Outland, Brooks, YNCS

Chain of Command
Army Colonel John K. Singlaub was Chief of SOG. XO was Army Colonel Denhard. There was also an Army LCOL Prather at the HQ.

Colonel Singlaub was no stranger to Special Operations! During WWII, he served with CIAs William Colby as an OSS Jedburgh Team Member. JED was the most prestigious title in WWII Special Ops! When Colby left the OSS, he was an Army Major. He decided to be a part of the newly formed intelligence agency (CIA). John Singlaub decided to be a part of the Army Green Berets, a newly formed Special Forces unit. The Colonel made Major General (2-star) before retiring from the Army in 1978).

SOG's HQ was in the MACV I Compound. General Westmorland was located at the MACV II Compound, downtown Saigon.

I was assigned as Ass't Top Secret (SPECAT) Control Officer. My direct superior was an Army E8 and there was one other person, a USMC Gunnery Sergeant. They were also dedicated to their jobs and we worked well together for the whole tour.

My position description included driving the duty jeep from MACV I to MACV II to pickup any messages/correspondence addressed to SOG. As I was logging in the Top Secret (SPECAT) message traffic, I read the official debrief of Navy LT Deter Dengler who had crashed his plane in Laos, was captured and later escaped. I believe the message was 13 pages in length. Sevevral books and a movie have been produced regarding Dengler's escape from captivity in Laos.

With the help of Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons, I was permitted to be a part of a couple recon patrols out of SOG's FOB in Kontum, S. Vietnam. I had attended the UDT School in Little Creek, VA seven years earlier and had graduated from Counter Insurgency Training, including SERE training and Vietnamese language training (2nd in class of 108 officers/enlisted..

This FOB was HQ for SOG's CCC subordinate command. The patrols I participated in did not go "over the fence" nor did we encounter the enemy.

Other Memories
Pursuant to Operations Plan 34-A, signed by President Johnson, SOG was formed on 24 January 1964. SOG inherited five Vietnamese Special Forces Teams who were part of the original Secret Special Service operating under the direct command of their President. SOG was left with the problem of dealing with the indigenous CIA agents, who were about to graduate from the Long Thanh Training Base. It was decided that since they had been fully briefed on operations in North Vietnam, security dictated that they be parachuted into the North as planned. In the summer of 1964, Teams Boone, Buffalo, Lotus, and Scorpion were air-dropped only to be quickly captured and/or killed. The last few agents were successfully joined with Teams Remus and Tourbillion, as reinforcements. A single agent (Ares) was also successfully inserted and provided great intell while he was there.

Although SOG was nominally a subordinate command under the MACV, it was virtually an independent command. There was, however, a J-5 (Plans Section) in MACV which had cognizance of SOG operations. This organizational requirement existed because MACV did not have an official Charter authorizing operations outside of South Vietnam (i.e. Cambodia, Laos, and/or North Vietnam). SOGs direct superior was the Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities (SACSA) at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. MACV and Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command (CINCPAC) in Honolulu, Hawaii retained veto power over SOG operations.

SOG was a joint service command with its own air, sea, and ground forces:

The Maritime Studies Group (OP-32) based at Da Nang, South Vietnam, provided the naval assets; U.S. Navy SEALs, South Vietnamese Underwater Demolition Teams (Sea Commandos), and Fast Patrol Boats.

The Psychological Studies Group (OP-33) located in Saigon, with an antenna in Hue and Tay Ninh, South Vietnam.

The Air Studies Group (OP-34) based at Nha Trang, South Vietnam, provided SOG�??s air power; the 90th Special Operations Wing with a squadron of USAF Green Hornet UH-1F helicopters, a squadron of USAF C-130s, a squadron of covert C-123s (former CIA aircraft) manned by Nationalist Chinese and the 219th HC-34 Helicopter Squadron.

The Ground Studies Group (OP-35), OP-35's mission included, but was not limited to, Military Intelligence, Psychological Operations (PSYOPS), and Reconnaissance Mobile Launch Teams (RTs). The RTs were originally launched out of Hue Phu Bai, Khe Sanh, Kham Duc and a base near Kontum, South Vietnam. Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons was in charge of this prestigious section of SOG. It should be noted here that he is the Army Colonel who planned and led the attempt to rescue our POW's at the Son Tay prison in N. Vietnam (Operation Ivory Coast).

SOG had five primary responsibilities:

To conduct regular cross-border (over the fence) operations primarily to disrupt the Vietcong, Khmer Rouge, Pathet Lao, and the North Vietnamese Army.

To keep track of all imprisoned and missing Americans and conduct raids to assist and/or free them.

To train and dispatch indigenous agents into North Vietnam for the purpose of organizing and running resistance movements.

To conduct Black and Gray� psychological operations involving fake NVA broadcasting stations and the radio transmission of propaganda. (Gray PSYOPS was fairly successful in turning Viet Cong sympathizers into loyal supporters of South Vietnam).

To perform additional tasks as assigned: i.e. kidnapping, assassinations, insertion of rigged mortar rounds into the enemy ammunitions supply system (set to explode and destroy their crews when used) and retrieval of sensitive documents and equipment if lost or captured through enemy action. (Booby-trapped ammunition was called, Eldest Son.)

Shortly after my arrival in South Vietnam, the OP-35 Section was reorganized into three subordinate commands:

Command & Control, North (CCN) at Da Nang
Command & Control, Central (CCC) at Kontum
Command & Control, South (CCS) at Ban Me Thuot

CCN conducted their operations mainly in Northern Laos and North Vietnam. CCN Reconnaisance Teams (RT) were code-named after states and reptiles. CCC conducted their operations mainly in Southern Laos and Northern Cambodia. CCC RTs were code-named only after states. CCS, the smallest of the three commands, operated in VC-dominated South Vietnam and most of Cambodia. CCS RTs were code-named after tools (e.g. Hammer, Chisel, Spike, etc).

At the time of my arrival in Vietnam, Colonel Singlaub had just taken over as Chief, SOG, relieving Colonel Blackburn. Colonel Blackburn had chosen Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons to take charge of all SOG-35 operations. Bull Simons had earlier trained Laotian Kha Tribesmen for the CIA in 1961/62.

SOG-35 Ops were combat-oriented versus advisory/training missions, i.e. POW retrieval, wire taps and ambush operations. SOG-35 operations into Laos were code-named Shining Brass� (later renamed Prairie Fire and then Phu Dung). Phu Dung, literally translated, meant opium smoke. Those code-names were changed immediately upon learning that they had been compromised! Those operations were the first over-the-fence operations consisting of American military personnel. When it became apparent that SOG Vietnamese troops were reluctant to parachute into enemy territory, American troops began leading the Teams so as to induce the necessary backbone and success!

The majority of the RTs were comprised of eight to 12 men. Each team contained three U.S. Green Berets. The Team Leader was called 10 (pronounced One Zero); the Assistant Team Leader was called One One, and the RTO (Radio Telephone Operator) was called One Two. The Teams would also have Montagnards or Nungs (Special Forces). The Montagnards were of Polynesian descent and were darker skinned than the other Vietnamese. Montagnard in French means, Mountain People. Then had numerous tribes; Jarai, Sedang, Bru, and Rhade. Most Vietnamese called them Moi which meant, savage! We just called them "Yards." The Nungs were of Chinese descent and mixing Nungs with Montagnards was strictly a no no - they simply did not get along at all!

From 1964 to 1972, approximately 2,700 cross-border operations were conducted by SOG! It must be understood that these over-the fence ops were covert, clandestine, extremely dangerous missions conducted by small groups of highly trained Americans and indigenous military personnel! Attesting to that danger, five of the ten Medals of Honor awarded to SOG personnel were awarded to members of RTs operating out of CCC, Kontum! The skill of RT members is attested to by the fact that only 103 U.S. Green Berets were killed during these operations.

It would take volumns to relate the missions undertaken by SOG. I am proud to have been assigned duties with this elite group of military men.

Personal Award:

I was recommended for the Meritorious Service Medal but it was downgraded to the Joint Service Commendation Medal.

Unit Award:

On April 5, 2001 sufficient information re SOG ops was downgraded in order to award the Presidential Unit Citation to MACV/SOG. A copy of that Unit award is included.

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross.

Criteria: U.S. Military units were individually cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Gallantry Cross; however, the Vietnamese Government issued the award to all units subordinate to Military Assistance Command (MACV) during the period 8 February 1962 and 28 March 1973 and to U.S. Army Vietnam and its subordinate units for the period 20 July 1965 to March 1973. THIS PERMITS ALL PERSONNEL WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM TO WEAR THE RVN GALLANTRY CROSS UNIT CITATION.

The Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Medal is authorized as an individual foreign award to some members of the United States Army and certain units. It is authorized to all USMC and USCG personnel, and to all USN personnel who served in-country (on land).

Vietnam Service Medal:

The Vietnam Service Medal was created by Executive Order 11213, July 8, 1965. It is awarded to all service members of the Armed Forces who between July 4, 1965 and March 28, 1973, served in the following areas of Southeast Asia: In Vietnam and the contiguous waters and airspace; in Thailand, Laos or Cambodia or the airspace there over and in the direct support of military operations in Vietnam.

Earlier this moth (August 2014) I received a copy of the "print" "SOG: AMERICA's HEROIC COMMANDOES." In order to get this print, you must provide proof that you were actually serving with SOG. I enclose a copy of my print whish hangs in a place of honor on my "Wall Of Memories!"