When you meet Bill Moffitt you immediately know you are in the company of a man’s man. Bill is a straight shooter and in these times of PC BS it is nice to hear a man who has been there and done that, who is not afraid to say it straight and not pussy foot around any tough subject.
I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with Bill for several years and can honestly say I have learnt a lot from chatting with him, knowledge you cant just learn on any course.
Bill Moffitt is a man of much experience, not scared of hard work or getting his hands dirty. He has a wealth of experience and can turn his hand to a multitude of trades, making or repairing just about anything.
Bill is fiercely loyal to the SAS and to his family and mates. He does not take kindly to fools and calls a spade a spade, you get what you see – a man of principles.
Bill today is still in good shape, a big hard looking man by appearance correct, but under that frame and shell is a wealth of SAS knowledge on the history, its people, and training and operational aspects.
Bill Moffitt was originally from Raetihi and joined the New Zealand Army in 1962 as a Regular Force Cadet in Palmerston North serving with the Cadets for one year before joining the Regular Force Infantry and moving down to 2 Battalion based at Burnham Military Camp
After serving only one year there, Bill successfully passed the SAS selection course No 8 in April 1964. Bill first served overseas with the SAS in Borneo with the 1st Detachment in 1965 for eight months. And in 1966 again returned to Borneo with the 4th Detachment coming home to New Zealand late 1966. Bill served a majority of his time with the Punans on ‘hearts and minds’ program working with the local people. He was a ptl medic and looked after all types of ills, including the extraction of rotten teeth and suturing of minor wounds. This type of work was really enjoyable as the Punans were a very simple people with just the basics of life, but they appreciated what we did for them. Bill was also asked to be tattooed by them which he did and felt it an honour to do so.
In 1967 Bill decided to leave the NZ Army as his five-year engagement time was coming up and he wanted to serve in Vietnam, so decided to join the US Army.
One week before he was due to leave for the U.S. Army he was asked back to the NZSAS as they were about to be deployed to Vietnam. He tossed over his options and decided to stay with the unit and people he knew so Bill departed New Zealand for Vietnam with the second 4 TROOP in 1969 and returned home in 1971.
During that time Bill was shot twice. He spent one year in hospital and returned to serve in the SAS as a Storeman reaching the rank of Sergeant until he got out in 1979,because of his injuries.
Bill had no problem finding work and set up his own Outdoor Pursuits in South Taranaki working with youths to help them gain confidence in the outdoors and to help them acquire work. In 1996 the SAS were looking to employ former members in roles where their former service, expertise could be best put to work. Bill applied for and got a Specialist Stores Managers position. He worked for three years until the Battle Training Facility Manager’s job became available when another former member, respected Close Quarter Combat Instructor Ron Evans resigned to return to the United Kingdom. Bill thought very highly of Ron and said he was a good instructor and seasoned soldier of many years experience.
Bill applied and got the job and has run the battle training facility until his retirement in February of 2003. In fact on the 28th of February 2003 was Bill’s last day with the unit and his decision to retire was brought about by the effects of old injuries and a desire to hit the road traveling New Zealand in his eleven metre, "eleven litre" bus.
Bill has contributed much in service and support over his 25 plus years service to the New Zealand Army. He explained to me the circumstances around his wounding in Vietnam; they had had a contact on a track and bugged out after the incident. The procedure at the time after any contact was to send out a signal and Bill as the signaler was having difficulty sending the signal because of distance from base, he knew he had to put out a long wire.
As Bill went out over 100 feet he was covered by his mates, on his way back he was lifting the wire above head height to reduce the risk of the enemy finding it or following it back to their location. He was on his way back holding the aerial wire in the air when a shot rang out and his elbow was flung into his face. There was three shots fired in quick succession and as a consequence Bill was thrown to the ground on to his rifle, which folded under him, later to find it caused a fracture of one of his lower vertebrae
Bill’s mates, realizing what had happened quickly ran to his aid. Bill had taken a round through his elbow joint and another had hit the buckles on his webbing penetrating his abdomen, perforating his bowel and deflected the bullet up his chest penetrating his diaphragm and lodging itself just ½ inch below his heart.
Initially he had trouble breathing until his condition stabilized and internal bleeding slowed. The medic checked Bill’s back for an exit wound but could not find one and informed Bill immediately making him realize that if the round had not exited his back he would be OK.
His mates had trouble signaling with Bill’s radio so they brought it over to him and he got the extension Morse key out and sent the message to come and pick him up which took about another three hours. When the chopper arrived to evacuate Bill he had a gut feeling something was going to go wrong again and as he was winched to the chopper the stretcher came in contact with a tree and kicked up vertically. This meant Bill was suspended head down and feet up as he was air lifted out having to hold himself on the stretcher with his good arm and feet as he was not tied to the stretcher in any way.
This is testament to Bills physical and mental toughness and the training he had received in SAS.
"In our unit" Bill says, "We accept the dangers of the job and just get on with it even if it means getting hurt. We have already accepted the possibility and are therefore more able to accept the trauma very quickly."
Bill has also assisted me personally with my research into the history of military qualified C.Q.B. instructors to the New Zealand military and their methods.
Shocker Shaw who I have extensively researched and featured in an article previously was a descendant of the "Mad" Mike Calvert and Captain William Fairbairn methods of military unarmed combat. Shocker was well known for the odd clip across the throat while standing at attention or shock you with his actions while instructing or demonstrating.
Shocker had a special way to test soldiers fears, toughness and falling ability when it came to the rigors of unarmed combat training, the old fireman’s lift, airplane spin or the helicopter as he called it and unceremoniously dumping to the ground all part of the toughener phase.
Bill recalls that he was not going to be thrown to the ground by anyone and when Shocker picked him up for the old helicopter Bill wrapped his legs around Shocker’s neck forcing Shocker to have to drop to one knee and put Bill down. Shocker sternly stated that wasn’t the way he wanted it done, Bill replied "I aint going to be dumped by anyone Sergeant Major."
Shocker was respected and feared and earned his name with acts such as hiding live detonators up his rectum during prisoner searching training.
Shocker taught Bill battle proven CQB that was simple, without warning and deadly. This included everything from knife fighting, weapons disarming through to prisoner snatches and sentry takeouts. Bill still clearly remembers the unarmed combat principles installed in him by Shocker. Get in first, put him down and finish him with your boots on the ground, takeouts before you’re locked in at close quarters, take them out when his guard is down, less is better when it comes to skills, simple deadly skills to disarm, disable and dispose of you enemy.
His philosophy was short, sharp, immediate, intense actions. Shocker was the end of an era in military European qualified CQB instructors for many years
Bill comes from a long line of military men dating back to the Boer War where two of his family served, one family member couldn’t make it into the mounted rifles as he had did not have a horse, only a saddle and ended up joining the Australian Army serving in the Boxer Rebellion in China. Following the Boer War they all served in the WWI and the uncle that Bill is named after died in the second battle of the SOMME
He had seven different family members serving in WWII in which some were killed and others wounded. He had a cousin serving in the Korean War followed by Bill serving in all the later wars.
Bill’s son joined the Army as a sixteen-year-old cadet and now is following in the footsteps of his father. Bill states to look across the table at your son sitting there and now serving with your unit, well words are hard to explain how that makes you feel and how proud he is of his boy. When you ask Bill who has most influenced him during his military career he names Shocker Shaw and its the men themselves that make the unit, these guys that put in fifteen or twenty years, unlike most officers that only stay three years. Its not the money, it’s a commitment to the unit and being part of the ethos is what it’s all about says Bill.
Outside Bill’s military service he builds Canadian canoes, panel beats, fibreglasses, spray paints and at present is completing the re furnishing of his bus that he will travel New Zealand in. He will tow his jet boat behind the bus and will also take along his motorcycle, bicycle and Canadian canoe. Everything he needs to enjoy his travels and long neglected past times.
Bill has been very active with the compiling of the units history and archives as well as constructing unit memorials. He was part of moving the unit plimph for the fourth time and putting a time capsule down with it. He has seen a lot of changes since he was in S.A.S. when you had to make do with very little kit or buy your own. Many things that have become standard across the army were in fact personally purchased by the lads themselves and then adopted by the Army. Such things as our training jerseys and the calf boots. Much experience has been gained with recent deployments that will assist with training for the next 20 years, this is important as a lot of the expertise from Vietnam had been lost with very few of the Vets still being actively involved.
Bill is proud of the fact that the S.A.S. of today has continued to be innovative and ready to repair or improvise when it comes to kit. We have always taken our packs and belt order and modified it to suit our needs and body types, Bill can remember spending a good week before going to Vietnam making and modifying his belt order and pack.
The counter terrorist role was just starting when Bill was ending his service and because of his injuries at the time he was not able to take part, however on taking up the battle training facility managers position he found himself involved in a whole new area of specialized warfare.
Bill is very much an ideas person and working in this role gave him the opportunity to design equipment for training based on the lad’s needs and requests and he gained much satisfaction from assisting and seeing his inventions working.
Bill is a big fan of reaction shooting and reaction training devices. This was a life times project of the late Col Rex Applegate, the World War II pioneer of close quarter battle that instructor qualified Tank and had him continue with his work in New Zealand introducing his methods of point shooting. Bill is a great advocate of instinctive point shooting. Accuracy is one thing says Bill, however you must be able to have a fast reaction and shoot instinctively.
Bill also completed his bodyguard course from the Brits and said it was one of the most enjoyable courses he had ever done. It is a skill that is handy to know both while in service for your country and for future employment.
Although he has had to do his share of parachuting he’d rather have his two feet on the ground where he can have a greater control over his destiny.
Bill was always impressed with the ideology of a small group of specialists being committed to a job rather than a large mass of people running over the top. He was disgusted that New Zealand soldiers had to get over trenches and walk into enemy fire and when you consider that in Galipoli they weren’t even allowed to put a round up the breach until they were close to the enemy, bayonet first, I thought what a waste of human beings says Bill.
When Bill joined the army he had his dream to fulfill and knew what he wanted and that was to be part of the NZSAS. and in fact even in Cadets he was known as S.A.S. Man Moffitt. Bill was one of the youngest to make it into the S.A.S. At the time he was only nineteen. He says anything in life worthwhile you have to want, fight and strive for and he feels very lucky to have been invited back after all those years and once again share in and be able to assist the unit. He was in July 2002 presented with the CGS Commendation (Chief of the General Staff) of which he is very proud.
Bill has been a dedicated member of the SAS Association for many years, in fact an executive member and he knows the value of the association and the work it does with welfare issues, information and communication.
When Bill started back with the unit it turned things around for many former members of Bill’s era as they had a point of contact that could welcome them to the unit and introduce them to serving members, starting good interaction between past and present members.
Thanks Bill for sharing a little bit of your life story with us and good luck on the road and we look forward to your arrival in the mainland.
