MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND, VIETNAM,   STUDIES AND OBSERVATION GROUP

 

24 JANUARY 1964 TO 30 APRIL 1972 and the following assigned or attached units:

U.S. Army:  Command and Control Detachment, 5^th Special Forces Group, Danang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1965 to 31 December 1968; Special Operations Augmentation, Command and Control North, 5^th Special Forces Group, Danang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1968 to 31 December 1971; Task Force One, Advisory Element, U.S. Army Vietnam, Danang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1971 to 30 April 1972; Special Operations Augmentation, Command and Control Central, 5^th Special Forces Group, Kontum, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1969 to 31 December 1971; Task Force Two, Advisory Element, U.S. Army Vietnam, Kontum, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1971 to 30 April 1972; Company E (Provisional), Detachment C-5, 5^th Special Forces Group, Ho Ngoc Tao, Republic of Vietnam, 1 June 1967 to 31 October 1967; Project Omega, Detachment B-50, 5^th Special Forces Group, Kontum, Republic of Vietnam, 1 June 1967 to 31 October 1967; Project Sigma, Detachment B-56, 5^th Special Forces Group, Ho Ngoc Tao, Republic of Vietnam, 1 June 1967 to 31 October 1967; Special Operations Augmentation, Command and Control South, 5^th Special Forces Group, Ban Me Thuot, Republic of Vietnam, 1 November 1967 to 1 November  1971; Task Force Three, Advisory Element, U.S. Army Vietnam, Ban Me Thuot, Republic of Vietnam, 2 November 1971 to 30 April 1972; Detachment B-53, 5^th Special Forces Group, Camp Long Thanh, Republic of Vietnam, 24 January 1964 to 31 December 1971; Training Center Advisory Element, U.S. Army Vietnam, Camp Long Thanh, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1971 to 30 April 1972

U.S. Navy:  Naval Advisory Detachment, Danang, Republic of Vietnam; One U.S. Navy EC-121 Aircraft and Crew based at Saigon, Republic of Vietnam.

U.S. Marine Corps:  assigned individually to Studies and Observation Group staffs.

U.S. Air Force:  1^st Flight Detachment, Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 24 January 1964 to 31 December 1971; 15^th Air Commando Squadron, Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1966 to 15 November 1968; 15^th Special Operations Squadron, Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 16 November 1968 to 15 November 1970; 90^th Special Operations Squadron, (less non-Studies and Observation Group Pony Express detachment at Nakhon Phanom AFB, Thailand), Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 June 1967 to 31 August 1968; 20^th Special Operations Squadron, Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 November 1968 to 31 March 1972.

Joint Service:  Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observation Group, Saigon, Republic of Vietnam.

South Vietnamese Air Force:  219^th Helicopter Squadron, Danang. , Republic of Vietnam 

The Studies and Observation Group is cited for extraordinary heroism, great combat achievement and unwavering fidelity while executing unheralded top secret missions deep behind enemy lines across Southeast Asia. Incorporating volunteers from all branches of the Armed Forces, and especially, U.S. Army Special Forces, Special Operations Group’s ground, air and sea units fought officially denied actions which contributed immeasurably to the American war effort in Vietnam. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Special Operations Group reconnaissance teams composed of Special Forces soldiers and indigenous personnel penetrated the enemy’s most dangerous redoubts in the jungled Laotian wilderness and the sanctuaries of eastern Cambodia. Pursued by human trackers and even bloodhounds, these small teams out-maneuvered, out-fought and out-ran their numerically superior foe to uncover key enemy facilities, rescue downed pilots, plant wiretaps, mines and electronic sensors, capture valuable enemy prisoners, ambush convoys, discover and assess targets for B-52 strikes, and inflict casualties all out of proportion to their own losses. When enemy counter-measures became dangerously effective, Special Operations Group operators innovated their own counters, from high altitude parachuting and unusual explosive devices, to tactics as old as the French and Indian War. Fighting alongside their Montagnard, Chinese Nung, Cambodian and Vietnamese allies, Special Forces – led Hatchet Force companies and platoons staged daring raids against key enemy facilities in Laos and Cambodia, overran major munitions and supply stockpiles, and blocked enemy highways to choke off the flow of supplies to South Vietnam. Special Operations Group’s cross-border operations proved an effective economy-of-force, compelling the North Vietnamese Army to divert 50,000 soldiers to rear area security duties, far from the battlefields of South Vietnam. Supporting these hazardous missions were Special Operations Group’s own United States and South Vietnamese Air Force transport and helicopter squadrons, along with U.S. Air Force Forward Air Controllers and helicopter units of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. These courageous aviators often flew through heavy fire to extract Special Operations Group operators from seemingly hopeless situations, saving lives by selflessly risking their own. Special Operations Group’s Vietnamese navel surface forces – instructed and advised by U.S. Navy SEALS – boldly raided North Vietnam’s coast and won surface victories against the North Vietnamese Navy, while indigenous agent teams penetrated the very heartland of North Vietnam. Despite casualties that sometimes became universal, Special Operations Group’s operators never wavered, but fought throughout the war with the same flair, fidelity and intrepidity that distinguished Special Operations Group from its beginning. The Studies and Observations Group’s combat prowess, martial skills and unacknowledged sacrifices saved many American lives, and provide a paragon for America’s future special operations forces.

[Signed By]  Thomas E. White, Secretary of the Army  [TAPC-PDO-PA]

 

 

Courtesy Fred C. Wunderlich, aka "Lightning" of CCN