Download or read book SOG Medic written by Joe Parnar and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-09-19 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The “hair-raising details of the second-by-second events” of a Special Forces medic’s covert operations during the Vietnam War (On Point: The Journal of Army History Online). In the years since the Vietnam War, the elite unit known as the Studies and Observations Group (SOG) has spawned many myths, legends, and war stories. Special Forces medic Joe Parnar served with SOG during 1968 in FOB2/CCC near the tri-border region that gave them access to the forbidden areas of Laos and Cambodia. Parnar recounts his time with the recon men of this highly classified unit, as his job involved a unique combination of soldiering and lifesaving. His stories capture the extraordinary commitment made by all the men of SOG and reveal the special dedication of the medics, who put their own lives at risk to save the lives of their teammates. Parnar also discusses his medical training with the Special Forces. “A well-written, interesting account of Parnar’s three-year term of enlistment in the US Army, culminating as a Special Forces medic in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 . . . Parnar takes the time to provide context, circumstance and motivation for heroism and tragedy—for US soldiers and the indigenous Vietnamese soldiers and civilians with whom he worked . . . The service, sacrifice and valor of a generation are vividly documented in the pages of SOG Medic.” —ARMY Magazine

Download or read book SOG Chronicles written by John Stryker Meyer and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "From 1964 to 1972, far beyond the battlefields of Vietnam and the glare of media distortions, American Green Berets and their indigenous troops fought a deadly secret war in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam under the aegis of the top secret Military Assistance Command Vietnam -- Studies and Observations Group, or simply SOG.... The centerpiece of SOG Chronicles Volume One is the 1970 story of Operation Tailwind, features a SOG element of 16 Green Berets and 120 indigenous soldiers that went deeper into Laos than any operation during the secret war"--Page 4 of cover.

Download or read book SOG written by John L. Plaster and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2022-05-19 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new edition of this classic illustrated history of the operations and operatives of MACV-SOG in the Vietnam War. In 1972 the U.S. military destroyed all known photos of the top-secret Studies and Observations Group, with the intention that details could never be made public. But unknown to those in charge, SOG veterans had brought back with them hundreds of photographs of SOG in action and would keep them secret for more than three decades. In this new edition of SOG: A Photo History, more than 700 irreplaceable photos bring to life the stories of SOG legends Larry Thorne, Bob Howard, Dick Meadows, George Sisler, "Q" and others, and document what really happened deep inside enemy territory: Operation Tailwind, the Son Tay raid, SOG's defense of Khe Sanh, Hatchet Force operations, Bright Light rescues, HALO insertions, string extractions, SOG's darkest programs and much more.

Download or read book SOG written by John L. Plaster and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-01-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Plaster’s riveting account of his covert activities as a member of a special operations team during the Vietnam War is “a true insider’s account, this eye-opening report will leave readers feeling as if they’ve been given a hot scoop on a highly classified project” (Publishers Weekly). Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most secret elite US military unit to serve in the Vietnam War—so secret its very existence was denied by the government. Composed entirely of volunteers from such ace fighting units as the Army Green Berets, Air Force Air Commandos, and Navy SEALs, SOG took on the most dangerous covert assignments, in the deadliest and most forbidding theaters of operation. In SOG, Major John L. Plaster, a three-tour SOG veteran, shares the gripping exploits of these true American warriors in a minute-by-minute, heartbeat-by-heartbeat account of the group’s stunning operations behind enemy lines—penetrating heavily defended North Vietnamese military facilities, holding off mass enemy attacks, launching daring missions to rescue downed US pilots. Some of the most extraordinary true stories of honor and heroism in the history of the US military, from sabotage to espionage to hand-to-hand combat, Plaster’s account is “a detailed history of this little-known aspect of the Vietnam War…a worthy act of historical rescue from an unjustified, willed oblivion” (The New York Times).

Download or read book Journal of Special Operations Medicine written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Special Operations Association written by and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2006-01-31 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book US MACV SOG Reconnaissance Team in Vietnam written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-09-20 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1964 Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, activated a joint unconventional task force known as the Studies and Observation Group-MACV-SOG. As a cover its mission was to conduct analysis of lessons learned in combat by all branches of service. SOG's real mission was to conduct covert strategic reconnaissance missions into Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam as well as sabotage and 'Black' psychological operations. Ground, air and naval assets were employed to insert, collect, extract, and otherwise support these operations. This book tells the complete story of these covert agents, from their recruitment and training, through to their deadly black-ops in the jungles of Vietnam.

Download or read book Special Reconnaissance and Advanced Small Unit Patrolling written by Edward Wolcoff and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2021-08-30 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive guide by a Special Ops combat veteran is the ultimate reference for military tactics, techniques, and procedures. Intended for military SpecialOps personnel, this volume presents invaluable operational guidance with lessons learned from the legendary Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). Drawing on Special Reconnaissance operations conducted during the Vietnam Era, author Edward Wolcoff provides practical information alongside operational accounts and analyses of specific missions. Wolcoff covers the gamut of specialized SR topics ranging from operational planning and preparation, through execution, logistics and command and control – all in substantial tradecraft detail. Few of the tactics, techniques, and procedures or lessons-learned included in this book have been previously presented in a usable form for SpecOps personnel. This book is intended instruct the Special Operations units of today, and preserve this valuable tradecraft for future generations.

Download or read book Unconventional Warfare Special Forces Book 1 written by Chris Lynch and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "All the sizzle, chaos, noise and scariness of war is clay in the hands of ace storyteller Lynch." -- Kirkus Reviews for the World War II series Discover the secret missions behind America's greatest conflicts.Danny Manion has been fighting his entire life. Sometimes with his fists. Sometimes with his words. But when his actions finally land him in real trouble, he can't fight the judge who offers him a choice: jail... or the army.Turns out there's a perfect place for him in the US military: the Studies and Observation Group (SOG), an elite volunteer-only task force comprised of US Air Force Commandos, Army Green Berets, Navy SEALS, and even a CIA agent or two. With the SOG's focus on covert action and psychological warfare, Danny is guaranteed an unusual tour of duty, and a hugely dangerous one. Fortunately, the very same qualities that got him in trouble at home make him a natural-born commando in a secret war. Even if almost nobody knows he's there.National Book Award finalist Chris Lynch begins a new, explosive fiction series based on the real-life, top-secret history of US black ops.

Download or read book SOG Kontum written by Joe Parnar and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2022-12-05 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "....[a] powerful sense of sacrifice permeates the book and makes it profound and unique—especially when one considers the void of secrecy in which SOG existed." —Vietnam Magazine The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States Special Forces unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War. The unit conducted strategic reconnaissance missions in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia; carried out the capture of enemy prisoners, rescued downed pilots, and conducted rescue operations to retrieve allied prisoners of war throughout Southeast Asia; and conducted clandestine agent team activities and psychological operations. This book tells the story of the Teams operating out of FOB2 Kontum, near the tri-border area, in 1968–69. From recon missions over the fence to the heroic, and sometimes fatal efforts undertaken to try and rescue missing SOG members, the events are told through the words of the men themselves, supported by previously unreleased official documents.

Download or read book Uncommon Valor written by Stephen Moore and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2018-10-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uncommon Valor is a look into the formation and operation of an advanced Special Forces recon company during the Vietnam War. Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most covert U.S. military unit in its time and contained only volunteers from such elite units as the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Air Commandos. SOG warriors operated in small teams, going behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tasked with performing special reconnaissance, sabotaging North Vietnamese Army ammunition, attempting to rescue downed U.S. pilots, and other black ops missions. During that time, Forward Operating Base-2's (FOB-2's) recon company became the most highly decorated unit of the Vietnam War, with five of its men earning the Medal of Honor and eight earning the Distinguished Service Cross-America's second highest military award for valor. Purple Hearts were earned by SOG veterans at a pace unparalleled in American wars of the twentieth century, with casualties at times exceeding 100 percent. One, Bob Howard, was wounded on fourteen different occasions, received eight Purple Hearts, was written up after three different missions for the Medal of Honor, and emerged from Vietnam as the most highly decorated soldier since World War II's Audie Murphy.

Download or read book MAC V SOG written by Jason M. Hardy and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: US Military History Special Forces

Download or read book Whispers in the Tall Grass written by Nick Brokhausen and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2019-10-19 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[An] exceptionally raw look at the Vietnam War . . . an excellent tribute to the generation that fought, laughed, and died in Southeast Asia.” —New York Journal of Books This is the second volume of a Green Beret’s riveting memoir of his time serving in Recon Teams Habu and Crusader, CNN, part of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam—Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). Picking up where We Few left off, Whispers in the Tall Grass opens as the war moves into a new phase. The enemy are using special formations to hunt recon teams and missions are now rarely accomplished without heavy contact. Despite the teams’ careful prep, losses are mounting. More and more missions are extracted by Bright Lights until eventually classic recon missions are almost impossible, and the teams briefly trial HALO insertion. Finally, as the US prepares to withdraw, the teams undertake back-to-back missions directing air strikes and disrupting supply lines to ease the pressure on the ARVN. Broken by the pace, but desperate not to leave the Yards, Brokhausen is ordered to out-process, his request for extension denied, and is forced to leave his friends—his brothers—behind. Written in the same vivid, immediate style that made We Few a cult classic, Whispers in the Tall Grass follows Habu, Crusader and other teams as they undertake missions in this new, deadlier phase of the war. The narrative veers from hair-raising to tragic and back as the teams insert into hot targets, act as Bright Light for stricken teams, and play hard in between missions to diffuse the ever-rising tension. “Brokhausen tells all in a masterfully gonzo style of reporting and recollection shaped by clever gallows humor.” —Booklist

Download or read book BAC SI written by Jerry Krizan and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2014-05-19 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Special Forces medic delivers “a fascinating account of an unfamiliar part of the Vietnamese War, written in a compelling style” (History Of War). During the Vietnam War, US Army Special Forces A-Teams were deployed to isolated outposts or “camps” in the remote areas of South Vietnam. Their job was to recruit, train, and house members of the indigenous population while molding them into combat-ready fighting units. A-Teams consisted of up to twelve Green Beret soldiers who were experts in both combat and their individual military specialties. Bac Si, the Vietnamese term for “medic,” is the story of Sgt. Jerry Krizan, who was assigned to Special Forces Camp A-331 in the III Corps tactical zone, only ten miles from the Cambodian border. Because of its proximity to a major north-south North Vietnamese Army infiltration route, there were constant enemy troop movements through the camp’s area of operations and A-331 itself came under attack on more than one occasion. The author accompanied patrols and probes into enemy territory, not only prepared to provide aid but fight as a soldier if the squad was ambushed or chose to attack. In this small-unit warfare against an expert enemy, US soldiers had to survive as best they could, with their only succor a Huey—meantime, on the ground, by themselves against unknown opposition. Our Green Beret base camps were our very first line of defense along the borders of South Vietnam, and in this book, through the eyes of a medic, we learn how dire, and confusing, a role we asked our Special Forces to play during that era.

Download or read book Fighting Elites written by John C. Fredriksen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-12-12 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Army Rangers to Green Berets to the U.S. Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden, this book explains what makes Special Forces "special," covering the rich and varied history of elite formations in American military history and describing their recruitment, intense training, and equipment in depth. Most civilians have only a vague idea of what the U.S. Special Forces are all about—who they are, how they differ from our "normal" military forces, what they've accomplished throughout our history, and how they operate today. Fighting Elites: A History of U.S. Special Forces examines the rich and varied history of U.S. Special Forces, identifies their contributions to specific conflicts from colonial times forward, and highlights their present operational excellence. In this first-ever reference guide to U.S. Special Forces, military historian John C. Fredriksen provides a carefully balanced presentation, describing all units in their own detailed section that discusses their origins, recruitment, training, tactics, and equipment, and defining military engagements, if known. The text also contains 20 biographical entries of noted personalities associated with special purpose activities.

Download or read book We Few written by Nick Brokhausen and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Green Beret’s gripping memoir of American Special Forces in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. In 1970, on his second tour to Vietnam, Nick Brokhausen served in Recon Team Habu, CCN. Officially, it was known as the Studies and Observations group. In fact, this Special Forces squad, which Brokhausen calls “an unwashed, profane, ribald, joyously alive fraternity,” undertook some of the most dangerous and suicidal reconnaissance missions ever in the enemy-controlled territory of Cambodia and Laos. But they didn’t infiltrate the jungles alone. They fought alongside the Montagnards—oppressed minorities from the mountain highlands, trained by the US military in guerilla tactics, armed, accustomed to the wild, and fully engaged in a war against the North Vietnamese. Together this small unit formed the backbone of ground reconnaissance in the Republic of Vietnam, racking up medals for valor—but at a terrible cost. “In colorful, military-jargon-laced prose leavened by gallows humor, Brokhausen pulls few punches describing what it was like to navigate remote jungle terrain under the constant threat of enemy fire. A smartly written, insider’s view of one rarely seen Vietnam War battleground.” —Booklist “[An] exceptionally raw look at the Vietnam War just at the apex of its unpopularity. . . . This battle-scarred memoir is an excellent tribute to the generation that fought, laughed, and died in Southeast Asia.” —New York Journal of Books

Download or read book Chosen Soldier written by Dick Couch and published by Crown. This book was released on 2008-03-25 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An unprecedented view of Green Beret training, drawn from the year Dick Couch spent at Special Forces training facilities with the Army’s most elite soldiers. In combating terror, America can no longer depend on its conventional military superiority and the use of sophisticated technology. More than ever, we need men like those of the Army Special Forces–the legendary Green Berets. Following the experiences of one class of soldiers as they endure this physically and mentally exhausting ordeal, Couch spells out in fascinating detail the demanding selection process and grueling field exercises, the high-level technical training and intensive language courses, and the simulated battle problems that test everything from how well SF candidates gather operational intelligence to their skills at negotiating with volatile, often hostile, local leaders. Chosen Soldier paints a vivid portrait of an elite group, and a process that forges America’s smartest, most versatile, and most valuable fighting force.