In every age of war there have been the elite. They are the elite because they train harder and more realistically than their contemporaries in conventional forces; because, for their numbers, they accomplish more than their contemporaries; and because, to survive as a unit, they invariably have to wage another kind of war against leaders within their own army - leaders jealous of their accomplishments and jealous of the honours bestowed upon them. In the past these elite troops would have been constantly before the public gaze as an example of service to the nation, but in our own times they are obliged not to disclose their identities in order to protect their roles, their future missions and even their lives and those of their families.