Some 400 S.A.S. detachments were created, each under an army lieutenant or captain who was an expert in Arabic and Arab affairs and could deal with every conceivable aspect of administration; from agronomy, teaching and health, to building houses and administering justice. The képis bleus, as they were affectionately called, were a selflessly devoted and courageous band of men, who made themselves much loved by the local populace, and for that reason were often the principal targets of the F.L.N., suffering the heaviest casualties of any category of administrator. Foreign journalists who saw them at work in the remoter bled, isolated and in constant danger, never ceased to be impressed. Unfortunately, there were always too few képis bleus with all the numerous qualifications that the job required; and, inevitably, there were the bad ones who transformed the S.A.S. into "intelligence centres" where torture was not unknown.

DEFINE: Képis bleus is the affectionate nickname for the S.A.S. detachments — French army officers with deep expertise in Arab affairs who administered remote Algerian regions.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 345