6/22/2023 0 Comments 11b mos special forces in vietnam![]() ![]() SF personnel were instrumental in the covert war against North Vietnam. This was the other side of the SF mission, the part of the war designed to win the hearts and minds of the people. ![]() Other missions included civic-action projects, in which SF troops built schools, hospitals and government buildings, provided medical care to civilians and dredged canals. CIDG troops became the SF’s most valuable ally in battles fought in faraway corners of Vietnam, out of reach of conventional back-up forces. SF took the Montagnards, the Nungs, the Cao Dei and others and molded them into the 60,000-strong Civilian Irregular Defense Group, or CIDG. It was also responsible for training thousands of Vietnam’s ethnic tribesmen in the techniques of guerrilla warfare. But fighting in remote areas of Vietnam – publicity to the contrary – wasn’t the only mission of SF. Through their unstinting labors, SF troops eventually established 254 outposts throughout Vietnam, many of them defended by a single A-team and hundreds of friendly natives. Southeast Asia, however, was the SF’s primary focus. In 1968, SF-trained Bolivian rangers were involved in tracking down and capturing the notorious revolutionary, Che Guevara, in the wilds of south-central Bolivia. Counterinsurgency forces of the 8th SF Group conducted clandestine operations against guerrilla forces, carrying out some 450 missions between 19. Not to be overlooked, other SF training teams were operating in the 1960s in Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. It was a brilliant record, built on blood and sacrifice. From that point on, all SF Soldiers in Vietnam were assigned to the 5th until 1971, when the group returned to Fort Bragg.īy the time the 5th left Southeast Asia, SF soldiers had earned 17 Medals of Honor, one Distinguished Service Medal, 90 Distinguished Service Crosses, 814 Silver Star Medals, 13,234 Bronze Star Medals, 235 Legions of Merit, 46 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 232 Soldier’s Medals, 4,891 Air Medals, 6,908 Army Commendation Medals and 2,658 Purple Hearts. Nearly six months later, in February, Nha Trang became the 5th’s permanent headquarters. The 5th Group set up its provisional headquarters in Nha Trang. In September 1964, the 5th SF Group was formed exclusively to conduct operations in Vietnam. Initially, elements from the different SF groups were involved in advising the South Vietnamese. Their responsibility was to train South Vietnamese soldiers in the art of counterinsurgency and to mold various native tribes into a credible anti-communist threat. Throughout the latter years of the 1950s and early 1960s, the number of Special Forces advisers in Vietnam steadily increased. ![]() The first and last American Soldiers to die in Vietnam due to enemy action were members of the 1st SF Group. ![]() It was a stay that began in June 1957, when the original 16 members of the 14th SF Operational Detachment deployed to Vietnam to train a cadre of indigenous Vietnamese SF teams. I would also figure that there are far more enlisted trying for selection though.Nam Dong, Lang Vei, Dak To, A Shau, Plei Mei – these were just some of the place’s SF troops fought and died during their 15-year stay in South Vietnam. If infantry practices most of the things you need to know for selection, would it be the best way to go?Īnother question: If I have a degree and can go to OCS, should I? I have heard it is far harder to get selected as an officer, because there aren't as many slots. If I want to have a good shot at selection, is 11B or 11A the best way to go? I've been told it doesn't matter very much, but I learn best from repetition. I've been doing more bodybuilding-type training for the past couple years, and only recently started rucking and running consistently and what-not. I'm not going 18X because I'm not in good enough shape yet. Whether I become an officer or not, I plan on going to selection at a certain point in time. I'm still going to the board, but if I don't get it, I'm enlisting. My whole plan was to become an officer, but was recently told that a 3.0 GPA is probably not good enough to qualify for OCS, whether I max the PT test or not. ![]()
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