The Selous Scouts was a special forces regiment of the Rhodesian Army

Rhodesian Army

The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of the Rhodesian Army, Royal Rhodesian Air Force, British South Africa Police, Rhodesian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Guard Force.- Rhodesian Army :...

, which operated from 1973 until the introduction of majority rule in 1980. It was named after British explorer Frederick Courteney Selous

Frederick Selous

Frederick Courteney Selous DSO was a British explorer, officer, hunter, and conservationist, famous for his exploits in south and east of Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir H. Rider Haggard to create the fictional Allan Quatermain character. Selous was also a good friend of Theodore...

 (1851–1917), and their motto was pamwe chete, which, in the Shona

Shona language

Shona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...

 language, roughly means "all together", "together only" or "forward together". The charter of the Selous Scouts directed them to "the clandestine elimination of terrorists/terrorism both within and without the country." The badge (pictured) signifies the osprey

Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

, a fish-eating bird of prey that is not common, but is instead found in small numbers in many parts of the world where there are large stretches of water.
The period during which the Selous Scouts were most relevant was known as the Rhodesian Bush War

Rhodesian Bush War

The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...

 or Second Chimurenga.