Channel: Dark5

Category: Education

Tags: special forcesusasoldiershistory channelamericanclassifiedhistorysecretamericaseal team 6specialnavy sealsseal teammilitarydelta forceus

Description: The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group, or MACV-SOG, was a covert unit created by the US Army and the Pentagon in the years before the outbreak of the Vietnam War. The unit operated in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1964 to 1973. SOG remained classified until the late 1990s, and it was not until the 2000s when the men who served in the classified unit were formally recognized by the US government. MACV-SOG was created to function as a joint special operations task force between the US government and military branches, with recruitments from the Green Berets, CIA, Navy SEALs, Air Force, Marine Corps, and the South Vietnamese Military. MACV-SOG teams usually operated in 10-man squads and were deployed behind enemy lines via parachute drops. The men were given almost total freedom regarding the equipment and clothing they could use for their missions. Enemy weaponry, such as AK47s, RPK machine guns, and old Soviet PPShs, were often used to disorient the enemy during firefights. MACV men also significantly extended the first iteration of M4 carbines, also known as Commandos, which were smaller than the standard-issue M16 rifle given to all American personnel in Vietnam. The covert units specialized in a wide array of missions that ranged from strategic reconnaissance, search and rescue, sabotage, psychological operations, and counter-intelligence. As the war raged on, MACV assumed more roles that turned more perilous as the US steadily withdrew from the war. It was not uncommon to hear tales of SOG units that went up against entire regiments of North Vietnamese units and made it out alive, causing tremendous damage to the enemy. Of the more than 50 MACV-SOG operators captured by the enemy, only one survived, and the rest were never seen again. To this day, MACV-SOG remains the unit with the highest kill/death ratio in US military history. Eventually, nine Green Berets, two Navy Seals, one Army Medic, and one Air Force pilot that served in the unit received the Medal of Honor, while other 30 members were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The unit would then receive a Presidential Unit Citation during a celebration at Fort Bragg in 2001.