In autumn 2014 I was looking for an ultramarathon and somehow ended up applying to 21 SAS Reserve. The next two years took me through Army training, evenings of preparation, unfamiliar people and, eventually, the decision not to continue to selection. These are the diaries and the reflections they grew into. If you're looking for current recruiting facts, the separate guides are further down.
Begin with the impulsive application, then Pirbright and the training that followed. The older diaries keep their original dates and photographs; the later pieces connect the dots.
A private trip, not an Army course. Read the preparations and the arrival in sequence, then see the checked photographic archive.
Looking for today's requirements rather than my story? These explain the Army's publicly described rules and link to the official recruiting pages.
The Army remains the authority on recruitment. Project Selection is a separate information website that I also run; I link it openly rather than presenting it as an independent endorsement.
Start with the evening I found the application form, then travel with me to Pirbright and the Army assessment. The longer retrospective follows the Alpha and Bravo training, preparation evenings and the eventual decision. I've kept the original URLs, photographs and publication dates, and have lightly edited the old stories for clarity where memory and chronology needed correcting.
There were around ten to fifteen Wednesday evenings of showing up alongside other applicants, plus a later assessed weekend linked to the unit. The Army assessment at Pirbright was a separate, earlier event. What I remember is how the whole thing sat awkwardly alongside a civilian life — and how that affected the choice I made in 2016.
A friend's introduction led to ten days of private military-style training in Georgia. The story begins with books, Skype conversations and a kit list; part two finds me in an unfamiliar flat in Tbilisi with a man I'd just met. This was entirely separate from the Army's programme, and it gave me a different sort of education about preparation.
I also publish practical guides to what the Army currently says about SAS Reserve entry requirements, locations and selection stages. Those articles are separated from the personal diaries, and reference official recruiting pages. The story of what I experienced in 2014–2016 isn't a substitute for today's rules.
I went into the application imagining another test of endurance and came out understanding a distinction I had barely considered: wanting to attempt something difficult isn't necessarily the same as wanting the life that follows it. That lesson stayed with me long after the kit went back.
My 21 SAS story
From an impulsive idea in 2014 to the email I sent in June 2016: the people, preparation and changing priorities behind the story.
Before my Army training got going, I travelled to Georgia for ten days of privately arranged training with a man introduced to me as a former Georgian special-forces sniper. My own arrangement — not official UK or Georgian military training.
Read the full accountI completed the Army's Alpha and Bravo stages, attended around ten to fifteen Wednesday preparation sessions with other applicants, and attended a 21 SAS assessment weekend where our performance was watched closely.
Read the full accountI told the unit I didn't want to continue towards selection and arranged to hand my kit back. It was the right call for me at the time, and I've never dressed it up as anything other than a decision to stop.
Read the full accountMy 200-mile Winter Downs finish is recorded independently by the race organiser. Years of long races taught me a great deal about preparation — though finishing an ultra and passing military selection are very different things.
See the race resultMy experience dates from 2014–2016, and the process changes. For current eligibility, fitness standards and how to apply, go straight to the Army.
Visit the official Army pageFirst-hand Army Alpha/Bravo preparation · personal photo archive
Photos from my own British Army training album, 2015–16; they document my Army preparation, not completion of formal SAS selection.
The dates below are the album’s labels, not independently verified capture dates. These photographs do not identify the Wednesday preparation sessions or the later 21 SAS-linked assessment weekend; nor are they photographs of the earlier ATC Pirbright weekend. They imply no official Army endorsement.
2015 trip / 17 October 2026 archive note
A portrait and a path from my privately arranged trip to Georgia. The original diaries tell you how that adventure began.
The Army Jobs SAS Reserve page says it accepts applications from people without previous service. That does not mean a civilian proceeds straight to SAS selection: the Army describes basic military training, initial trade training and experience before a candidate can attempt it. The recruiting team determines the appropriate pathway.
Read the application overviewAs rechecked on 7 November 2026, the Army Jobs role page advertises an 18–48 age range, with more specific ages for applying and different conditions for serving personnel. A separate October 2025 Army article gives a different selection-start age. Do not treat either headline number as individual eligibility advice: check your circumstances directly with the Army.
Compare the published entry rulesThe current Army Jobs page lists a briefing-course assurance march, a swim test, aerobic activity and strength/conditioning assessment. It also displays separate general Reserve entry measures. These are different contexts, not a single universal pass score. Obtain the current detailed standards from recruiters before planning training.
Read the preparation considerationsThe Army's published pathway separates initial Army training from the later UKSF Reserve stages. My own experience sits in that first part: Alpha and Bravo, the Wednesday-evening preparation sessions and a 21 SAS assessment weekend — I never attempted the formal selection course. That unit weekend was a different occasion from the general Army assessment at Pirbright.
Read the first-hand chronologyThe Army Jobs page lists 21 SAS recruiting regions around London and the South East, Wales, the M3/M4 corridor, East Anglia and the South West; it lists 23 SAS in the Midlands, Scotland and northern regions. These are broad areas, not a promise of a nearby vacancy or a current parade-night address.
Explore the official regional listNo shortcut should be assumed. The Reserves are a military service commitment in their own right, with demanding training and the possibility of deployment. My original diary repeated the 'back door' language circulating in forums at the time; it is not an official description of an entry route.
Understand the actual pathwayMy experience dates from 2014–2016. Eligibility, fitness standards and the selection process change, so for anything current use the Army's own pages:
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.
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.
