EXCLUSIVE

FOOD and water security represent a far greater threat to global security than the terrorists from Islamic State, according to former Governor-general Michael Jeffery.

The ex-SAS commander and retired Major General makes his sobering observations in a new video documentary “The Australian SAS: The Untold History” to be launched today in Canberra by Governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove.

media_camera Wrong threat ... Food, not terror, are the worst threats the world is facing, a SAS documentary by Bruce Horsfield says. Picture: Supplied

General Jeffery, who is a passionate food security advocate, said global food production would need to double by 2050 to cope with population growth.

He said freshwater supplies would be unable to cope and vast numbers of people would be on the move seeking a better life.

“If we don’t get on top of food sustainability … then we are going to be in big trouble,” he tells documentary maker and former Commando Bruce Horsfield.

media_camera More food ... Former Governor-general and ex-SAS commander, Major General Michael Jeffery, is a passionate food advocate. Picture: Supplied

The first ever officially sanctioned video documentary of the SAS features hours of unique footage as it tells the story of the elite Perth based Regiment from its formation in 1957 to its key role in Afghanistan and Iraq today.

media_camera SAS documentary by Bruce Horsfield — SAS Signalman in East Timor. Picture: Supplied

It took Dr Horsfield 18 years to complete the series, and it is split into three seasons of 11 episodes covering every aspect of the regiment’s history including the 1980s “doldrums” when it undertook a search for meaning.

The final series examines the modern era from 1999 and East Timor when the SAS became General Cosgrove’s “force of choice” to the emergence of the “strategic soldier” in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The last two episodes deal with the “war of attrition” against the Taliban, and “fighting the assymetric war” against Islamic extremists.

media_camera Fighter ... The new SAS documentary by Bruce Horsfield shows a SAS sniper in Afghanistan. Picture: Supplied

Former SAS commander Major General Mike Hindmarsh says the SAS has gone from fighting “David versus Goliath” battles to fighting “David versus a lot of Davids”.

The big strategic operations are broken up with material from specialised operations such as the capture of the drug ship Pong Su and fighting fish poachers in the Southern Ocean.

The series also deals with more sensitive issues such as Post Traumatic Stress and it includes detailed reflections from current and “old and bold” SAS operators.

Dr Horsfield said one question had always fascinated him, what makes the SAS so hugely successful?

media_camera A scene from the new SAS documentary ... The Bindoon lucky dip is part of the tough selection process. Picture: Supplied

“The SAS Selection Course, the Regiment’s open-minded postmodern ethos and its intensive contingency planning to exploit paradigm shifts came into focus.

“The organisational cultures, formal and informal, of the SAS are a central theme, which, appropriately, shapes the entire series.”

media_camera An example for all ... Bruce Horsfield says SAS is a model of success. Picture: Chris Pavlich

Dr Horsfield said the SAS represented a model of success that should be milked by corporate Australia.

“I would love people to see the series and be refreshed by the humanity of it.

“We are all a bit miserable these days but the SAS is not like that.”

media_camera Australian heroes ... Long Range Patrol Vehicle changing tyre in Afghanistan with sentries posted. Picture: Supplied

In the 2005 book “The Amazing SAS” General Cosgrove, who had deployed SAS operators as his eyes and ears as Interfet commander in East Timor in 1999, said Australia needed its heroes and the SAS was often a source of such heroes.

“We do try to protect their identities, but I think we owe it to the people to say that these ordinary Aussies, trained to an extraordinary degree, are making them proud,” he said.

The documentary series is available on DVD at www.theaustraliansas.com

Originally published as Inside the SAS war on Islamic State