Rob

The Rhodesian Light Infantry acted in heli-bourne Commando role for most of the war, and worked very closely with the Selous Scouts who acted as our eyes and ears on the ground. However the entire operation would be handled by JOC, or Joint Operational Command, which effectively controlled all that went on within the area of their control, whether police, or military. It was usual however to declare areas where the Scouts were operating as "frozen zones," and we ended up calling the Scouts and SB within those areas, "Eskimos." Unfortunately due to map reading errors, very occasionally one or the other would stray into or out of the area and firefights would erupt between the two.

Originally the Police in general ran the show, but later the Military took over and within that command, intelligence was equally available to all. Great care was taken to ensure that we did not enter a combat zone with Scouts likely to be within the immediate kill zone. Frankly we wouldnt have been able or expected to tell the difference between the terrs and the Scouts, but they often gave us excellent O.P support from the nearby hills if they had hung around at all.

The RLI, and the Polce proper, to be blunt, did not particularly like each other very much, largely because we tended to be very aggressive by training and nature, and frequently ended up "breaking things" . . . .

I.R