Who were the Selous Scouts?
The most ferocious bush fighting unit in the world—I read. Special ops force of the Rhodesian Army; counterintelligence. They infiltrate the enemy, gather information, and kill. They wear shorts. They wear camo shirts. They sleep in three-foot-high A-Frame tents built from bush grass. On their brow droops a chocolate brown beret with an osprey insignia.
“Wow!” I say to myself, my guy testosterone dripping into my veins like I’m nineteen. How cool. But wait. Stories of rape. Stories of indiscriminate brutality; of killing parents in front of their children; willingness to inflict harm without scruple. Many stories. Documented stories.
More confusion—there are black Africans in the Selous Scouts fighting against ZAPU and ZANU, the forces trying to oust white rule in Rhodesia—forces that are supported by China (ZANU) and Russia (ZAPU). Huh? I throw my arms up. I scratch my head, befuddled, wagons circling and returning to the same place.
Ah—many of the black Africans in the Scouts are captured enemy that have been tamed, lest their family suffer. Hmm-but not all. If you lived in a Shona or Ndebele village in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), you had to choose which side you were on. Were you for a government ruled by a 4% white minority and not recognized by any nation on earth, but could provide a paycheck and protect for your family? Or did you support insurgents who were pushing for socialism or communism, could possibly lose to an incumbent military, but would return rule of the land back to its people?
Thus, was framework of the Rhodesian Bush War which raged from 1965-1980 after Ian Smith, the Prime Minister, issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence. Regardless of one’s thoughts on the Selous Scouts, the rigor of the entrance exam was legendary, testing limits of physical and mental forbearance. Only one in eight met the measure.
Here is an excerpt from Rhodesian Doll Hunt, where Travis is trying to infiltrate the Scouts as a double agent—but first he must pass muster at Wafa Wafa, the Scout training camp.
CHAPTER 28: Travis-The Selous Scout
