Special Reaction Unit
| Special Reaction Unit | |
|---|---|
| Spezielle Reaktionseinheit | |
 | |
| Active | 1949 - present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Hanoverian Army |
| Type | Special forces |
| Role | Special operations Counter-terrorism Hostage rescue |
| Size | Three regiments |
| Part of | United Kingdom Special Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Celle SRU-A - King Frederick City SRU-B - Walsrode SRU-C - Diepholz |
| Nickname(s) | "The Black Berets" |
| Motto(s) | German: Ohne Angst "Without Fear" |
| Colours | Black |
| March | Quick: "March of the Regiment" Slow: "Lili Marleen" |
| Engagements | List of SRU operations |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-commandant | Field Marshal The Lord Hellmann |
The Special Reaction Unit (German: Spezielle Reaktionseinheit) (SRU) is a special forces unit of the Royal Hanoverian Army. Founded in 1947 and closely inspired by the parallel development of the United Kingdom's Special Air Service, the unit specialises in several particular roles, namely counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action, and covert reconnaissance. Given its conventionally secretive and classified nature, the unit's operations and activities are strictly classified and are rarely commented upon by the British government or defence ministry.
Consisting of three regiments, the unit's headquarters is based in the city of Celle, Hanover, while its three regiments, namely the SRU-A, SRU-B, and the SRU-C are located in several different cities around Hanover. Despite technically being a unit of the Royal Hanoverian Army, the SRU, much like its British counterparts, the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service, ultimately fall under the authority of the Director Special Forces who oversees the United Kingdom Special Forces.
After previous decades of secrecy, the unit first gained media attention around October 1995 when it, along with the Special Air Service, took part in a joint operation to liberate the Hanoverian Parliament from a lone gunman who had forcefully occupied the building in an act of protest against lawmakers' decision to abolish Hanover's longstanding Semi-Salic Law. Subsequently, a successful outcome, in which the gunman was killed while no lawmakers aside from a couple of security officers were otherwise harmed, soon thrust the unit into the public eye. Since then, the unit has reportedly engaged in a number of covert and classified operations both local and abroad with the majority of them being rarely commented upon by the government.