I joined the Army in mid 1966. I scored well on tests and had a high GT score. I was lucky to go to Infantry OCS after BCT and Infantry AIT. In July 1967 after graduation from OCS (Jul 27,1967) I went to airborne school and then drove to Ft. Bragg, NC for the Special Forces Officer’s Course. My SF officer’s class graduated December 15, 1967. I next went through jumpmaster course in early January 1968 at Ft. Bragg as we had slots open. The SF NCO’s had no equals. They were awesome. Myself and five men whom I went through OCS, airborne and the SFOC with all flew to Vietnam on the same flight out of Travis AFB on June 10, 1968. I got to the 5th SF Group and volunteered for C&C Detachment (Code for MACVSOG). I asked for FOB 2 (Kontum). I was switched to C-5 Ban Me Thout by the 5th Group XO. He remarked, "You will be in on the ground floor of a new C&C Det. "We basically had no artillery or fast air support at Omega/Sigma (CCS) in Cambodia as we were rarely within 15K’s of arty units. Our AF 20th SOS choppers provided gunships and slicks. I recall it could take some 45 minutes to get gunship support plus slicks to any recon team in one NE Cambodian target area called Tango 51. Our choppers flew 2K’s a minute or 120 K's per hour. From our Duc Co A Team northern launch site. The A team CO was very nice to me and my NCOIC. The reaction time could be longer as our AF 20th SOS choppers had to fly to the 4th Infantry’s Oasis to refuel. I should have tried to have fuel stored at Duc Co. The problem was the VC and NVA had all or most of that camp zeroed in for their mortars. Hell, the VC/NVA blew up the A teams refrigerator the day it was restocked with beer in their Team Room. Our AF 20th SOS flew in beer from the B team in Ban Me Thout the next AM as I asked an SF NCO friend I knew from B-23. Yes, we lost a lot of men in our unit as did all MACVSOG recon, hatchet force types plus our air support. I had a company of mostly Rhade montagnards for 5 1/2 months before the launch site. Then in mid January 69, I was XO and later CO of our northern launch site for cross border ops. In early April 69 we got a new head FAC. He was not the quality of the old one. It was late 12/68 before I finally got two fine 1LT’s assigned to the company. Both were in on the COSVN Raid on April 24, 1969. One was shot through the chest and he continued to call in gunship support, adjust it, and then direct and adjust TAC air until he died. He knew he was dying. He deserved the DSC. The other called in napalm so close it burned him. We lost 90% of that force that day. I was shot twice two days after the 4/24/69 COSVN Raid just west of the fishhook in Cambodia. I was the asst. S3 then as the CO put me in the S-3 shop for my last two months. I think of those fine men if one asks certain things. I spoke to one of those 1LT’s mother about her son 8-10 years ago. He had been with me when incoming killed and wounded a number of our montagnards on Jan 20,1969 at Duc Co. He ran through incoming exploding 82mm and 120mm rounds, did everything I asked of him and did. She was glad to hear from my top SF NCO, too. In 70-72, chief Infantry branch sent me back to college for two years including summers to finish my degree. Then I went through the IOAC in 72-73. The worse assignment I ever had was Korea in 73-74 in the 2nd ID. The BN CO’s were punks pushing false statistics up higher as were BDE. CO’s. Some West Point O-6’s were the worse as was Gen Emerson letting troops smoke (marijuana and hashish). I left in 75. I also turned down CGSC in 12/75.I miss the Rhade Montagnards troops I had.
<>The men you serve with in combat are friends for life. Today, I can see what PC/MC woke punks have done to our nation’s great military by imposing COED BCT and DADT in Oct 1993. Clinton gave the green light for fags and lesbians to join our nation’s best. What a rotten bunch these Democrat/commies are. On this site most freepers are civil and know how to be tactful when they disagree. Unfortunately, a few cannot resist verbally blasting another. I have done it myself. I am sorry if I hurt any user here. Seems some must always get the last word. Life would be easier if we'd merely agree to disagree.