission

John Singer Sargent, Chelsea, January 12th, 1907 Photographer: Alvin Langdon Coburn (British, born United States; 1882–1966) Photogravure, 1913 In: Men of Mark (London: Duckworth; New York: M. Kennerley) The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division