Anyone here heard about a Hector Gullan?

[Marsuitor]

As part of our deployment package we had a Brit named Hector Gullan come up here for a seven hour brief. Man that was some pretty intense stuff indeed! All about ethics in war, war crimes, first hand accounts and generally ****loads of good stuff from his 37 year career in the British armed forces.
If anyone else here has had briefs or has had the pleasure of meeting him i'd be interested in hearing your accounts.

Cheers,
Marcus

[Marsuitor]

No one huh? Well too bad for you... p-)

[Argyll]

What did he state his background was?
The reason he doesn't sound familiar as I have a feeling he's using a Psudonym!

[djon]

‘Croat’ town now a criminal haven
by Nick Thorpe

A senior British army officer calls on the international community to bring Croat war criminals to justice in Bosnia.



Stolac, Bosnia-Herzegovina


Lieutenant-Colonel Hector Gullan of the Parachute Regiment and the SAS led an undercover investigation into the violent intimidation of refugees trying to return to Stolac, in south-eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 1998 and 1999. His report, delivered to the international authorities in Bosnia, called for the immediate arrest of 22 people suspected of violence, extortion and intimidation since the war, and for crimes against humanity during the expulsion of Bosnian Muslims from the area during the war in the republic in 1993. But the men his report accused are still free, and in many cases, still hold power. He made his statement yesterday, after receiving an OBE from the Queen for his services in Bosnia...... more (http://www.bosnia.org.uk/bosrep/report_format.cfm?articleID=789&reportid=151)

Is this him (http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00031/5_hector1_370_31869a.jpg) (maybe mistaken) ....

[Upfrontreporting]

The picture doesn't look like him, unless he has changed his hairstyle drastically. The Danish TV2 made a documentary about him some years ago, in it they portrayed the actions of Hector Cullan, these actions where supposedly covert/SFOR deniable intell-missions against Croat war criminals in the Cjaplina and Stolac area. On op was called "Operation Panther".

TV2 located him in an undisclosed place in the UK, where he gave an interview telling about his work in Bosnia. Aparently he had been to effective and pressed to much for the local as well as international communities to press charges against the war criminals, as he was pulled from the op and lots of the valuable intel gathered by him and local sources were not used.
Local as well as international representatives interviewed in the documentary were all very evasive in their answers regarding the investigated criminals.

The guy portrayed as Hector Gullan in the documentary looked like a weather-beaten soldier type in his late forties, as I recall he had a destinctive scar/cut on his upper lip.
Marcus what did he look like??

I got the documentary somewhere in the basement, could be interesting seeing it again.




regards
Upfrontreporting

[Hullebullen]

I doubt the guy in pic is him (blue shirt and tie), doesn't really look like a Lt-Col with 37 yrs of service under his belt...

[djon]

He's undercover :lol: :lol: ...in disguise p-)
[edit: ya i vas mistaken... i think its from a norway ..mil site: http://www.mil.no/start/article.jhtml?articleID=62677 ]

[Marsuitor]

What did he state his background was?
The reason he doesn't sound familiar as I have a feeling he's using a Psudonym!
Could well be. Piecing together what he told us he started his service in the Paras in the 70's. Went on to do selection and service with the 22nd, including operations in Dhofar and Princess Gate as a troop commander, attached to 3 Cdo BDE during the Falklands as a higher ranking officer, Liason i believe. Apparently he knew the CO of 2Para quite well, the one who lost his life at Goose Green. He was quite vague with what he'd done after the Falklands, but he was still serving in 98 when he was doing undercover work to expose war criminals in Bosnia. In all a very impressive record indeed. Had our company sat quite tense during his lecture.
And yes, he had long hippy hair now, not the short stuff as seen in that Danish documentary.

[moughoun]

What did he state his background was?
The reason he doesn't sound familiar as I have a feeling he's using a Psudonym!
Could well be. Piecing together what he told us he started his service in the Paras in the 70's. Went on to do selection and service with the 22nd, including operations in Dhofar and Princess Gate as a troop commander, attached to 3 Cdo BDE during the Falklands as a higher ranking officer, Liason i believe. Apparently he knew the CO of 2Para quite well, the one who lost his life at Goose Green. He was quite vague with what he'd done after the Falklands, but he was still serving in 98 when he was doing undercover work to expose war criminals in Bosnia. In all a very impressive record indeed. Had our company sat quite tense during his lecture.
And yes, he had long hippy hair now, not the short stuff as seen in that Danish documentary.
it just sound's a little........funny for some reason :|

[Upfrontreporting]

Marcus,


Have you seen the Danish documentary and did your lecturer have a prominent scar in the face?

[digrar]

Did he know the colour of the boat house at Hereford? :P

[Upfrontreporting]

If you had seen the documentary you would know, nice joke by the way ;)

[username]

Did he know the colour of the boat house at Hereford? :P

yeah, he said it was pink

[moughoun]

Did he know the colour of the boat house at Hereford? :P

yeah, he said it was pink
yeah....with those little white polka dot's I believe

[digrar]

I keep hearing it's pink on the internet, so it must be true. ;)

[Argyll]

Yes but which one?

[moughoun]

Yes but which one?
touche.... :lol:

[Marsuitor]

Marcus,
Have you seen the Danish documentary and did your lecturer have a prominent scar in the face?
Yup, he showed us that documentary, he was definately the same guy.

Moughun,
I'm generally very wary of people claiming this-that and can usually sniff out if folks are BS'ing. However if this guy was lying he was by far the best liar i've ever heard. During question asking later that day there were naturally quite a few questions regarding the Iranian embassy siege, now i'm definately not 100% up on the what's and where's on that incident but judging by his voice and body language when he was answering stuff as you would when speaking the truth, ie. not stuttering or defensive postures etc.
Anyone else have some comments or thoughts? I think i'm buying this guy as the real deal... :|

[digrar]

Ken Conner wrote in his book Ghost Force "I am one of the few people, military or civillian, who has not claimed to have been on the Iranian Embassy balcony when the siege started. It forms one of the largest clubs in the world. At last the count, the balcony was holding at least 15,000 people."

This bloke sounds like he has a reasonably high profile, so if he wasn't there like he says he was, he probably would have been exposed by now.

[24469594]

As part of our deployment package we had a Brit named Hector Gullan come up here for a seven hour brief. Man that was some pretty intense stuff indeed! All about ethics in war, war crimes, first hand accounts and generally ****loads of good stuff from his 37 year career in the British armed forces.
If anyone else here has had briefs or has had the pleasure of meeting him i'd be interested in hearing your accounts.

Cheers,
Marcus

He was my Company Commander @ Para Depot from Jan to May '78 before I left for Sandhurst. Top bloke who had the MC from Dhofar...and had carried out numerous other interesting tasks.

[johngant]

Hi Marcus,

I'm new to the forum and stumbled accross this old thread. However, I went to Sandhurst (British Military Academy) with Hector Gullan,and he was commissioned into the Pars in July 67. I met up with him again when he was with the SAS in Dhofar (where they were called BATT). He is for real.

[Marsuitor]

Oh my, did this thread resurface?:)
Thanks for the insight last two posters. I've learnt a thing or two in the five years since first posting this thread, kind of found out for good that he is/was legit. For certain reasons he frequents Norway quite a bit, doing lectures now and again.
World really is small isn't it?

Later,
Marcus

[Royal]

World really is small isn't it?

Later,
Marcus

It is indeed.

Col Gullan is the real-deal, BTDT and that is the understatment of the century.

[dacanadianbomb]

Hi Marcus,

I'm new to the forum and stumbled accross this old thread. However, I went to Sandhurst (British Military Academy) with Hector Gullan,and he was commissioned into the Pars in July 67. I met up with him again when he was with the SAS in Dhofar (where they were called BATT). He is for real.

Im sorry, Im not saying your not who you say you are, but I find it kind of funny that a unknown entity here is vouching for an unknown entity.
Or maybe Im just strange to find that funny.

[johngant]

Dead right - I hadn't thought of that. But wasn't the original thread about someone who heard him lecture, and wondered if he was for real? I was trying to say, 'Yes, he is'.

But as none of us knows the other, then it is all quite meaningless!

[greenberet95]

I served with Hector Gullan in Bosnia, June-Dec 1999 when he was in charge of OP PANTHER focused on Stolac, Bosnia. It was also common knowledge that Hector was the SAS Assault troop leader at Princess Gate Embassy hostage rescue mission, and the Patrol Master for Goose Green, Falklands--verifiable in any number of books on the topic and his contemporaries. [Ref: "Who Dares Wins - The SAS and the Iranian Embassy Siege 1980" By Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Osprey Ltd, 2009, p 28.]

In Bosnia, I was a USSF Captain in charge of the QRF Assault Troop at the CJSOTF on th Ilidza Compound in Sarajevo. Hector was a LTC running Operation PANTHER to arrest Croatian Mafia leaders in Stolac, near Mostar BiH, to facilitate the return of ethnically displaced muslims to that area. He was a very interesting character, wild hair and a look in his eyes, old Brit uniform, no belt, just a red piece of yarn from his belt loop to the broken wrist watch in his pocket, and running shoes instead of boots--full of rich narratives.

My team assisted him on his initial mission to Stolac, which initially failed due to OPSEC leaks from local supporting allied units (French and Spanish at Mostar were too chummy with the Croats). We continued to use the OP PANTHER to successfully distract attention from the follow-on OP WESTAR against the Croat Mafia and SIS in Mostar; Croatian SIS activities in Mostar were significanly funded by and linked to Croat Mafia blackmarket activities (stolen cars and drug trafficking) in Stolac. http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=article&articleid=11487

We also uncovered a Croat Op Panther to undermine SFOR efforts, which could be confused with Hector's efforts. Good photos released by SFOR at http://www.otan.nato.int/sfor/sfor-at-work/opwestar/indexsaw.htm and follow-on political scandal in Croatia http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=article&articleid=7968

After breaking the Croat SIS HQ in Mostar, Hector was able to focus his attention back on Stolac and successfully conduct OP PANTHER II to finally reduce the Mafia problem, and usher in the return of local muslims. Hector wrote a monograph on the Crimes in Stolac http://www.cuprija.ba/download/5.pdf

Hi hope this was helpful in filling out your inquiry.

Regards, GB95

[Straker]

Royal has confirmed it anyway but as I was searching whilst reading the rest of the thread:

A Captain Hector Gullan of the Parachute regiment was awarded a MC for actions in Dhofar at the same time as a Lt. Col. De La Billiere.

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/46808/supplements/1295

Funny that the Parachute Regiment wasn't deployed there at the time... p-)

Sorry, just noticed how old this thread was, my bad.

[stationcommander]

Royal has confirmed it anyway but as I was searching whilst reading the rest of the thread:

A Captain Hector Gullan of the Parachute regiment was awarded a MC for actions in Dhofar at the same time as a Lt. Col. De La Billiere.

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/46808/supplements/1295

Funny that the Parachute Regiment wasn't deployed there at the time... p-)

Sorry, just noticed how old this thread was, my bad.


As IPTF Station Commander in Stolac 1998-99, I can caonfirm the details about Hector having worked with him in Stolac at the time of the operation and was present at a private dinner with him and General Montgomery Meigs and selected guests to honour Hector

[SuperBootie]

What did he state his background was?
The reason he doesn't sound familiar as I have a feeling he's using a Psudonym!

Edit - Royal got there before me

[achilles h]

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[achilles h]

I served with Hector Gullan in Bosnia, June-Dec 1999 when he was in charge of OP PANTHER focused on Stolac, Bosnia. It was also common knowledge that Hector was the SAS Assault troop leader at Princess Gate Embassy hostage rescue mission, and the Patrol Master for Goose Green, Falklands--verifiable in any number of books on the topic and his contemporaries. [Ref: "Who Dares Wins - The SAS and the Iranian Embassy Siege 1980" By Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Osprey Ltd, 2009, p 28.]

In Bosnia, I was a USSF Captain in charge of the QRF Assault Troop at the CJSOTF on th Ilidza Compound in Sarajevo. Hector was a LTC running Operation PANTHER to arrest Croatian Mafia leaders in Stolac, near Mostar BiH, to facilitate the return of ethnically displaced muslims to that area. He was a very interesting character, wild hair and a look in his eyes, old Brit uniform, no belt, just a red piece of yarn from his belt loop to the broken wrist watch in his pocket, and running shoes instead of boots--full of rich narratives.

My team assisted him on his initial mission to Stolac, which initially failed due to OPSEC leaks from local supporting allied units (French and Spanish at Mostar were too chummy with the Croats). We continued to use the OP PANTHER to successfully distract attention from the follow-on OP WESTAR against the Croat Mafia and SIS in Mostar; Croatian SIS activities in Mostar were significanly funded by and linked to Croat Mafia blackmarket activities (stolen cars and drug trafficking) in Stolac. http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=article&articleid=11487

We also uncovered a Croat Op Panther to undermine SFOR efforts, which could be confused with Hector's efforts. Good photos released by SFOR at http://www.otan.nato.int/sfor/sfor-at-work/opwestar/indexsaw.htm and follow-on political scandal in Croatia http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=article&articleid=7968

After breaking the Croat SIS HQ in Mostar, Hector was able to focus his attention back on Stolac and successfully conduct OP PANTHER II to finally reduce the Mafia problem, and usher in the return of local muslims. Hector wrote a monograph on the Crimes in Stolac http://www.cuprija.ba/download/5.pdf

Hi hope this was helpful in filling out your inquiry.

Regards, GB95

bang on bbbbbbbb