Pilgrim Days

A Lifetime of Soldiering from Vietnam to the SAS

Pilgrim Days cover

Description

'We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go,
Always a little further; it may be,
Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow.'


If there was ever anyone who went a little further, a little beyond, it was Alastair MacKenzie.

In a career spanning 30 years, MacKenzie served uniquely with the New Zealand Army in Vietnam, the British Parachute Regiment, the British Special Air Service (SAS), the South African Defence Force's famed ParaBats, the Sultan of Oman's Special Forces and a host of private security agencies and defence contractors.

MacKenzie lived the soldier's life to the full as he journeyed 'the Golden Road to Samarkand'. This extraordinary work from the author of Special Force: The Untold Story of 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) vividly documents the experience of infantry combat in Vietnam, life with the Paras, the tempo of selection for UK Special Forces, covert SAS operations in South Armagh and SAS Counter Terrorist training on the UK mainland, vehicle-mounted Pathfinder Brigade insertions into Angola and maritime counter-terrorism work in Oman.

Table of Contents

Glossary

1. Early Days, 1948–65
2. New Zealand Army, 1966–73
3. 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, 1973–76
4. 22 Special Air Service Regiment, 1976–80
5. 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, 1980–81
6. 44 South African Parachute Brigade (The Parabats), 1981–82
7. KMS Limited, 1982 and 21 SAS
8. New Zealand Army, 1982–85
9. The Sultan of Oman's Special Forces, 1985–89
10. Royal Ordnance plc; Reliance Security Limited; Territorial Army, 1989–94
11. AMA Associates Limited; Territorial Army; and a Return to New Zealand, 1994–present

Index

Product details

Published Mar 21 2019
Format Ebook (Epub)
Edition 1st
Extent 224
ISBN 9781472833174
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Series General Military
Short code GNM
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Alastair MacKenzie

Alastair MacKenzie comes from a military family of…

Resources

Book Vote

Tell us what titles you would like to see published by Osprey, then vote for your favourites in our monthly book vote!

Related Titles

Sign up for Osprey membership for access to thousands of plane profiles, maps, battle scenes and more. Plus up to 30% off website purchases