COAST ARTILLERY FIELD MANUAL - SEACOAST ARTILLERY FIRE CONTROL AND POSITION FINDING
CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW 1 CHAPTER 2 PRE MISSION ACTIVITIES 43 CHAPTER 3 EMPLOYMENT EXECUTION 106 CHAPTER 4 SUSTAINMENT 417 CHAPTER 5 COMMAND AND SIGNAL 560 CONTENTS M CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW RELEVANT MAC V SOG CONTEXT AND TERMS AC V SOG CONDUCTED COVERT CROSS BORDER OPERATIONS DURING THE VIETNAM CONFLICT FROM 1964 TO 1972 PRIOR TO THAT PERIOD US CROSS BORDER OPERATIONS DURING THE VIETNAM CONFLICT WERE CONDUCTED LARGELY BY THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY AND ITS SOUTH VIETNAMESE COUNTERPART HOWEVER PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY FRUSTRATED AND DISSATISFIED WITH THE AGENCY S LACKLUSTER PERFORMANCE ORDERED THE MISSION TO BE REALLOCATED AND EXECUTED BY THE PENTAGON AND SPECIFICALLY US ARMY SPECIAL FORCES SOG WAS FORMED AS A US JOINT SERVICE AND US SOUTH VIETNAMESE COALITION COVERT OPERATION SOG OPERATIONS WERE CONDUCTED OR SUPPORTED BY US SERVICEMEN OF ALL FOUR MILITARY SERVICES AND LOCAL NATIONAL COUNTERPARTS BUT THE LARGEST CONTINGENT OF US MILITARY PERSONNEL BY FAR WERE DRAWN FROM SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES SOF ESPECIALLY ARMY SPECIAL FORCES SF AND THE INDIGENOUS COMMANDOS THAT WERE TRAINED AND MOSTLY LED BY SOG SF PERSONNEL DURING ITS EXISTENCE SOG WAS THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPLEX COVERT OPERATION INITIATED BY THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE DAYS OF THE OSS 1 AT ITS ORGANIZATIONAL PEAK SOG S UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE FORCES WERE THE SIZE OF AN ARMY DIVISION AND COMBINED JOINT AND MULTINATIONAL FORCES 2 INCLUDING OPERATIONAL CONTROL TACTICAL CONTROL OF DIRECT SUPPORT ATTACHMENTS FORCES AND ELEMENTS ALLOCATED BY SOUTH VIETNAM MANY OF THESE PERSONNEL OPERATED FROM THREE FORWARD OPERATING BASES FOBS COMMAND AND CONTROL NORTH COMMAND AND CONTROL CENTRAL AND COMMAND AND CONTROL SOUTH IN THE LATE 1960S THROUGH THE EARLY 1970S SOG LAUNCHED ITS OPERATIONS FROM SOUTH VIETNAM AND OTHER FRIENDLY COUNTRIES IN THE REGION INTO NORTH VIETNAM LAOS AND CAMBODIA THE OCCASIONAL SOG SR OPERATIONS CONDUCTED WITHIN SOUTH VIETNAM WERE OFTEN CONSIDERED TRAINING MISSIONS UNTIL CROSS BORDER OPERATIONS CEASED IN 1971 SOG S FOUR MAJOR MISSION AREAS INCLUDED INSERTING AND RUNNING COVERT AGENT TEAMS CONDUCTING PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE CONDUCTING COVERT MARITIME OPERATIONS AND EXECUTING SR AND ASSOCIATED GROUND COMBAT EXPLOITATION FORCE OPERATIONS AGAINST THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY OPERATING ALONG THE HO CHI MINH 1 TRAIL AND FROM 1966 UNTIL ITS DEACTIVATION SOG ALSO RAN THE JOINT PERSONNEL AND RECOVERY CENTER RESPONSIBLE FOR RECOVERING DOWNED AIRMEN AND ALLIED PRISONERS FROM ENEMY TERRITORY THE 12 000 MILES OF TRAILS FOOTPATHS AND ROADS THAT MADE UP THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN SUPPLYING COMMUNIST FORCES OPERATING IN SOUTH VIETNAM 3 4 IT IS FROM SOG S SR MISSION AREA EXPERIENCE THAT MUCH OF THIS BOOK IS GROUNDED STRATEGIC RECONNAISSANCE OR SPECIAL RECONNAISSANCE TERMS USED INTERCHANGEABLY IN THIS BOOK IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRIMARY CORE COMPETENCIES ALLOCATED TO CURRENT DAY US ARMY SPECIAL FORCES THESE COMPETENCIES INCLUDE THE KINETIC MISSION SETS OF UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE UW FOREIGN INTERNAL DEFENSE FID INCLUDING COUNTER INSURGENCY COIN DIRECT ACTION DA COUNTER TERRORISM CT AND COMBATING WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRACTION CWMD WHICH ARE ALL SUPPORTED BY SR AND ARE OFTEN DEPENDENT ON SR AS A PREREQUISITE TO THEIR CONDUCT IT IS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTAND THAT SR UNITS MAY ALSO BE EXPECTED TO EXECUTE OR INTEGRATE WITH UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE UW DIRECT ACTION DA AND OTHER SPECIAL FORCES TASKS IN CONJUNCTION WITH SR MISSION ASSIGNMENTS A SR TEAM MAY OFTEN BE THE ONLY CAPABILITY IN PLACE THAT IS AVAILABLE TO TAKE OUT FLEETING OPPORTUNISTIC OR HIGH PRIORITY TARGETS ESPECIALLY IF FRIENDLY FORCES CANNOT PROVIDE IMMEDIATE AIR SUPPORT OR LACK AIR SUPERIORITY OVER OPERATIONAL REAL ESTATE NON KINETIC MISSION SETS INCLUDE PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS PSYOPS INFORMATION OPERATIONS IO AND CIVIL AFFAIRS CA SR TEAMS MAY PERFORM SOME PSYOPS AND IO TASKS COINCIDENT WITH ITS CORE MISSIONS IT IS IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT SPECOPS COMMITMENTS AND OPTEMPO IN A THEATER OF OPERATIONS OR IN OPERATIONS CONDUCTED ON AN EVEN BROADER SCALE WILL SUBSTANTIALLY OVERTAX LIMITED SPECOPS RESOURCES SO PARSING MISSION COMPETENCIES TO SPECIALIZED OR SPECIFIC TEAMS AS PRESCRIBED BY FM 31 20 5 IN SUCH CONDITIONS IS SIMPLY UNREALISTIC AND OPERATIONALLY ILL ADVISED THE TERM STRATEGIC RECONNAISSANCE HAS BEEN REPLACED IN THE US MILITARY LEXICON BY THE TERM SPECIAL RECONNAISSANCE STRATEGIC SPECIAL RECONNAISSANCE MAY BE DEFINED AS RECONNAISSANCE THAT IS CONDUCTED TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON THE ENEMY TERRAIN WEATHER AND OTHER KEY ELEMENTS OF INFORMATION FOR STRATEGIC LEVEL PLANNING AND OPERATIONAL LEVEL PURPOSES SR MISSIONS MAY BE UNDERTAKEN TO GATHER NEW INTELLIGENCE AND TO CONFIRM VERIFY OR REPUDIATE INTELLIGENCE THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED AS OF THE WRITING OF THIS BOOK THE ACCEPTED DEFINITION OF SR IS RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE ACTIONS CONDUCTED AS A SPECIAL OPERATION IN HOSTILE DENIED OR POLITICALLY SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENTS TO COLLECT OR VERIFY INFORMATION OF STRATEGIC OR OPERATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE EMPLOYING MILITARY CAPABILITIES NOT NORMALLY FOUND IN CONVENTIONAL FORCES DOD DICTIONARY OF MILITARY AND ASSOCIATED TERMS 2 AS CONTRASTED TO SR UNITS LONG RANGE RECONNAISSANCE PATROL LRRP UNITS NOW KNOWN AS LONG RANGE SURVEILLANCE LRS UNITS OPERATE BEYOND THE MAIN LINE OF TROOPS AT DIVISION AND BRIGADE LEVELS IN THEIR ASSIGNED AREAS OF INTEREST AND FORWARD OF BATTALION LEVEL RECONNAISSANCE ELEMENTS AND CAVALRY SCOUTS SR HOWEVER IS CONDUCTED BY SMALL UNITS OF HIGHLY TRAINED SPECIAL OPERATIONS PERSONNEL WHO GENERALLY OPERATE FAR BEHIND ENEMY LINES AT STRATEGIC DEPTH TENS TO HUNDREDS OF KILOMETERS DEEPER THAN LRS MISSIONS BEYOND THE DEPTH OF PENETRATION AND THE INTEGRATED RELATIONSHIPS TO OTHER ASSIGNED SPECIAL OPERATIONS MISSIONS AND THE EXCEPTIONAL SKILLS AND EXPERTISE REQUIRED THE SR MISSION IS FURTHER DIFFERENTIATED FROM THE LRS MISSION BY POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS ATTENDANT TO THE PENETRATION AND CONDUCT OF OPERATIONS WITHIN FOREIGN FRIENDLY AND HOSTILE BELLIGERENT SOVEREIGN STATES AND THE INHERENT CAPABILITY OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS TO OPERATE IN THE PRESENCE OF SOPHISTICATED THREAT ENVIRONMENTS THESE SR MISSIONS ARE FREQUENTLY CONDUCTED UNDER CONDITIONS OF DENIABILITY ESPECIALLY WHERE THE AREA OF OPERATIONS INCLUDES NEUTRAL OR THIRD PARTY STATES OR PRIOR TO DECLARED HOSTILITIES DOCTRINALLY SPECIAL FORCES SR TEAMS ARE CONDUCTED BY 12 MAN A DETACHMENT FORMATIONS OR IN 6 MAN SPLIT A DETACHMENTS HOWEVER THIS DOCTRINAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE CONDUCT OF SR MISSIONS IS RARELY OPTIMAL OR EVEN PRUDENT AS EXPLAINED LATER IN THIS BOOK AS COMPARED TO THE CURRENT DAY SR PORTFOLIO SPECIFIC MISSION TASKS WITHIN SOG S STRATEGIC RECONNAISSANCE EXPLOITATION FORCE MISSION PORTFOLIO INCLUDED POINT AND AREA RECONNAISSANCE ROAD AND TRAIL WATCH SURVEILLANCE USE OF WIRETAPS MINES SABOTAGE MATERIALS AND DEVICES AND ELECTRONIC SENSORS TARGET ACQUISITION RESCUE OF DOWNED AIRCREWS AND BRIGHTLIGHT OPERATIONS RESCUE RECOVERY OF TEAMS TEAM MEMBERS AND PERSONNEL OF INTEGRATED SUPPORTING UNITS AMBUSH RAID ROAD BLOCK OPERATIONS BOMB DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS BDAS PRISONER OF WAR POW SNATCH OPERATIONS INSERTION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE MATERIALS AND SEVERAL OTHER HIGH RISK TASKS FURTHERMORE SOG TEAMS INTEGRATED AMERICAN SPECIAL FORCES AND INDIGENOUS COMMANDO PERSONNEL THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES TO AN INTEGRATED TEAM ARE EXPLORED IN SUBSEQUENT TEXT THE NATURE AND THE SIZE OF THE TERRAIN COMBINED WITH ADVERSARY COUNTERMEASURES MADE IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR THE GROUND TEAMS TO ACHIEVE THEIR TACTICAL AND OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES ENEMY FORCES OPERATED IN VAST AREAS OF DIFFICULT AND UNFORGIVING TERRAIN LACKING A THOROUGH AWARENESS OF WHERE THE TARGETS WERE LIKELY TO BE U S GROUND RECONNAISSANCE TEAMS WERE FORCED TO PATROL HUGE AMOUNTS OF TERRITORY SEARCHING FOR WELL HIDDEN TARGETS 5 BECAUSE ENEMY TARGETS WERE SO DIFFICULT TO APPROACH AND OFTEN SO FLEETING IN NATURE SOG SR TEAMS NORMALLY CYCLED BACK AND FORTH FROM RECONNAISSANCE TO DA COMBAT PATROL MODE ON ANY GIVEN MISSION AND ATTACKED ENEMY TARGETS OPPORTUNISTICALLY IN MEETING ENGAGEMENTS IN AMBUSHES AND WITH CLOSE AIR SUPPORT WHENEVER 3