The
Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated
SASR though commonly known as the
SAS, is an
elite special operations force of the
Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was originally modelled on the
British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins", and draws on the experiences of Australian
Services Reconnaissance Department,
independent companies,
Coastwatchers and
M and
Z Special Units during
World War II. Based at
Campbell Barracks, in
Swanbourne, a suburb of
Perth, Western Australia, the regiment is a direct command unit of the
Special Operations Command. It has been involved in operations in
Borneo during the
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, the
Vietnam War,
Somalia,
Kuwait,
East Timor,
Iraq and
Afghanistan, as well as many other peacekeeping missions. It also provides a counter-terrorist capability, and has been involved in a number of domestic security operations.