rusty firmin tour

Rusty Firmin

Rusty Firmin is a former SAS agent who has written several books about his time in the squadron.

Rusty Firmin tour dates listed on Ents24.com since Oct 2018.

Official website rusty-firmin.com

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Past Events

Here are the most recent UK tour dates we had listed for Rusty Firmin. Were you there?

• Mar 21 2020 Carlisle, Harraby Community Theatre An Evening With Rusty Firmin - SAS & Iranian Embassy Siege Carlisle Hero
• Jan 11 2019 Richmond Theatre, Surrey Rusty Firmin

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Listen Live

SAS veteran Rusty Firmin: 'Death didn't even enter my mind'

WATCH : Rusty Firmin 'quick-fire' questions ...

Rusty Firmin, Blue Team Leader for the 1980 SAS hostage rescue operation in London , will appear online across two days to mark the 41st anniversary of the famous raid. 

Described as the day the SAS came out of the shadows, Rusty will provide a "bullet by bullet" walkthrough of the rescue mission.

Speaking to BFBS ahead of the event, the SAS legend explained that plans to mark the 40th-anniversary last year were cancelled at the last minute due to the Covid pandemic. He hopes now, a year on, fans will join him for the event, which will also allow people to ask the former special forces man any questions about the operation or his broader 15-year service in the regiment.  

Rusty gave a flavour of some of the matters he will cover at the event, which spans two nights in May. He included remarks about an absent fear of being killed during the operation - "it didn't even cross my mind", he said, speaking of the final moments before the order to 'Go! Go! Go!'

The SAS man also spoke of Margaret Thatcher's character, a woman he met several times, describing her as the "best Prime Minister we've had."

Rusty revealed that he and his SAS colleagues stopped off at the services for "burgers and chips" on the way back to Hereford after the mission.

Rusty was asked whether he ever gets upset about the tendency of "Walts" - a slang term abbreviated from 'Walter Mitty' used to describe people who lie or embellish their military record - telling tall tales that made out they were involved in the raid.

Armed Forces personnel are often irritated by 'Walter Mitty Characters', which refers to people who have aspirations to be an elite soldier, but none of the necessary personal qualities and the term comes from a character in American literature who is portrayed as a meek and bumbling man who fantises and spends much of his time lost in heroic daydreams.

The 71-year-old veteran explained that although he did not get upset personally, fantasists did annoy him and that their lies "are offensive to those who were there."

"For everyone that's got an earned badge out there, there's a thousand Walter Mitties…"

And on Channel 4's  TV Show, SAS: Who Dares Wins, Rusty was equally dismissive, stating that he disliked the programme, adding it should be renamed to what it "really is … a show about the  SBS ."

Rusty also gave his opinions on the signature motto of Del Boy, from the TV series Only Fools And Horses who often uses the catchphrase 'He who dares wins' and Rusty also revealed that to him, lockdowns are "like being in a O.P. with somebody you don't get on with too well."

The 41st anniversary of the Iranian Embassy raid falls on May 5, 2021. 

The event, called Six Days in Knightsbridge - The SAS And The Iranian Embassy Siege, will be hosted by notable historian and journalist Guy Walters and will include an opportunity for audience members to ask their own questions to the man himself. Attendees must book in advance via the link below.

For more information and to book, visit https://www.crowdcast.io/e/bf3wpj6u/register

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Evening with SAS Legend Rusty Firmin

General: £22.25 plus fees VIP includes photo with Rusty: £33.25 plus fees

Join Legend Rusty Firmin former SAS soldier and leader of the Iranian Embassy Siege (1980), for an evening of thrilling anecdotes and stories from the man himself.

From the Iranian Embassy Siege and patrolling the streets in Northern Ireland in the early 70s to performing covert operations in the Falklands and working as security for Mel Gibson on the set of Braveheart, Rusty Firmin has seen it all. Not To Be Missed.

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The Regiment: 15 Years in the SAS Adrian Weale, Rusty Firmin

Rusty Firmin is a legendary figure for a generation of soldiers as well as for British Military History buffs.  As a member of B Squadron, 22 SAS Regiment, Rusty led one of the two assault teams which stormed the Iranian Embassy in London in May 1980. Two years later he was a key figure in the planned SAS attack on mainland Argentina, designed to destroy the deadly Exocet missiles which were based there, ground the Super Etendard aircraft which launched them and assassinate the pilots who flew them.

As well as participating in these two dramatic events, Rusty spent more than 15 years in ‘The Regiment’, as SAS soldiers refer to it, serving throughout the world on operations, training missions and exercises.  This is his story.

‘The Regiment: 15 Years in the SAS’ by Rusty Firmin will feature:

• The first full insider account of Operation MIKADO, the hugely controversial planned attack by the SAS on the Argentine mainland during the Falklands War.  Rusty and many within the SAS were convinced it would have been a suicide mission, staged by Brigadier (later General) Sir Peter de la Billiere for his own personal glory.  Astonishingly it was only called off when an SAS reconnaissance team went missing in Chile after being landed in Argentinean Tierra del Fuego.  This is very likely to attract a serial sale and news coverage.
• A full participant’s account of the assault on the Iranian Embassy in 1980.  As a team leader responsible for developing a significant part of the attack plan, Rusty has an almost unique insight into the events that led to the dramatic conclusion of the six day siege.  This again is a good candidate for serial sale.
• The Secret War in Northern Ireland.  Rusty served numerous tours in Northern Ireland throughout the 1970s and 1980s when the covert war between the SAS and IRA was at its height.  Now that the dust has largely settled over the Northern Ireland conflict it is possible to give a much better insight into the Regiment’s role in the Province.
• Training Missions.   Part of the SAS role is to provide specialist training for many different countries around the world as, in effect, a secret element for British overseas aid.  Rusty took part in several such missions, often in surprising locations, and can offer a fascinating insight into the SAS role in British diplomacy.
• The bizarre influence of Freemasonry within the SAS.  Oddly enough, the regular and Territorial SAS Regiments have Freemasons lodges within them and these have been a cause of serious controversy.  In the 1980s, there was a near mutiny in one of the TA SAS Regiments after a promotion board awarded promotions only to Masons, some of whom had not participated in training for some time.  Rusty will be the first author to expose this situation.
• SAS Skills.  Over his years in the Regiment, Rusty was trained as an SAS paramedic, a demolitionist, a linguist and ultimately became the senior SAS bodyguard instructor, responsible for training the men and women who guard Britain’s Royal Family, senior politicians and diplomats
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  15 years is an unusually long time to serve in the SAS and over his time, Rusty worked with and got to know most of the leading figures within the Regiment.  The book will give a fascinating insight into characters like ‘Lofty’ Wiseman, Andy McNab, Tim Collins and many more.

Book Details:

• Author: Adrian Weale, , Rusty Firmin
• On Submission

About the Authors

Adrian weale,.

Adrian Weale was born in London in 1964 and educated at the Latymer Upper School, York University and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He served for several years as a military intelligence officer in the regular Army, before leaving to pursue a career as a writer and historian. Since then he has written eight non-fiction books under his own name, and ghost written several more, primarily for former Special Forces personnel. In addition, he has written widely for the UK national press and is a regular broadcaster on BBC TV and radio, specialising in military and intelligence related ... More about Adrian Weale,

Rusty Firmin

Rusty Firmin was adopted as a baby and brought up in Carlisle as the son of an Army NCO and his wife.  He had a turbulent childhood and his adoptive mother died when he was 11, after which he was passed round his parents’ occasionally abusive families until he joined the Army as a ‘Junior Leader’ aged 15.  As an adult soldier he served for ten years in the Royal Artillery before volunteering for the SAS and passing selection on his first attempt.  As a junior and relatively inexperienced SAS NCO he was surprised to be given command of one of the two assaul... More about Rusty Firmin

Book Reviews

• "...the unforgettable chronicle of Rusty’s Combat experiences, transporting the reader back to the cutting edge of the SAS’s deadly covert missions during the crises  of the 1980s and 1990s. Even more fascinating is his intimate portrayal of what the service was actually like to live and work in…Rusty draws on a unique breadth of experience to delve into the hidden world of the SAS as an institution." EyeSpy Magazine

Daily Mail serialises The Regiment 03 Aug 2015

The Regiment: 15 Years in the SAS by Rusty Firmin was recently serialised in the Daily Mail.

I saw the grenades roll towards me. Boom! They blew me across the room: As one of the heroes of the Iran Embassy siege sells his medals, the explosive minute-by-minute story of the SAS’s finest hour

Rusty Firmin on the BBC 16 Jul 2015

Rusty Firmin has been generating lots of media interest, promoting his new book The Regiment .

Jeremy Vine

The Alpha Human Podcast

Ex-sas soldier rusty firmin: the regiment, operation nimrod & british special forces.

• Lawrence Rosenberg
• June 26, 2020

Rusty Firmin is a British Army veteran who spent 15 years with the SAS, the British Army’s elite special forces unit. Rusty has been involved in some of the SAS’ most dangerous missions including the planned attack on Argentina during the Falklands War and the SAS’ covert operations against the IRA. However, Rusty is most well known for his actions in Operation Nimrod, the May 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege in London where he was a key figure in the SAS’ storming of the embassy as the Blue Team leader. Rusty is also the author of a very popular book on this historic event, entitled “Go! Go! Go!” which gives a gripping account of the siege which culminated in the SAS rescuing all 19 hostages and killing 5 of the 6 terrorists. The book has recently been turned into a major motion picture entitled “6 Days” starring Jamie Bell and is airing on Netflix. Rusty is also the author of “The Regiment,” a detailed portrayal of what it was like for him to be part of one of the most renowned Special Ops forces in the world.

Useful Links:

Rusty Firmin’s website: http://www.rusty- firmin.com/ Rusty Firmin SAS TV:  https://www.youtube.com/ channel/ UC9ydzu5K4mTTiJyTqGb4lHQ The Regiment:  https://amzn.to/ 3fVEho9 Go! Go! Go!: The SAS. The Iranian Embassy Siege. The True Story –  https://amzn.to/2Yuvl3j

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Ep 66: Interview with Rusty Firmin - The Man with No Gloves

• Jan 17 2024
• Length: 53 mins

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At CATO we believe that history is the repository of all lessons and to ignore history is do doom yourself to repeat it.  At the 2023 conference in San Diego, we asked the infamous SAS team leader Rusty “No Gloves” Firmin to debrief the lessons learned from the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege.  I asked fellow CATO board members Toby Darby and Josh Wofford to sit down with Rusty so he could share his wisdom with those who could not see him at the conference.

I spent a fair amount of time with Rusty before and during the conference and was impressed by his humility, sense of humor and how our profession shares many of the same struggles he  as experienced throughout his career an ocean away.

I highly recommend his book on the six day hostage taking called GO GO GO!

The assault planning and training, strategy and tactics are described in detail, and the personal stories of the gunmen revealed -- who they were, where they came from, why they did it and Saddam Hussein's direct involvement.

For more information about Rusty, The Iranian Embassy Siege, and to get a copy of his new book please visit his website: https://www.rusty-firmin.com 

What listeners say about Ep 66: Interview with Rusty Firmin - The Man with No Gloves

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Episode #191 Rusty Firmin on the SAS, Military Life and The need for going ‘always a little further’ in life!

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TODAY's GUEST IS Rusty Firmin!

The British SAS are the best special forces unit in the world. They are some of the best operators in the world, and their operations have become legendary in history. I have always wondered what makes a special forces operator able to do such breath-taking things, to go into the jaws of death and when the bullets start flying to rescue hostages, and eliminate threats, so I wanted to find out. Introducing today’s guest is Rusty Firmin! He is Former member of the SAS, a leader in the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London and the 1990 Stanstead aircraft hijacking and is now a motivational speaker, security consultant, advisor and personal protection officer

The show-notes can be found at https://www.nextlevelguy.com/rustyfirmin191/

Rusty Firmin, a former member of the elite SAS, has led a remarkable life shaped by his early struggles and later triumphs. Born and raised in Carlisle, he faced a challenging childhood, being adopted and moving between various relatives and schools. At the age of fifteen, Rusty found himself on his own, learning to fend for himself. 

His journey took a significant turn when he decided to pursue a military career, eventually applying for and successfully completing the rigorous SAS selection course in 1977. This achievement earned him the prestigious beige beret and winged dagger insignia, and he was assigned to B Squadron.

During his time in B Squadron, Rusty was exposed to various threats in different regions, including Guatemala, Belize, Borneo, and Botswana. He undertook multiple tours in these areas, facing the challenges of jungle warfare and desert training. Notably, he played a critical role as a Blue Team leader during the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London, demonstrating his bravery and expertise in counter-terrorism operations. 

He participated in highly sensitive training operations worldwide, honing his skills in Special Forces training, presidential-level bodyguard training, and counter-terrorism techniques, providing security and surveillance services during conflicts like the war in Sarajevo, close protection and security management positions, and working with prestigious clients.

 Today, Rusty is a highly sought-after motivational speaker, sharing insights from his experiences in the SAS to inspire and educate audiences in corporate and business settings. His speeches offer winning strategies for navigating challenging situations and coping with crises. With passion and realism, Rusty helps leaders and teams develop crucial thinking skills to tackle the ever-changing landscape of today’s business world. Rusty Firmin’s life is a testament to resilience, determination, and unwavering dedication to duty. His journey from a challenging upbringing to a celebrated SAS member and influential speaker serves as an inspiring example for individuals and businesses alike. In this interview, we chat about his time in the military and the SAS, writing his books, the ‘6 Days’ film and why you need to ignore the push to stop and aim to go always a little further every day.

#RustyFirmin #determination #sas #military #mentaltoughness #selfreliance #counterterrorism #author

If you are liking the show, please remember to subscribe on your podcast platform and follow on social media. All likes, subscribes and comments, help grow the show! 

GUEST SOCIAL LINKS

Other links.

• Buy Rusty’s books here.

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Key points, links & actions.

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• Your upbringing does not define you, it is your action and what you give back to others. 
• Rusty is not a fan of the hero tag, he is a man who wants to give back to others and help and inspire those where he can. 
• Rusty prefers to look forward to what he can do and not from what has happened. He tries to focus on being self-reliant and what he can do for others, not dwell on what happened.
• The Army provided a family structure to Rusty – it can help people find themselves and provide a structure to their lives that they perhaps lacked in their normal life.
• “ …you have to overcome and drive forward .” Only look back when you are reversing.
• Top performers are those people who are always willing to learn, to grow and develop themselves and learn as they go – and not rest on their laurels, they want to learn and keep developing. 
• Rusty doesn’t see the word ‘stop’, he has a mantra of ‘a little further’. By always keeping going, he keeps achieving things. Too many people stop living after they retire and await death, something you need to avoid at all costs. 
• Rusty is always looking to go forward in his life, he is always trying new things, learning new skills and never resting – what could you learn now to improve your skill-set to achieve more and have better success and achieve your goals?   
• Rusty is looking to leave a legacy, to inspire and help others who follow him and learn about his journey. Try and do the same, always be looking to help others, to give back, to leave places and people better than when you found them where possible. 
• No plan survives first contact, so there is no point trying to spend too long on the plan, as things in real-time will happen, being able to roll with changes and events taking place, you need to be able to adapt to things as they come up, and be fluid to what takes place. 
• Life is a learning curve. Stop trying to know it all. Find mentors, team-mates and support methods to get the info and support you need. Start now and learn as you go, and access the resources you need for success. 
• The SAS let everyone contribute to the ideas and the plan of engagement, they are open to comments and feedback from their operators and how they will act. They start with a skeleton of a plan, and then add in their comments and feedback, and they decide on the final plan of action. Be open to others feedback and willing to change things to suit others experience, understanding and skill-set.
• The SAS guys are highly knowledgeable and always training to better themselves. They come in all ages, from different backgrounds etc, so they can learn from one another, use the wealth of knowledge and training experiences in the members and increase your chances of success because of this. 
• Rusty learnt by doing, by trial and error and learnt by hands on experience. A average plan is always better than a perfect plan never implemented. Be OK with making mistakes and giving things a go. Be fluid and flexible in your thinking and ready to evolve and grow. 

LEVEL UP Time WITH THIS KEY LESSON!

“ …you have to overcome and drive forward .” Only look back when you are reversing. Look to go forward each day, and look to improve yourself a little bit each day, go a ‘little further’ towards your goals everyday. 

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A familiar American goes to Italy to live his best life in the bloody Netflix series ‘Ripley’

Over the years, the iconic criminal character of Tom Ripley has been played by Matt Damon, John Malkovich, Ian Hart and Dennis Hopper. Now, Irish actor Andrew Scott gets a turn in the Netflix limited-series “Ripley,” opposite Dakota Fanning and Johnny Flynn. (April 3)

Johnny Flynn, from left, Andrew Scott, and Dakota Fanning pose for a portrait to promote the television miniseries “Ripley” on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)

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This image released by Netflix shows Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley in a scene from “Ripley.” (Netflix via AP)

Andrew Scott poses for a portrait to promote the television miniseries “Ripley” on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Dakota Fanning in a scene from “Ripley.” (Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Johnny Flynn in a scene from “Ripley.” (Netflix via AP)

Johnny Flynn poses for a portrait to promote the television miniseries “Ripley” on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)

Dakota Fanning poses for a portrait to promote the television miniseries “Ripley” on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s time to take another trip to Italy, to the charming, cobblestoned streets of the Amalfi Coast, sipping coffee at cafes and looking for the la dolce vita. And it just wouldn’t be fun without our favorite serial killer, right?

Tom Ripley is back for another turn at wearing dressing gowns and having Champagne on the terrace in “Ripley,” a thrilling new Netflix series based on the enduring character created by novelist Patricia Highsmith in “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” It premieres April 4.

“The idea that we know we’re not supposed to like him, but we do want to see him get away with it is very interesting. What’s it say about us?” asks Steven Zaillian, who created, directed and wrote the eight-episode adaptation.

Andrew Scott steps up to play Ripley, a scrappy check fraudster in grimy New York who is hired to locate a rich dilettante in Italy, but kills him and then impersonates him, leading to more murders and scams.

“Like with any sort of iconic literary character like that, people have very strong opinions — he’s a psychopath, he’s a serial killer,” says Scott. “Part of the challenge was how do you make an audience feel like what it’s like to be Tom Ripley, rather than what is usually done, which is to want to feel like to be a victim of Tom Ripley.”

The eight-hour canvas allows viewers time to watch him figure out how to get out of jams in real time, like a murder he commits in his apartment in the fifth episode. He needs to find the victim’s car, clean up the crime scene, move the body and make it all seem like an alcohol-induced accident.

“I think because we sort of see every little step of how he figures things out and does things that we take part in them,” says Zaillian. “He often doesn’t know what he should do next, and neither do we. And so we become part of the process in that way.”

Scott, known for his stage work, the Emmy-winning “Fleabag” and recent film “All of Us Strangers,” says it may take some viewers raised on TikTok a little while to adjust to a more sedate, deliberate storytelling pace — one in which characters climb staircases, look at waves and make small talk. There is time to watch where an ashtray is bought before it’s later used to bludgeon someone to death.

“You have to teach the audience how to watch it to a certain degree,” he says. “There’s certain times the pacing is really quite fast and there’s certain times where you think this would take time and you have to stay with the agony and the thrill and the tension when things aren’t going right. That’s the way life is.”

Zaillian, an Oscar winner for the screenplay of “Schindler’s List,” refused a suggestion to update Highsmith’s book series and is careful to keep everything very early 1960s, even filming it all in black and white, like “Schindler’s List.”

“It puts us in that time period effortlessly and immediately. But more than that, I did not want what I would call a color postcard sort of Italy for this story, with sunny blue skies and lots of colorful outfits. That was not something I saw in my mind when I read the book and not something that I wanted to do in the show,” he says.

If other TV shows are dialogue-driven, “Ripley” is more interested in the spaces between dialogue. It’s all about suspicious looks, wary interactions and putting on a brave face with police inspectors and hotel clerks.

“I was so excited by getting to communicate so much with micro-movements in the face and a look — that thing where you can read someone’s thoughts through their eyes,” says Dakota Fanning, who plays the suspicious girlfriend of the rich dilettante Dickie Greenleaf.

Zaillian is faithful to Highsmith’s novels but adds some of himself into the series, like making Ripley a fan of Italian painter Caravaggio, who worked with intense and unsettling realism and was also a killer.

“I found as I was writing it there’s actually a connection between him and Caravaggio. They were both these sort of rascals and both ended up killing somebody. So it sort of grew from a personal moment that I had into a motif and then kind of into an aspect of his character,” he says.

Like Caravaggio, the series is grounded in realism, from the rusty showerheads and the gritty, screeching subways of New York to the crumbling walls and pigeon poop-streaked statues in Italy. Cleaning up blood takes what seems like hours.

Ripley, who over the years has been portrayed by, among others, Matt Damon, John Malkovich, Ian Hart and Dennis Hopper, is played understated by Scott as a killer who makes mistakes, improvises and must double back to correct errors.

Zaillian thought of Scott for the role very early in the casting process, aware of his work in “Fleabag” and as Moriarty on the BBC series “Sherlock.” He was smitten.

“I just found him really sort of watchable,” Zaillian says. “I knew that since we spend so much time with somebody alone — there’s a lot of scenes where it’s just us and him — that he has to be watchable. We have to be able to see him think and express himself in a way that lets us know what he’s thinking. And I found that Andrew was able to do that.”

Johnny Flynn, who plays the golden boy Greenleaf, says filming in Italy took him to some of the most beautiful places on the planet but ones that got darker as the summer tourists left and the sun got lower, perfect for a noirish vibe. He and the cast were also reminded that many small Italian towns built on cliffs have many, many steps.

“We were just out of breath all the time,” he says, laughing.

Which is what can be said for lots of people who meet Ripley.

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits