Photo #2121
PRAIRIE FIRE MISSION MAP declassified
This is the Prairie Fire Area Of Operation Map declassified.
The following is an excerpt from US ELITE FORCES-VIETNAM by Leroy Thompson, that further describes the nature of this specialized group and its secret missions.
Separate from "conventional," unconventional operations of the 5th Special Forces Group were the clandestine operations of Military Assistance Command Vietnam/Studies and Observations Group (MACV/SOG). The Studies and Observation Group (SOG) was a cover name to disguise SOG"s real function, and the name "Special Operations Group," as it was sometimes called, described its real mission more accurately.
Activated in January of 1964, SOG was a joint services unit composed of members from all four branches of the armed forces, including Navy SEALs, Marine Recons, Air Force Special Operations pilots of the 90th Special Operations Wing, but predominantly Army Special Forces.
MACV/SOG"s missions included: cross border operations into Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam to carry out intelligence gathering or raiding missions on the enemy"s "home ground"; gathering intelligence about POWs and carrying out rescue missions when possible; rescuing downed aircrews in enemy territory ("Bright Light" missions); training, inserting, and controlling agents in North Vietnam to gather intelligence or form resistance groups; carrying out "black" Psy Ops such as operating fake broadcasting stations inside North Vietnam; kidnapping or assassinating key enemy personnel; retrieving sensitive document so equipment lost in enemy territory or in enemy hands; and inserting rigged mortar rounds or other booby-trapped ordnance in enemy arms caches (OPERATION ELDEST SON).
-Leroy Thompson. US Elite Forces-Vietnam. No. 7. Texas: Squadron/Signal, 1985. 27.
|
|
Image viewed 1502 times since 2006-02-07 |
Posted by Admin on 2002-08-11; Last Modified on 2009-12-13
Size: 58.75 KB, Dimensions: 687x945Categories: Vietnam, Misc/Other, Maps & Documents
Average Picture Rating: 7.00 (3 Votes)
|
