The Blades: Sierra Leone — Josef Black

THE BLADES: SIERRA LEONE is book 3 of 6 in THE BLADES - SAS SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCE short story series following Corporal Danny ‘Feathers' Archer's career from his first days as a member of the British Special Air Service Sabre Squadron Bravo Seven troop.



The Blades: Sierra Leone is approximately 28,000 words (85 printed pages) and a great short read.



During the summer of 2000, a patrol from the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers, was taken hostage by the notorious West Side Boys rebels whilst on UN Peacekeeping duties in Sierra Leone.

In the early weeks of September, after protracted negotiations for their release broke down, a decision to launch a rescue mission codenamed OPERATION BARRAS was made by the British with the permission of the Sierra Leone Government.

A small advanced recon team from the SAS was sent to gather intelligence on the West Side Boys camps at Gberi Bana and Magbeni in preparation for a rescue assault, supported by the SBS (Special Boat Service), Mi6 and Army Intelligence.

Based on intelligence gathered by the SAS recon patrol during a 5 day long covert surveillance operation, an assault was launched to rescue the hostages on the 10th of September 2000, undertaken by a large force of Special Air Service operators, supported by 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment (1 PARA) A Company.



THE BLADES: SIERRA LEONE is a fictionalised dramatisation of the recon and rescue operations carried out during Operation Barras by the SAS.



Captain ‘Tiger' Lane, recently promoted OIC of Bravo 7's newly formed elite SOF rapid response force, is charged with taking his patrol including Feathers, Rusty, Woody & Mack to Sierra Leone, and undertake a dangerous recon operation at the West Side Boys camps, before taking part in the daring airborne helicopter insertion raid to rescue the hostages.



The Blades: SAS Special Operations Force six part short series follows Archer's patrol across a series of fictional missions based on actual SAS global theatre operations.



The Blades: SAS Special Operations Force six part series follows Archer's patrol across a series of fictional missions based on actual SAS global theatre operations in a prequel to The Blades: Oscar Bravo Lima, available now.



The complete six part series is also available as a single edition:

The Blades: SAS Special Operations Force (now available in hardback & ebook editions)



Please note: Contains strong language which some readers may find offensive.

Written and edited in British English.