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| Country | United Kingdom |
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| Motto | "By Strength and Guile" |
| Branch | Royal Marine Commandos |
| Type | Special operations Counter Terrorism |
"By Strength and Guile"
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. The service's motto is "By Strength and Guile". It forms part of the United Kingdom Special Forces group, alongside the Special Air Service (SAS), Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) and 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment.
The SBS is an independent unit of the Royal Marines based at Royal Marines Poole, in Poole, Dorset, co-located with 1 Assault Group Royal Marines and 148 Commando Forward Observation Battery, Royal Artillery.
The SBS can trace their origins to the Second World War when they were formed as the Special Boat Section in 1940. They became the Special Boat Squadron after the Second World War and the Special Boat Service in the 1980s.
The SBS is manned by ranks drawn mostly from the Royal Marines and carries
out a role similar to the Special Air Service, but with a traditionally stronger
focus on amphibious operations. Two of the SBS's four squadrons, C and X,
are configured for general operations. S squadron specialises in the use of
minisubs and small boats and M squadron specialises in Maritime Counter Terrorism.
The SBS also operates on dry land, with recent operations in the mountains
of landlocked Afghanistan and in the deserts of Iraq. Their main tasks include
intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism operations (surveillance or offensive
action), sabotage and the disruption of enemy infrastructure, capture of specific
individuals, close protection of senior politicians and military personnel,
plus reconnaissance and combat action on enemy territory.
