Vietnam Studies: US Army Special Forces 1961-1971

In 1957, US Army Special Forces instructors trained 58 Vietnamese soldiers. Ten years later, the Special Forces - popularly called the 'Green Berets' - were advising and assisting over 40,000 paramilitary troops, along with 40,000 Regional Forces and Popular Forces soldiers. This monograph traces the development of this effort from 1961 to 1971 and notes the progress, problems, successes, and failures of a unique program undertaken by the US Army for the first time in its history.

An elite group has always appeared within the Army during every war in which the United States has been engaged. The Minutemen in the Revolution, the Cavalry in the Civil War, the Rough Riders in Cuba, the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I, the Rangers in World War II, and the Helicopter Pioneers in Korea - always some group has captured the imagination of the American public and has embodied the national ideals of the American fighting man.

One inescapable fact has clearly emerged. The Special Forces men earned on the battlefield their rightful place in the United States Army. Tough, resourceful, dedicated, and efficient, the men of the Special Forces stood and fought as well and as bravely as those of any fighting unit in the country's history. They are firmly committed to their official motto of "Free the Oppressed" and with equal firmness to their unofficial yardstick: "We are known by what we do, not by what we say we are going to do."

From a very meager beginning but sustained by a strong motivation and confidence in his mission, the Special Forces soldier has marched through the Vietnam struggle in superb fashion.

The Special Forces men did their duty well and honorably in Vietnam. They kept faith with the Army and with the United States of America.

With the withdrawal of the Special Forces from Vietnam in 1971, the Army could honestly lay claim to a new dimension in ground warfare - the organized employment of a paramilitary force in sustained combat against a determined enemy. I know I speak for my predecessors and successors in claiming that the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was the finest collection of professional soldiers ever assembled by the U.S. Army, anywhere, anytime.

Detailed Table of Contents:

PART I The Early Years: 1961-1965

I. INTRODUCTION

• The Origin of the Special Forces; The Unconventional Requirements.

II. BEGINNINGS OF THE CIVILIAN IRREGULAR DEFENSE GROUP PROGRAM

• The Montagnard Culture; The Buon Enao Experiment; Command and Control During the Buon Enao Period; Early Paramilitary Programs; Operation Switchback, November 1962-July 1963; The Turnover of Buon Enao.

III. THE CIDG PROGRAM UNDER THE U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND, VIETNAM: JULY 1963 MAY 1965

• Combat Operations; Logistics; Civic Action and Psychological Operations; The Montagnard Uprising; The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

PART II The Middle Years: 1965-1968

IV. THE CIDG PROGRAM BEGINS TO MATURE

V. THE COMBINED SPECIAL FORCES CIDG ON THE OFFENSIVE

• Intelligence Operations Overhauled; The Tet Offensive: The CIDG Grows Up.

VI. UNCONVENTIONAL OPERATIONS

PART III The Latter Years: 1968-1971

VII. THE VIETNAMESE ARMY ABSORBS THE CIDG PROGRAM

• Summary by Corps of Combat Activity During 1970; The Stand-Down.

VIII. THE BALANCE SHEET

• Credits; Debits; The Future of the Special Forces.

APPENDICES

• A. Chronology of U.S. Army Special Forces, 15 April 1970- 1 March 1971
• B. U.S. Army Special Forces Honors
• C. List of Special Forces Camps, 1961-1971
• D. U.S. Army Special Forces Engineer Activities
• E. After Action Report MIKE Force: ATTLEBORO, 1-7 November 1966
• F. After Action Report: Operation BLACKJACK 33
• G. Chronology of Logistic Events

GLOSSARY