Who Dares Wins. So says the motto of Britain’s most elite special operations unit, the Special Air Service (SAS). For the SAS, these words are more than just a motto. Those who serve in the unit are expected to deploy behind enemy lines or infiltrate hostile nations, many times relying only on their individual abilities and cunning to survive. Yet even the soldiers who make up this elite unit, many of whom have risked all for their country in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere around the globe, are not beyond the wrath of Britain’s anti-gun extremists.
In 2013, Sgt. Danny Nightingale, a decorated SAS veteran with over 18 years of military service, was convicted for possession of a single handgun found in the army-owned house that he shared with another SAS soldier. The prosecution proceeded despite the fact that Sgt. Nightingale was a highly trained soldier who was entrusted with more dangerous weapons by his own government and was actually serving a deployment to Afghanistan when the handgun was discovered. Following Sgt. Nightingale’s court martial, the SAS implemented a “no questions asked” amnesty for soldiers to turn in any contraband arms or equipment.
The unit’s members complied with the amnesty in good faith, perhaps to avoid being the next example for those who would dare to violate Britain’s strict gun laws. According to a British news source, however, the military commanders who organized the amnesty were alarmed at the amount of surrendered arms and ordered the Royal Military Police to investigate how the surrendered hardware was smuggled past security.
It shouldn’t be surprising that soldiers trained to requisition and smuggle equipment necessary to carry out their missions were able get firearms into their own country. Nor should it surprise anyone that soldiers in an elite combat unit whose foundational principle is to be more daring than their adversaries would attract the type of soldiers who would take such risks. What is surprising is that the soldiers’ commanders were willing to completely abandon their trust by implementing an aggressive investigation despite the “no questions asked” policy.
At a time when anti-gun politicians in the Untied States encourage us to follow the British example on gun control, it’s enlightening to see just how far England has gone towards anti-gun extremism. In the UK’s anti-gun dystopia, it’s ok for government authorities to lie and entrap their country’s most distinguished soldiers as long as it furthers their extreme anti-gun agenda and its goals.
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