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Posted on 06/01/2005 9:43:42 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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Dodging an Elusive Enemy Trained by New Zealand's elite Special Air Services, Combat Tracker Teams were intended to give American units a decisive edge over VC in the jungle.  During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army was faced with a type of warfare it had not experienced since the Indian wars of the 19th century. "They just melted into the jungle" was the constant refrain of line commanders frustrated by the elusive tactics of the VC guerrillas. Guerrilla warfare wasn't new to Southeast Asia, of course. In the 1950s the French had vainly pitted some of their finest troops against the Viet Minh. But even the French Foreign Legion had been stumped by the Communist guerrillas. During the same period, Communist forces used identical tactics against the British on the Malay Peninsula, but the results were different. In 1949 the British governor became alarmed when several plantation owners were assassinated by terrorists well stocked with war materiel and supplies left over from the defense of the area against Japan during World War II. With the Allies committed throughout the Pacific, there had not been enough forces left to fight in the smaller Asian states. Thus, the indigenous populations had been armed to defend themselves against the Japanese.  British Jungle Warfare School Class of August, 1967. John Dupla is in the back row forth from the right. (Note: American Instructors in British uniforms and Iban Trackers sitting front right.) In 1950 the British colonial governor declared a state of emergency and asked the Ministry of Defence in London for assistance, but the peacetime British military had few units that could be spared for Malaya's aid. Several of the renowned Gurkha units were ordered in, but there was little time to train or restaff. As the violence continued, the governor requested more help. A former Special Air Services (SAS) officer, Major "Mad Mike" Calvert, was dispatched to the area. After assessing the situation, Calvert proposed a two-tier defense. The first element of the plan required relocating the smaller hamlets to areas with a larger village. Small British units would live with the villagers, providing medical and other assistance while protecting them from Communist insurgents. This part of the program was dubbed "Hearts and Minds," and it was so successful that American Special Forces were later taught the techniques at the British Jungle Warfare School (BJWS).  Sp4 F. Merritt and Sambo (5A15) working in II Corps in 1967. They were with CTT 7, 1/9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). The photo is from the National Archives The second element of the defense strategy involved reconnaissance or hunter-killer teams. Each 10-man team was composed of two identical subteams, made up of a team leader, a visual tracker, a radio operator, a cover man and a dog handler with a trained Labrador retriever. These teams took the war to the enemy wherever he was hiding. They were used to find and eliminate Communist troops who were using hit-and-run tactics against unarmed civilians. The British used this technique with great success against Communist insurgents in Malaya, Borneo and Brunei, as well as in Africa, Cyprus and other parts of the world. The units, also known as Combat Tracker Teams (CTTs), became a reliable tool for stopping the same sort of terrorist and guerrilla tactics that contributed to the defeat of the French in Indochina. This was precisely the kind of solution General William Westmoreland was seeking for the U.S. Army. American troops had been repeatedly stymied because the enemy had the ability to strike and then disappear almost at will. The general and his staff first met with British representative Robert L. Hughes to discuss the BJWS program. Westmoreland then sent a group to observe the training at Johore Bahru, Malaysia. The British system was the only successful counter being used anywhere in the world at that time to the Communist guerrilla tactics. Simply put, the British had figured out how to outguerrilla the guerrillas. They didn't see the enemy as stronger or stealthier, but as a problem to be eliminated with the resources at hand. The conclusions drawn from the British experience offered new responses to the unorthodox warfare facing the American and allied forces in South Vietnam.  Sp4. Bill Reed and Sambo The observers sent by Westmoreland were very impressed by the tactics being taught at the school. The BJWS effectively taught soldiers that no enemy was too potent or too elusive. The decision was made to offer American troops similar training -- courses that would push the men to the limits of their endurance and reshape the teams through excellent instruction from the warfare school's cadre of New Zealand SAS soldiers and the combat veterans of British War Dog Training Unit Number 2 (WDTU-2). WDTU-2 was a part of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. This particular group of instructors consisted of veteran British CTT members, brought to the warfare school to help the Americans develop their own teams. The New Zealand SAS instructors were combat veterans, trained by the British SAS at Hereford, England.  SAMBO (5A15) outside of his bunker awaiting the next mission-1967 at LZ 2 Bits. Note that the dogs had bunkers and the men had tents! The training contract provided for 14 training groups that consisted of two or four five-man teams, each team with a Labrador retriever. The Labs were perfectly suited for the work. They were quiet in the field and even-tempered, and they also proved that they could deal with changes in handlers. In contrast, some of the other canine specialties in the Vietnam War, including sentry and scout dogs, were one-handler dogs. The American deployment of CTTs was based on four teams per division, each team led by an officer and a senior NCO. The CTTs assigned to a brigade included two complete elements, usually led by a senior NCO and under the administrative control of the headquarters company of the respective division or brigade. The division or brigade operations or intelligence officer exercised operational control over the teams. The original 14 teams were designated CTTs 1 through 14 and were provisionally attached to divisions and brigades.  Members of the 65th. I.P.C.T. attached to the 9th. Infantry Division - 1969. FRONT (left to right): Ron Eitel, Jet, James Tomlinson. BACK (left to right): Georg Hessenius, Morris Huggins, Andy Kiefhaber The visual element of each team consisted of a team leader, a visual tracker, a radio telephone operator and a cover man. The visual members of the team, including the officer and the senior NCO, were in training for at least 65 days. The dog handler's training was longer, at least 95 days. He was expected to learn how to observe and understand every action and reaction of his Lab before they went into combat together. In the last two weeks of training, the dog and the handler were linked up with the visual trackers. The warfare school instructors made the Americans' training as difficult and realistic as possible. To simulate combat situations, Gurkhas were used as the enemy, directed by the New Zealand SAS instructors. More than one American trooper could be heard cursing vehemently after the "enemy" popped up in a mock ambush, pointing and laughing at the students, chanting the infuriating refrain, "Ha! Ha! All dead!" At times the frustration of the trainees was intense. But the training credo was "Train hard, fight easy."
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Morning CT.
Read a few books on the WWII LRDG and SAS. There's a good movie about the Aussies in Vietnam called "The Odd Angry Shot" that I liked.
Morning Iris7.
IMHO, between these men and the Phoenix Project, we had a pretty good chance of being effective against the VC. Too bad "the good guys" aren't "allowed" to fight that way.
Morning Aeronaut.
Morning alfa6.
Morning E.G.C.
Raining this morning. Snippy and I have a presentation to do at a college in a nearby town this morning. Helping get the word out that we're open for business. ;-)
Morning GailA
I always felt that way but the Nuns insisted on the "formula" :-(
Hi Manna
Frank E. Evans's stern section tied up alongside USS Everett F. Larson (DD-830), after she was cut in two in a collision with the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne.
SH-3 helicopters from USS Kearsarge (CVS-33) join search and rescue operations over the stern section of USS Frank E. Evans, as USS Everett F. Larson (DD-830) stands ready to offer assistance (at right). A Royal Australian Navy frigate is also present.
Frank E. Evans was cut in two in a collision with the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne during Southeast Asian Treaty Organization exercises in the South China Sea.
Morning Feather.
Thanks AZ.
We're watching for storms today. it's only a 20% chance but they could be severe if they develop so we're watching for them.
The false accusations against him nearly took their toll but he overcame them thankfully. What a shame about that mess but what an interesting life it seems he led. We'll have to get his books.
Good morning Aeronaut.
Good morning alfa6.
((Hugs))
Good morning Gail. Rainy and cloudy today.
An important thing to remember. Thank you Mayor.
:-)
Good morning Valin.
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