As of 2019, 'The Ministry of Defence' or MOD as they are colloquially known are allowing Women into all combat roles in the Military. Including the 'SAS' which until now has been male-dominated. The SAS whose motto is "Who Dares Wins," has a pass rate of less than 10 percent due to the gruelling nature of the selection process that tests both the mental and physical strength of its Recruits.
Now, Channel 4's hit TV show "SAS: Who Dares Wins," has returned and welcomed a group of women to join the process for the first time. However, nothing in the process has changed, and no allowances have been made for the women "Equality in the special forces has to be for the right reasons," was Ant Middleton, an ex-Special Forces, Chief Inspector's opinion on the matter.
Numbers not Genders
The first episode of the show was rightly called "Equals" as Ant and his team made it clear "We're not going to change anything on this course, gender doesn't even come into it now," as each Recruit was given a number which they will be known by throughout their time in the process.
Moments after arriving at camp, the recruits saw first had that there would be no special treatment as they were all asked to strip down in front of each other before being given their uniforms. The recruits will also sleep in the same cabin together, and all facilities are shared.
At any point in the process, all recruits have the choice to drop out, simply by handing in their number to one of the "Staff" and calling "Voluntary Withdrawal," which three recruits had done within 24hours of entering the process.
Data Engineer Qash was the first to leave due to a conflict in his religious beliefs and the shared facilities.
Later two of the women Sharissa, a Personal Trainer and Kat a Civil Service Communicator after the effects of the high altitude and cold temperatures became too much for them to manage
Taking a Beasting
Gender was also ignored when it came to "Beasting," a form of Military bullying where Ant and his team push the Recruits to their limits, calling them names and yelling at them.
In the first episode of the show, it also included Recruits pouring the water bottles over their own heads and then made to stand out in the cold.
Shortly after this, the Recruits were made to partner up and take turns to run holding each other on their backs as the ran around the square. This exercise also meant that women were required to carry men, some of whom were twice their side.
It was not only the "Beasting's" that took gender out of the equation but also the training exercises that included being questioned in freezing cold water and carrying 60 kg of weight behind their backs as the climbed a snowy mountain. At one point Ant mocked the new female Recruits as the struggled, shouting at them "Low and behold the last four are f***ing chicks, surprise f***ing surprise."
The Mole
As the first Recruit Petra, known as "9" was taken for the first "Tactical Questioning" of the series, it was quickly revealed that she was, in fact, a mole. Although allowing Women into all areas of the Military in the UK is a recent change, in Sweden, Women have been on the front line for the last decade.
Petra is especially experienced having been the first female ever in the "Swedish Special Forces." Over the year's she became more than used to having to prove herself and been seen as an equal in a male-dominated career. When talking about the SAS Ant pointed out that "For eighty-eight years we've been a band of brothers. An elite fighting force."
