Editing Selous Scouts (section)

==Unit history==
===Establishment===
The [[British South Africa Police|British South Africa Police's]] Special Branch began pseudo operations to collect intelligence in 1966. The Rhodesian Army took part in a joint trial using these tactics with the British South Africa Police and Special Branch that year, but it was not successful for at that stage the black population was largely indifferent to the insurgents and so not able to provide intelligence on them.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=120}}

The ZANLA began to gain control over north-eastern Rhodesia from 1971, and considerably strengthened its influence over the population in the region over the next year. This led to the networks of informers who had provided information to the Rhodesian Government ceasing to do so, which made it difficult for the security forces to locate and counter the insurgents. In response, Special Branch began to establish pseudo teams in January 1973. The Rhodesian Army also formed two such teams in February; these comprised members of [[Rhodesian Special Air Service|C Squadron 22 (Rhodesian) SAS]], black soldiers from the [[Rhodesian African Rifles]] and former insurgents.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=121}} These teams enjoyed success, leading to a decision to expand pseudo operations.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=123}}

Major [[Ronald Francis Reid-Daly]] was selected to command the unit that became the Selous Scouts in November 1973. He was personally selected for this role by Lieutenant General [[Peter Walls]], the head of the Rhodesian Army. An initial group of 25 personnel were selected and trained at [[Makuti]] near [[Lake Kariba]]. The first [[troop]] completed training and began operations in January 1974, followed by two other troops in February and March that year.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=123}} At this time, the Selous Scouts comprised about 120 personnel and all of its officers were white. Black soldiers were offered bonuses that almost doubled their salary if they agreed to serve with the Selous Scouts.{{sfn|Cline|2005|p=10}}

The unit was named after the British explorer [[Frederick Selous]] (1851–1917) and its motto was ''pamwe chete''—a [[Shona language|Shona]] phrase meaning "all together", "together only" or "forward together". The charter of the Selous Scouts directed them to "the clandestine elimination of terrorism both within and without the country".{{sfn|Melson|2005|pp=57–82}} The name Selous Scouts had previously been attached to the [[Rhodesian Armoured Corps|Rhodesian Armoured Car Regiment]] of the [[Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland#Military|Federal Army of Rhodesia and Nyasaland]].<ref>[http://www.rhodesia.nl/ceremonialparade.pdf Ceremonial Farewell Parade 8 December 1963, pg. 12]</ref>

The [[South African Police|South African Police's]] Special Branch provided funding for the Selous Scouts. This formed part of the South African Government's extensive support for the Rhodesian counterinsurgency effort.{{sfn|O'Brien|2001|p=40}} Many [[South African Defence Force]] personnel served in the Selous Scouts between 1973 and 1979, including during operations in Rhodesia, Mozambique and Zambia. After the South African Government publicly withdrew the South African Police units which had been deployed to Rhodesia in 1975 SADF personnel continued to serve with the Selous Scouts.{{sfn|Purkitt|Burgess|2005|p=90}} A witness who testified at the post-Apartheid South African [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]] stated that the Selous Scouts were covertly funded by the South African Police and South African police officers also served in the unit.{{sfn|Truth and Reconciliation Commission|1998|p=86}}

===Expansion===
Due to the success of the Selous Scouts, Walls directed in mid-1974 that it be expanded from three to six troops. This process was completed by December 1974, and included 50 former insurgents being added to the unit.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=124}} A Reconnaissance Troop was formed in the second half of 1976 to conduct scouting operations in Mozambique and Zambia; this unit had a peak strength of twelve men.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=127}}

As part of the expansion of the Selous Scouts, the Rhodesian Army's Tracking Wing and Tracker Combat Unit were merged into it during 1974. The Tracking Wing became the Selous Scouts' Training Troop. The Selous Scouts continued to deliver training in tracking and trackers for the remainder of the war, with this forming a cover for the unit's actual role. The Tracker Combat Unit was made up of white reservists; while these men were not suitable for Selous Scouts operations, they were retained to help provide cover. These changes reduced the effectiveness of the Rhodesian Army's tracking capabilities.{{sfn|Stapleton|2014|p=240}}

The size of the Selous Scouts increased further over time, and eventually reached 1,800 men. Many of these were territorial soldiers who were not permanently attached.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=130}} The rapid expansion of the Selous Scouts led to a drop in the quality of its personnel, which reduced the effectiveness of pseudo operations. This in turn caused the unit to increasingly undertake offensive operations where it directly attacked insurgents rather than gathered intelligence on them.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=131}} From 1979 former Selous Scouts became part of a scheme where they were armed by the Rhodesian Army and paid bounties for killing insurgents.{{sfn|White|2016|p=12}}

The overlap in roles between the Selous Scouts and the SAS led to friction between the two units.{{sfn|Cilliers|1985|p=133}} They also competed for personnel, with the demands of the Selous Scouts leading to a decline in the effectiveness of the SAS as well as the [[Rhodesian Light Infantry]] and [[Rhodesian African Rifles]].{{sfn|Stapleton|2014|p=240}}

The decline in the effectiveness and discipline within the Selous Scouts led to concerns from other elements of the Rhodesian Army. Selous Scouts were accused of poaching ivory, and Reid-Daly's office was bugged by investigators.  He was convicted by a court-martial after publicly confronting Lieutenant General John Hickman, the commander of the Rhodesian Army, over the bugging and left the Army afterwards.<ref name="Telegraph Reid-Daly obit" />

===Disbandment===
Ahead of the multi-racial [[1980 Southern Rhodesian general election]] the Selous Scouts and SAS were involved in preparing plans to annul its results. One of these plans would have involved killing the leadership of the black nationalist parties in [[Operation Hectic]]. Another, designated [[Operation Quartz]] would have involved attacking the insurgents in the camps where they had been concentrated within Rhodesia ahead of the election. These operations were not attempted.{{sfn|Melson|2005|p=72}}

Following the transition to majority rule and Rhodesia's reconstitution as [[Zimbabwe]], Prime Minister [[Robert Mugabe]] decided in March 1980 to disband the Selous Scouts by April that year. Mugabe stated that the unit needed to be disbanded as part of reforms to provide Zimbabwe with a "respectable" army. At this time it was expected that many of its white members would leave the military.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ellman |first1=Paul |title=Selous Scouts to be disbanded by April |work=The Guardian |date=7 March 1980 |page=6|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ellman |first1=Paul |title=Mugabe acts to quell violence |work=The Guardian |date=26 April 1980 |page=5|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Walls received a hostile reception from the unit's officers and men when he visited its base in March 1980. During this visit members of the Selous Scouts called him a traitor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=MacManus |first1=James |title=Army cuts threaten Rhodesian unity |work=The Guardian |date=22 March 1980 |page=1|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The Selous Scouts were disbanded without a formal ceremony to mark the occasion in April 1980. The unit had suffered between 30 and 35 fatalities during its existence.{{sfn|Melson|2005|p=74}}

Most of the white members of the Selous Scouts moved to South Africa to join that country's security forces. The 900 black members of the unit were offered other positions within Zimbabwe's security forces, and were mainly split across three battalions of the Rhodesian African Rifles.<ref name="Guardian Future of white-led army units doubtful">{{cite news |last1=MacManus |first1=James |title=Future of white-led army units doubtful |work=The Guardian |date=22 April 1980 |page=5|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Dirty tricks' men to stay |work=The Guardian |date=29 June 1980 |page=5|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Many of the black former Selous Scouts were murdered following the transition to majority rule.{{sfn|Moorcraft|McLaughlin|2010|p=181}}