Wanna know what Bear is my hero?

[BlackHills]

He was 21 SAS, Territorial Army, which is not necessarily the Regular SAS. One must be 21 SAS for at least 3 years, then they may apply for selection by regular 22 SAS. This does not mean they become 22 SAS. It just means they have earned the right to try out. There's a difference between the units.

Exact info is slim (even the British Army website has nothing about regular SF units, only TA units), but from what I can find for 22 SAS "A candidate must be male and have been a regular member of the Armed Forces for at least three years or a member of 21 SAS or 23 SAS for at least 18 months."

The TA is the Reserve component of the British Army. While that's not exactly the same as the Regular SAS, just as in the US that line is not as distinct as it was in the past. It also doesn't mean the men wearing the the SAS beret and patch in 21 SAS haven't gone through some tough training.

From http://www.specwarnet.net/europe/sas.htm

"Selection for the TA SAS is held over a nine month period, in which candidates are expected to keep in top physical shape. Selection is only held on the weekends and one night a week. Although it is held only on weekends, TA SAS Selection is still extremely hard. Every candidate must first pass a Pre-Selection. This includes a timed run and ruck marches over the hills. The students will go to the Brecons to get a taste of Selection. As Selection continues, SAS students are expected to increase their times over the hills and deal with the additional weight. At the end of the course is the infamous "Long Drag". Long Drag is the longest single ruck march through the Brecons. It is a 60 kilometer march through some of the worlds hardest terrain. Every SAS soldier must pass this. It usually takes about 20 hours to complete although it is said TA SAS candidates get a little slack on that, maybe 30 minutes. At the end every student must also pass escape and evasion and TQ (or Tactical Questioning). At the end of Selection each soldier is sent to RAF Brize Norton for parachute training. One this is done the soldier is allowed to wear the coveted tan beret and winged dagger patch. At the end of Selection, maybe 10% of have passed. On two occasions recruits have been found dead in the Brecons. Regulars from 22 SAS used to see the TA SAS Regiments as a bunch of "weekend warriors", however after General Sir Peter De La Billiere served as Commandant of the SAS he made it a rule that an officer or Senior NCO wishing to gain rank had to serve with the TA SAS. This increased the relationship between the Regiments and laid the ground work for quite a bit of respect among them as well."

To get back on topic, I don't have cable or a dish and seldom watch TV. I have seen Bear a few times when visiting friends and found him entertaining. I haven't seen Les. If either inspires someone to learn more about survival then it's a good thing. If either makes someone think they know how to survive just by watching the shows, then that person is a moron. Just my 2¢...

 

[Dantor]

couldn't help it Vic (whichdawg )

 

[Old Painless]

I saw that episode with the cliff and he did explain it wasnt the wisest or safest option. he took a calculated risk and entertained us with what most of us wouldnt dare think about.
but i know, not the "real" SAS. maybe that cliff was cgi. maybe it was a stunt double. maybe he climbed a different everest than the one thats in the himalayas...
c'mon guys

 

[Brian Jones]

Sorry, guys. Wrong survival information gets people killed. My personal stance and I'm uncompromising on that.

It's still fun to watch and the pace is great. I just feel the urge to make sure people don't buy into a lot of his techniques.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

Sorry, guys. Wrong survival information gets people killed. My personal stance and I'm uncompromising on that.

Bingo! Just felt I should interject that Bear is not in fact my personal hero, but that pic is hilarious to me.

I've talked to too many people who think what he does is good advice, that's not OK. It's fine for entertainment for the Enlightened.

 

[Old Painless]

Hmm. I guess I have not seen enough to see so much misinformation on survival techniques. Saying something like "I wouldn't normally jump off of this cliff, but if I were (blah blah blah) and I had to take the jump, then I would (calculate, measure, etc) and do it like this."
That's not misinformation.

I guess bottomline is, let's critique the bad information then. All I am seeing is a bashing and poking fun at the person. Bad taste I think.
If info needs to be corrected, then let's post about that. I would actually love that.

 

[Brian Jones]

Old Painless, we have fun at his expense, but it's all just kidding around. Sorry if you're offended. But take it with a grain of salt. Now, if someone tries to be funny, and it falls flat, then it's time to complain.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

If I had my own survival show (and wasn't married) I'd have some hot chick in distress 3/4 of the way through every show. I'd help her out and be all suave, winking at the camera n sh**, and then at the end when rescue arrives we shoo them away all Roger Moore style.

What? A guy can dream!

 

[Wandering_About]

If I had my own survival show (and wasn't married) I'd have some hot chick in distress 3/4 of the way through every show. I'd help her out and be all suave, winking at the camera n sh**, and then at the end when rescue arrives we shoo them away all Roger Moore style.

What? A guy can dream!

For some reason I'm seeing a prime opportunity for a Benny Hill-style chase scene in here somewhere after some bear-avoidance techniques go wrong.

(I'm pretty sure this is going to be one of those not-funny posts mentioned earlier)

 

[Horn Dog]

For some reason I'm seeing a prime opportunity for a Benny Hill-style chase scene in here somewhere after some bear-avoidance techniques go wrong.

(I'm pretty sure this is going to be one of those not-funny posts mentioned earlier)

Benny Hill was funny to me. Maybe the Monty Python "Fighting with fruit" Army training would fit in just as well.

 

[Old Painless]

Old Painless, we have fun at his expense, but it's all just kidding around. Sorry if you're offended. But take it with a grain of salt. Now, if someone tries to be funny, and it falls flat, then it's time to complain.

Brian, no offense taken brother. I just consistently see the mockery so I thought "C'mon guys what is the deal?" Then I see that there are legitimate (or are said to be legit) complaints so then I thought "Oh okay. Let's talk about those then." That's all. Grylls is not my relative or buddy or anything. BUT, if he were, I certainly would be offended.

 

[Horn Dog]

Boy did I ever get hammered over on the General forum for buying a Bear Grylls knife. I think Bear is the real deal. I couldn't do the stuff he does. I wouldn't recommend some of it, either. But I enjoy a laugh as much as anybody.

 

[kgd]

I'm with Brian on this one. Bear rationalizing his so called survival situations is kind of like Evil Knievil rationalizing about how one might might just have to deal with a situation of jumping ten buses on their mortocycle due to a traffic jam.

The whole concept of bear violates the primary rule in survival. Stop, think and assess the situtation. Bear runs, doesn't think and relies on agility as though this will get him through anything. The reality is that it is completely unlikely that Bear would actually perform most of the hair brained things he does without a support crew to help him out if things go awry. Similarly, Evil K. himself wouldn't do his crazy stunts without his crew and safety supports. The only difference is that Evil K. always claimed, this was something for lunatics - kids don't try this at home. I recognize the new edits of Bear's shows have lots of qualifiers now in place, but this was an afterthought that was forced on the show. The format and bravado haven't really changed and I think the man does a real diservice to the survival movement.

 

[Brian Jones]

That's all. Grylls is not my relative or buddy or anything. BUT, if he were, I certainly would be offended.

That's good, because I'd say, "Munch on my feces." But Bear already does, so it wouldn't be anything that phased him or his relatives...

Sorry. Somebody STROP...ah, fuggedaboudit...

 

[shotgunner11]

I just watched Man vs. Wild, panama. I still like the show. I've said it before and I'll say it over and over, I'd rather watch Bear fake it then most of the other crap on TV.

At least I get to see the great scenery and topics I'm interested in instead of the same tired plotlines on one of the 12 different Law and Order's or a bunch of people arguing on a "reality" show

I can see the POV of some of the info being a possible danger but if your dumb enough to try most of the dangerous stuff, we get into the realm of natural selection if you know what I mean.

Oh, and I like his knife.

 

[Brian Jones]

if your dumb enough to try most of the dangerous stuff, we get into the realm of natural selection if you know what I mean.

Ya know, there's a good point. It's like the life and death survival version of free market economics!

 

[kgd]

I can see the POV of some of the info being a possible danger but if your dumb enough to try most of the dangerous stuff, we get into the realm of natural selection if you know what I mean.

Acceptable response for 40 year olds. But natural selection has always worked its magic on youth - as they are the most impressionable. You don't have to go much further than youtube to find 8-10 year old trying every WWE maneuver and possibly Bear-like feats of adventure. The OP is more telling in how many young folks really feel about this guy and would like to demonstrate their ability to emulate his actions.

 

[Wildone39]

Well I like them both and I hope they stay on for a LONG LONG LONG time. There not many good shows on tv any more that I like and those two shows are 2 that I love and never miss. Les Stroud and Bear Gyills are both great guys But Ron Hood is the man.

 

[tholiver]

Bear is generally like-able but sooner or later his antics will get him killed or seriously injured or perhaps he will break his back a second and final time.
Bear always acts as if there are enemy troops after him and hes got to do this really crazy stuff so he won't get caught.
He takes the "versus" part of "Man Versus Wild" too literally.
I prefer Les Stroud and Ray Mears for more rational, informative programming.

I do like "Man VS Wild" but for me its strictly entertainment.
Its sad because there is some good info there its just mixed in with a lot of really bad info.

 

[tholiver]

I just watched Man vs. Wild, panama. I still like the show. I've said it before and I'll say it over and over, I'd rather watch Bear fake it then most of the other crap on TV.

At least I get to see the great scenery and topics I'm interested in instead of the same tired plotlines on one of the 12 different Law and Order's or a bunch of people arguing on a "reality" show

I can see the POV of some of the info being a possible danger but if your dumb enough to try most of the dangerous stuff, we get into the realm of natural selection if you know what I mean.

Oh, and I like his knife.

Well those who take his bad advice likely won't survive to sue.
But if one of them does survive and the suit is successful well thats the end of that show.
And it might take down a bunch of other shows with it too.
Network weasels don't care about public safety (or quality content) but they do care about their wallets.
One big very public lawsuit could effectively kill survival/wilderness shows for fear of lawsuits.
Or it could force them to water it down so they are 20% information and 80% "don't try this at home" warnings.
Unfortunately we live in a very litigious age and Man Vs Wild just seems like a prime candidate for a law suit.
There are certainly enough web-pages full of materials listing the specific problems with Bears advice.That would work against him for sure.
If it went to trial i think Bear would lose pretty fast.