The Circuit

THE

CIRCUIT

THE

CIRCUIT

An ex-SAS soldier’s true account of one of the most powerful and secretive industries spawned by the War on Terror

BOB SHEPHERD

with M. P. Sabga

MACMILLAN

First published 2008 by Macmillan

This electronic edition published 2008 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan Ltd
Pan Macmillan, 4 Crinan Street, London N1 9XW
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-0-330-46519-9 in Adobe Reader format
ISBN 978-0-330-46518-2 in Adobe Digital Editions format
ISBN 978-0-330-46521-2 in Microsoft Reader format
ISBN 978-0-330-46521-2 in Mobipocket format

Copyright © M.P. Sabga 2008

The right of M.P. Sabga to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by M.P. Sabga in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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For Vince Phillips

A Soldier

CONTENTS

Glossary

List of Plates

Preface

PART ONE

A Steep Learning Curve

PART TWO

The Boom Years

PART THREE

Bust & Beyond

237

Summary

GLOSSARY

MILITARY TERMINOLOGY

AK47
7.62 mm short, Soviet-designed assault rifle

APC
armoured personnel carrier

Beaten Zone
area of ground upon which the cone of fire falls

Comms
communications

Contact
situation in which an enemy attacks your position

Cot
military fold-up bed

Drones
pilot-less aircraft used for surveillance

FOB
forward operations base

GPS
global positioning system

LZ
landing zone

M16
US-made 5.56 mm assault rifle

MSR
main supply route