--- title: "UK’s SAS veterans are coming out of retirement to fight ISIS" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/uks-elite-forces-coming-retirement-fight-isis/" categories: - "Military News" - "Special Operations" - "Tactical" tags: - "ISIS" --- # UK’s SAS veterans are coming out of retirement to fight ISIS ![]() The jihadist group Daesh (as ISIS hates to be called) warned the UK it "will suffer the lion's share of the slaughter it plans for Europe." British military vets are going to be ready. --- ![]() The threat Daesh poses to Europe is being taken very seriously by members of the United Kingdom's veteran community. So seriously, in fact, almost 60 former members of Britain's Special Air Service (SAS), the UK's most elite special forces outfit, are looking to get back in the fight. According to the UK's [Mirror](), 30 SAS operators, veterans of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond have reenlisted, while 30 more are on standby to do the same. The SAS, along with U.S. special forces operators are currently fighting Daesh in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. ![]() ### Related: American dudes with rifles make a quick stop in Libya and no one knows why The recent Daesh attacks on Paris give the effort to fight the terror group abroad new urgency. Just as French special operators are on the streets of Paris and conducting counterterror operations they l[earned from Israeli commandos](), the SAS' elite counterterrorism unit, the Special Projects Group, are currently patrolling London in unmarked civilian vehicles. "Former members of the SAS do rejoin the regiment, especially when there is a war approaching," an unnamed British government source told the Mirror. "It happened after the 9/11 attacks and when the Iraq War began. But we have never seen a response like this." ![]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()