The Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) was first formed in the sands of Libya in the early 1940s. This branch of the British military was designed to penetrate and operate behind enemy lines in North Africa, and it succeeded. The SAS destroyed hundreds of Nazi planes and freed countless Allied prisoners. It even tried (unsuccessfully) to kidnap Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Nazi Germany's top commander in Africa. After briefly disbanding at the end of World War II, the SAS reformed and has participated in a number of conflicts around the world, including ending the siege of the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. It is now most often sent to conflict zones, including in Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, to rescue hostages or seize enemies. The SAS motto, "Who Dares Wins," has even become a part of British popular culture.