The SAS Reserve briefing course: what the Army publishes
By Deepak Shukla · Historical account and source-led commentary · Updated
The SAS Reserve briefing course is the first selection stage described on the British Army's recruiting pages. It's an assessed introduction to the demands and standards of the pathway, and it's different from the general Army assessment at Pirbright that I describe in my diary. If you're considering applying, knowing where this course sits matters more than a dramatic training story: there are earlier Army training and experience requirements to understand first.
On this page
Where the briefing course sits
Applicants commonly search for 'SAS briefing course' while still trying to understand how ordinary Army entry, the briefing and the later selection phases fit together. The current Army Jobs page describes civilian applications as possible, followed by basic military training and experience before someone may attempt SAS Reserve selection. The briefing course belongs to that later published selection pathway.
The public description, without invented detail
The British Army's 21 and 23 SAS page currently describes the briefing course as a six-day assessment intended to explain the required qualities and standards and help assess whether a candidate should continue. The description and duration may be revised. I would not build a training plan from rumours about exact test orders, location or confidential course content; ask recruiting for the current authoritative brief.
What the public Army page says about briefing fitness
Army Jobs currently lists a 12.8 km assurance march, a UKSF swim test, a 2 km aerobic activity and a strength-and-conditioning assessment in connection with the mandatory briefing course. The same page separately lists general Army Reserve entry measures. They are not one interchangeable fitness test or a complete instruction sheet. Check the current Army page and request the recruiting brief before treating any number, kit list or forum anecdote as a personal standard.
What comes after it
The Army's public pages describe further aptitude and training phases. Passing an early assessed stage should not be described as passing overall selection. Each stage has its own purpose. In particular, a civilian applicant can have completed preliminary Army training without having entered these UKSF Reserve phases at all.
My Pirbright weekend was something else
My original part-two diary is about ATC Pirbright and early Army assessment. I remember the dorms and the medical, cognitive and physical testing. That is a candid account of becoming an applicant in the Army system, not a firsthand report of a current UKSF briefing course. My later 21 SAS-linked assessed preparation weekend was another separate event, and I am not assigning it a formal modern selection title.
What preparation can reasonably cover
Before any specialised advice, concentrate on sustainable general fitness, recovery, consistent exercise, reasonable nutrition and arranging time off work. Strength, steady aerobic capacity and the ability to follow directions are sensible foundations, but none guarantees success in a military course. If your fitness or health is uncertain, obtain appropriate professional advice and the Army's own published standards.
Questions worth taking to a recruiter
Ask whether you need to complete another Reserve role first, which current age criteria govern your own circumstances, when the next legitimate briefing happens, what is officially published about attendance and fitness, and how long the training commitment is likely to last. The recruiter, not this website, must resolve conflicting age wording across dated public Army publications.
Read the memoir as a memoir
My own application story starts with an evening at a laptop and moves through Army interviews, training and the decision I eventually made. The briefing-course information on this page comes instead from today's official Army pages. Keep the two alongside one another: the memoir for what it felt like, the Army for what an applicant must do now.
Sources and current requirements
My experience dates from 2014–2016. Eligibility, fitness standards and the selection process change, so for anything current use the Army's own pages:
- British Army Jobs — SAS Reserve role, entry requirements, selection and locations
- British Army — UK Special Forces Reserve overview and recruiting contact
- British Army — 21 and 23 Special Air Service Reserve
- Soldier magazine (October 2025) — SAS Reserve recruiting feature
Rechecked 7 November 2026. The Army Jobs listing and the October 2025 Soldier article use different age wording — ask the recruiting unit rather than picking the convenient figure.
Read next
Get my 21 SAS application and preparation guide
What I actually did during Army preparation, what I learned, and a general twelve-week fitness framework informed by endurance sport. It is not a military selection programme; current standards come from the Army.