RECONDO school

[kken]

some mates and myself attended a nam-era RECONDO school held up in Wolcott, CT this past weekend. here is my team 1-1 from Class 09-01. i am standing in the back all the way to the right.

 

[Justin]

Looks okay, I hope that camo BAR belts doesn't someday get sold as original!

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

some mates and myself attended a nam-era RECONDO school held up in Wolcott, CT this past weekend. here is my team 1-1 from Class 09-01. i am standing in the back all the way to the right.

 

 

 

The guy bottom right is holding his weapon like a modern soldier would. (just a pointer)

 

I wonder what the curriculum of your RECONDO school was?

 

Rock

[kken]

nothing strenous, not pretending that it is on a level even with basic training. classes on patrols, ambush, radio usage and night ambush taught by military vets, both contemporary and from vietnam. honest john burford and cal rollins were in attendance and had a lot of great stories to tell.

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

It's good to see real tactics being taught and learned regardless of whether it's reenacting or not. The actual tactics are valuable tools to gain tactical superiority in a battle as well as insight and understanding of the soldiers you represent.

 

Good job and keep learning.

 

Rock

[kken]

It's good to see real tactics being taught and learned regardless of whether it's reenacting or not. The actual tactics are valuable tools to gain tactical superiority in a battle as well as insight and understanding of the soldiers you represent.

 

Good job and keep learning.

 

Rock

 

you hit it right on the head of the nail... i would say all of us attending as students were not out there to get our hoorah we're so bad rump ego on... but rather more from historical appreciation standpoint. all the instructors were former vets as stated before, most of them had been downrange, on mutiple tours. the tactics and methods were period correct as far as i knew and of course talking to the guys who were actually in vietnam was a flat out pleasure.

 

we were out there for four days, had hurricane rains tossed at us... my feet were basically boned after wearing wet jungle boots the whole time. that alone made me appreciate what the real guys had to do for 365 in southeast asia back then.

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

One of the first basics of the Infantry (and the Army) is foot maintenance and preventative measures to avoid immersion foot and jungle rot. Pack one pair of socks for every day you'll be out there. When you hit your NDP (ORP) then perform foot maintenance and change your socks. Just sweat alone can cause foot problems, so if you add water to the equation then you can have issues that take you out of action, or worse, compromise your team and make you a casualty.

 

Pack socks individually in plastic bags and pack them in your ruck where they can be got at easily. Carry one pair in a pocket and in a pinch change them. Place the wet pair in your shirt to dry out. Tricks of the trade.

 

Rock

[M60 Driver]

That was the first Recondo school on the east coast. They are run as a combination Airsoft training exercises as well as re-enactments by my good friend John. John also helped put together the WWII Airsoft and re-enactment combo event last May called "Jump to Destiny" in Randall, WA. John has already run several of the Vietnam Recondo schools for a few years in the Pacific Northwest. Although the obvious level of instruction is basic combat skills to players who have never been in the military, John's underlying goal is to teach, or instill, small group leadership skills.

 

There are a few guys around the country who are working on using Airsoft as a vehicle for re-enactments that not only teach military history but also teach these real world skills. Although it is hard to please all the participants at such events, he felt this Recondo school event was one of the best yet, despite the inclement weather, which seems to becoming an obligatory feature of many of these events. And by the way, John was an instructor in one of the original Recondo Schools in Vietnam.

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

That was the first Recondo school on the east coast. They are run as a combination Airsoft training exercises as well as re-enactments by my good friend John. John also helped put together the WWII Airsoft and re-enactment combo event last May called "Jump to Destiny" in Randall, WA. John has already run several of the Vietnam Recondo schools for a few years in the Pacific Northwest. Although the obvious level of instruction is basic combat skills to players who have never been in the military, John's underlying goal is to teach, or instill, small group leadership skills.

 

There are a few guys around the country who are working on using Airsoft as a vehicle for re-enactments that not only teach military history but also teach these real world skills. Although it is hard to please all the participants at such events, he felt this Recondo school event was one of the best yet, despite the inclement weather, which seems to becoming an obligatory feature of many of these events. And by the way, John was an instructor in one of the original Recondo Schools in Vietnam.

 

Good work. I'd love to instruct at one of those schools providing the participants were actually interested in learning.

 

There is but one Recondo School in Vietnam that I know of. The MACV School run by the US 5th SF Group.

 

There were many Divisional Schools during the late fifties and on through the 60's in the CONUS. Perhaps some others in other bases around the world that I don't know of. The only surviving Recondo School after Vietnam was the 18th Airborne Corps Recondo School.

 

Rock

[kken]

Good work. I'd love to instruct at one of those schools providing the participants were actually interested in learning.

 

There is but one Recondo School in Vietnam that I know of. The MACV School run by the US 5th SF Group.

 

There were many Divisional Schools during the late fifties and on through the 60's in the CONUS. Perhaps some others in other bases around the world that I don't know of. The only surviving Recondo School after Vietnam was the 18th Airborne Corps Recondo School.

 

Rock

 

i'm sure they would love to have you as an instructor. i can't speak for John's actual experience as a RECONDO instructor but i can say that every single person that attended as a student had and still has an actual desire to learn the history and tactics. i think next year they are shooting for an east and west coast RECONDO class.

 

i did have a pair of socks for each day i was out there... also had very liberal use of foot powder. it just sucks having to grip wet boots off and then put them back on over dry socks. major pain in the rump. the last day i just went without socks. this experience beat down my soft civilian body and i loved it afterwards... even carrying a PRC25/77 all weekend. even tho they were converted to FRS use and thus not the full weight of a real deal, it still was a weight to me hehe. i'll be back next year.

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

i'm sure they would love to have you as an instructor. i can't speak for John's actual experience as a RECONDO instructor but i can say that every single person that attended as a student had and still has an actual desire to learn the history and tactics. i think next year they are shooting for an east and west coast RECONDO class.

 

i did have a pair of socks for each day i was out there... also had very liberal use of foot powder. it just sucks having to grip wet boots off and then put them back on over dry socks. major pain in the rump. the last day i just went without socks. this experience beat down my soft civilian body and i loved it afterwards... even carrying a PRC25/77 all weekend. even tho they were converted to FRS use and thus not the full weight of a real deal, it still was a weight to me hehe. i'll be back next year.

 

Schools like this make me proud of reenactors that participate in them. Trooper Leading Procedures and Patrolling are the #1 aspect of the infantry in my opinion. Anyone that pursues this portion of military knowledge is doing us veterans proud.

 

Tactics, once learned, will become integral and important to all that you do. In particular, patrolling is a critical and nearly all-encompassing subject that allows almost any size unit to perform critical military maneuvers correctly. The information taught today is primarily a decendant of what was taught and learned from WWII. Once you learn these tactics and become somewhat competent at them then you can apply them to pretty much any time period from WWII to modern day. Although there have been some additions and adaptations based upon unique terrain and experience; as well as modern acronyms- The basic formations, tactics, techniques and hand signals have changed minimally.

 

You guys keep up the good work and it will pay off as you distance yourselves from other reenactors.

 

Rock

[kken]

Schools like this make me proud of reenactors that participate in them. Trooper Leading Procedures and Patrolling are the #1 aspect of the infantry in my opinion. Anyone that pursues this portion of military knowledge is doing us veterans proud.

 

Tactics, once learned, will become integral and important to all that you do. In particular, patrolling is a critical and nearly all-encompassing subject that allows almost any size unit to perform critical military maneuvers correctly. The information taught today is primarily a decendant of what was taught and learned from WWII. Once you learn these tactics and become somewhat competent at them then you can apply them to pretty much any time period from WWII to modern day. Although there have been some additions and adaptations based upon unique terrain and experience; as well as modern acronyms- The basic formations, tactics, techniques and hand signals have changed minimally.

 

You guys keep up the good work and it will pay off as you distance yourselves from other reenactors.

 

Rock

 

thanks for the kind words, i learned a boatload actually and it's fueled my desire to keep on learning so i'll be back for next year's RECONDO. we really did learn a lot of the basic patrolling skills as well as the more specialized LRRP RECONDO-style stuff. and we got graded on our performances during each mission... our night ambushes were total charlie foxtrot... the team leader went off to do TL recon once we arrived to our ORP in the middle of the night, only he didn't tell anyone his GOTWA and just took off... 15 min later with charlie coming down the trail, i as RTO went down the line and asked 8 guys where the TL was and no one knew lol. the real vietnam vets that were there, they said they were really surprised and pleased that all the attendees were there for the historical accuracy and appreciation of operations and tactics, verbatim. they thought they were just showing up to a living history static event lol.

 

the rest of the photo album for the event can be found here:

http://mrcphotography.smugmug.com/Airsoft-...636098554_v8uoW

 

you'll have to pardon any farbiness, some modern stuff is probably in there due to us being out there for four days.

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

thanks for the kind words, i learned a boatload actually and it's fueled my desire to keep on learning so i'll be back for next year's RECONDO. we really did learn a lot of the basic patrolling skills as well as the more specialized LRRP RECONDO-style stuff. and we got graded on our performances during each mission... our night ambushes were total charlie foxtrot... the team leader went off to do TL recon once we arrived to our ORP in the middle of the night, only he didn't tell anyone his GOTWA and just took off... 15 min later with charlie coming down the trail, i as RTO went down the line and asked 8 guys where the TL was and no one knew lol. the real vietnam vets that were there, they said they were really surprised and pleased that all the attendees were there for the historical accuracy and appreciation of operations and tactics, verbatim. they thought they were just showing up to a living history static event lol.

 

the rest of the photo album for the event can be found here:

http://mrcphotography.smugmug.com/Airsoft-...636098554_v8uoW

 

you'll have to pardon any farbiness, some modern stuff is probably in there due to us being out there for four days.

 

Your PL failed you. He should have passed along the information and given the actions upon contact. He should have left the chain of command and such. Much of that information is SOP. You guys should have written him off and conducted your ambush and then attempted to get him back. He should have stood down in place and stayed low until actions on the objective were accomplished and then met you at the ORP.

 

Mission first

 

Rock

[willysmb44]

some mates and myself attended a nam-era RECONDO school held up in Wolcott, CT this past weekend. here is my team 1-1 from Class 09-01. i am standing in the back all the way to the right.

Who’s the middle guy, front row? Looks like Josh “Ranger” Warren to me. He attends a lot of events with John.

John has already run several of the Vietnam Recondo schools for a few years in the Pacific Northwest.

While I didn’t get along with a few of the people in the previous group John did things with, I always liked John. He’s good people. I didn’t mess around with air soft stuff for very long, but I saw John a few times, once when I was an instructor at one of their “boot camp” events.

He’s living proof that you can’t judge a book by the cover. I’m sure he’d be quite deadly in a jungle with a weapon if he had to be. But for me, he breaks the “grumpy Viet Nam vet” mold.

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

Who’s the middle guy, front row? Looks like Josh “Ranger” Warren to me. He attends a lot of events with John. While I didn’t get along with a few of the people in the previous group John did things with, I always liked John. He’s good people. I didn’t mess around with air soft stuff for very long, but I saw John a few times, once when I was an instructor at one of their “boot camp” events.

He’s living proof that you can’t judge a book by the cover. I’m sure he’d be quite deadly in a jungle with a weapon if he had to be. But for me, he breaks the “grumpy Viet Nam vet” mold.

 

What's John's full name?

 

I have numerous Vietnam Veteran friends that might know him.

 

ROck

[M60 Driver]

He’s living proof that you can’t judge a book by the cover. I’m sure he’d be quite deadly in a jungle with a weapon if he had to be. But for me, he breaks the “grumpy Viet Nam vet” mold.

 

If there is one thing John is not, it is grumpy. He is one of the kindest and gentlest and most decent men I know, and he can spin a story like few others. John's days of being "deadly in a jungle" are probably long gone. But he can organize events and teach and motivate as well as the best of them. When not organizing Airsoft re-enactments he works as a corporate sales motivational speaker.

[willysmb44]

If there is one thing John is not, it is grumpy. He is one of the kindest and gentlest and most decent men I know, and he can spin a story like few others. John's days of being "deadly in a jungle" are probably long gone. But he can organize events and teach and motivate as well as the best of them. When not organizing Airsoft re-enactments he works as a corporate sales motivational speaker.

I agree, but wrote that not exactly the way I had meant. I meant that he’s NOT your standard “grumpy old VN vet.” That’ll teach me to proofread what I write.

[kken]

that is indeed josh warren.

[RECONDOguy]

Captain Robison was Training officer and instructor at a stateside brigade run school (1st Brigade of the 9th ID) For the 2010 Course in Washington state 6-8th of August 2010 He will be an instructor although the lead instructor (along with other Nam era veterans,) will be Cal Rollins who was a cadre member and instructor at the Nha Trang RECONDO school in Vietnam and was a SOG, "over the fence guy" during his multiple tours in Vietnam. He has dusted off his old lesson plans and it should prove to be an awesome experience. For more information about the event go to www.thewardept.org Forum section. There are a couple of LRRP slots left $185.00 as well as positions on the Blue Team Aero Rifle Platoon QRF which are only $35.00.

 

Course work will be followed by skills application on RECON, ambush and a raid patrol. The QRF will be present to support the RECONDO students. A dedicated OPFOR of NVA and VC will be out there in "Indian Country" throughout. The highly immersive event is primarily a small unit leadership course but is also very much a living history event.

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

Captain Robison was Training officer and instructor at a stateside brigade run school (1st Brigade of the 9th ID) For the 2010 Course in Washington state 6-8th of August 2010 He will be an instructor although the lead instructor (along with other Nam era veterans,) will be Cal Rollins who was a cadre member and instructor at the Nha Trang RECONDO school in Vietnam and was a SOG, "over the fence guy" during his multiple tours in Vietnam. He has dusted off his old lesson plans and it should prove to be an awesome experience. For more information about the event go to www.thewardept.org Forum section. There are a couple of LRRP slots left $185.00 as well as positions on the Blue Team Aero Rifle Platoon QRF which are only $35.00.

 

Course work will be followed by skills application on RECON, ambush and a raid patrol. The QRF will be present to support the RECONDO students. A dedicated OPFOR of NVA and VC will be out there in "Indian Country" throughout. The highly immersive event is primarily a small unit leadership course but is also very much a living history event.

 

 

Good to see guys getting some serious training on. Sounds like fun but only if I get my new knees soon.

 

Rock

[RECONDOguy]

For anyone who enjoys first person accounts. These are somewhat long but were written by a student at last years event and a fellow serving with the OPFOR. They do a good job of providing insight into the events.

 

After Action Report, Recondo 2009

Submitted By, Recondo Nicholas Maltby

 

 

During the Vietnam war, RECONDO School based in Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, and known as the "deadliest school in the world," was the finishing school for LRRPs in Vietnam. Not all LRRPs attended but those who did left as the best trained in the world. Recondo School 2009, courtesy of Hooah Airsoft and the Historical Military Simulations Group, LLC, and Sponsored by Airsoftr Extreme is a simulation of LRRP training as conducted during the Vietnam War. During three days, Recondo students complete training and conduct live action missions simulating LRRP operations in Vietnam under the watchful eye of retired US Army Rangers, US Army Veterans and distinguished past Recondo graduates, all with the goal of earning the coveted arrowhead Recondo patch. Historically less then 35% of each Recondo class graduated and earned the patch, At our event a significant number are likewise unlikely to graduate although all leave better prepared to be leaders in the field. Recondo graduates fill the leadership slots in other Vietnam airsoft events run by the Historical Military Simulations Group, Black Company and War Department including Liberty Canyon, In-Country, Jump to Destiny, Masher White Wing and Silent Sunset.

 

Upon my arrival at the AO and completing in-processing I walked through a large OD canvas GP tent and for all intents and purposes into 1969. I was surrounded by tents, hootches and soldiers in Tiger Stripe uniforms and ERDL cammies . The cadre were all in Black berets or Black ball caps. A deuce-and-a-half was parked to one side near the TOC. In front of me was a large latrine complete with period correct graffiti, and metal drum under the toilet seat. The drum and it's contents to be taken care of later by some unfortunate souls, using a large stick and 5 gallons of diesel fuel. Bunkers dotted the Firebase and trenches topped with sandbags lined the wire. It didn't look like the safe rear area I was expecting.

Seeing my lost look, Sgt. Hegland showed me where to square away my gear and introduced me to Team 1-1, my family for the weekend. Team 1-1 was composed of experienced leaders and others relatively new to Vietnam Airsoft. We knew something was up when a group of Sergeants in Black and Gold Recondo t-shirts and stony faces started gathering in front of the team hootches. Recondo School started innocently enough with a physical fitness test. I managed to push my 230 lbs through 30 sit-ups and pushups. Classroom training followed and we learned about the concept of LRRP, patrol planning, anatomy of patrols, and LRRP gear. To my surprise some of these classes were taught by Cal Rollins and John Burford, two Vietnam Veterans who were actual LRRPs and Captain Robison who was the training officer at a stateside RECONDO school, post war. Their instruction was insightful, entertaining and informative and they are three of the most down to earth guys you will ever meet. After completing classroom training, we broke down by teams for land nav training and immediate action drills. Skills courses were lead by Ranger Josh Warren who is a combat veteran of multiple tours during the current war on terror. Our instructor for immediate action drills was Sgt Diez, late of the 82nd Airborne. An additional instructor of note is Sgt Levi Defranza who seems no worse for wear after taking a soviet round through the back of the head. (Literally)

All are jovial foul mouthed bastards when off-duty but serious task masters during training. They were serious throughout but kept things light with a focus on those things we would need to apply. SOP for LRRPs is to break contact as quickly as possible and evade any pursuers before extracting or continuing the mission (Charlie-Mike).

"Contact front! Peel 6 o'clock!" Specialist Long on point screams as he empties his magazine into the unseen enemy and break back down the line yelling "moving" as he races past. The moment he is clear, Sgt. Cho on slack empties his magazine and breaks back down the line. Each man empties his magazine and bounds backward in turn. We repeat this drill for two bounds and break 90 degrees to the right under the cover of smoke grenades thrown by our drag man in order to confuse any pursuers. Not bad we think, but Sgt Diez has perfection in mind and makes us repeat the drill until we do it consistently well.

Though I don't know it yet, the tempo of Recondo School starts deceptively slowly but increases the mental and physical demands with each new training evolution.

After completing our immediate action drill debriefing (AARs and debriefing every evolution is an integral part of Recondo School), we receive a warning order to prepare for our first training patrol as a team. Sergeant Difranza is our line grader, Sgt XXX is Team Leader (TL) and Spc XXX is Assistant Team Leader (ATL). Sergeant Difranza is one of those icy instructors - I can't read anything from his demeanor except perhaps that we are sucking it up. We move slowly and pause frequently, staying off established trails and stopping every 100 meters for SLLS checks (stop, look, listen, smell). The team moves through a swamp. No contact for the first hour and we start becoming sloppy, pausing on high dry ground to avoid the mud, exposing ourselves needlessly when we should move to the most inhospitable ground for our breaks. Sergeant Difranza points out our mistakes and teaches us how to improve our field craft and cleanse our back trail. No contact but after a while we start to hear Vietnamese voices in the distance. They sound like they are chanting patriotic slogans. In an instant the team tightens up as hearts start beating faster. We call in the contact and approximate distance and azimuth. We're all disappointed when we receive orders to return to base. In talking to John Burford later, I realize what it took to survive in the bush. He often slept half submerged in a puddle with only a poncho liner to cover him. No poncho because rain hitting it makes a distinctive noise. Little did I know that this talk of rain foreshadowed the future experience of Recondo Class 0809.

The operational tempo is increasing. Team leaders receive orders to plan a night ambush. As a team member my job is to get all my gear and ammo ready and make sure my gear is taped down and quiet. Specialist XXX is TL, Cpl XXX ATL. At jumpoff, the sky is completely overcast. No moon and it's pitch black. Visibility is at best 5 feet. I move slowly with a hand on the ruck of the man in front of me. Each twig snap sounds like a gunshot. My heart is beating, waiting for us to trigger the ambush that I know Charlie must have set for us. Somehow we emerge from the woods we have been traversing. Hand signals come back through the line each time that a danger zone, such as an open area a stream or a trail, has to be crossed. We cross the danger zone using techniques we have been taught and only if the obstacle cannot be skirted. We approach our ambush site. I'm impressed with the navigation skills of our TL as I had been completely lost. We have identified enroute rally points throughout the movement phase, passing the signal back by handsignal repeating the fact silently from man to man. If contact is made the team leader may order us back to gather at an identified numerical rally point. I make a mental note of each hoping we don’t have to do so. Once near the potential ambush site we form a wagon wheel at our objective rally point. The team leader fails to inform us and leaves with a security element to conduct a leaders recon. When he returns he informs us through whispers that he has located an excellent place at the base of a drop in the trail that allows for an excellent kill zone and allows our reinforced element to form a classic “L” shaped ambush. We have learned how this works and have rehearsed the process in class but failed to rehearse action on the objective once the ambush is sprung. This will bite us later with confusion and a slower pace than would be ideal. To get to the ambush site we need to cross a rock slope and each man sends a cascade of small rocks down the slope as he passes. I am certain we will be discovered. Team leaders position the men shoulder to shoulder at the ambush site waiting for the enemy to pass and the order to fire. In accordance to plan the ambush will be initiated with claymores which have been carefully placed. Security elements are posted further up the trail so killzone prep can be completed and the kill zone is carefully purified to insure there is no telltale sign we were there. We are in position and confident that the kill zone is well covered by fire. The base of fire element is equipped with a M60 and occupys the short line of our L facing down the killzone. They have aiming stakes placed to prevent them from shifting into our assault element. Once the ambush has sprung and at the command of two sharp whistles they are to shift fire allowing our ambush to sweep the objective and search the bodies. Our plan calls for throwing grenades onto the killzone prior to doing the sweep. With everyone in position all we do now is wait. Inspite of our training we sound like a bunch of cherries. I can hear guys readjusting themselves, getting more comfortable and moving their gear. Metallic clinks are heard as guys move their rifles. Eventually we grow quiet. Beside me I hear the crackle of the radio:

"Saber 2-2, Saber 6, sitrep. Over.

"Six, 2-2, we are mickeymouse 50 meters south of original plan -- "

The TOC mildly berates the RTO for not volunteering such information without having to be asked.

Minutes perhaps hours pass. It’s hard to keep track of time when lying in wait. The forest sounds go back to normal and the tricks darkness plays on your vision forces your mind to wander. Bugs discover you and casually begin their smorgasbord. The killzone that was visible a short while ago becomes hard to make out as clouds pass over and the scene before you changes constantly. You wish you were in closer to the killzone but realize at the time you were in position a location closer would have been exposed. The signal from the security element consists of 2 breaks of squelch from the South or 3 if a sutable force is on the trail from the North. Four rapid breaks of squelch meant no joy the enemy force is too large to engage or not what we are looking for.

I hear two breaks of squelch and quietly ask myself “Oh shinola did I remember to take off my safety?” I slowly feel with my thumb to insure all is ready. (It is.) I remember that I am not to look at anything but center of mass or not look at all and simply open up on my designated portion of the killzone following the blast of the Claymores or initiating fire from the team leaders rifle. I hear quiet Vietnamese voices and what sounds like a command voice shushing them. They are using dim lights as they walk down the trail and I catch the strange shadows cast from these lights on the trees opposite the killzone.

 

The air explodes in a cacophony of automatic small arms fire. I open up before I even register the action in my brain. The RTO beside me is on the horn calling for fire support, spitting out the pre-plotted coordinates. The air is thick with the sound of automatic airsoft guns and smoke and electric with the lethality of flying BBs, The tracer BBs are mesmerizing and fortunately few seem to be coming from the group we have engaged. The woods are now heavy with the shouts of orders, punctuated with the screams of the enemy wounded. I fire a burst blindly into the trail. I do not see the enemy at this moment nor do I know if I hit anyone. We assault forward and I realize I’m unclear as to who is supposed to do what once in the killzone. The patrol leader is shouting orders asking nameless people to search the four men or women laying in the kill zone. They had been carrying equipment and bundles suspended from a pole their weapons slung across their shoulders. I take up position looking down the trail. I am kneeling when I probably should have been prone. I feel a sharp stinging sensation in the small of my back and I realize I have been hit. Was it fire from the support element, one of the enemy soldier in the killzone or an unseen enemy somehow not caught in the ambush? It doesn’t matter I scream and fall face first into the trail. Someone calls for a medic. Above me, I see the face of Doc, he is saying something, but all I see are his lips moving like he is lip synching to a song that only he can hear in his head. My war is over.

At the debrief, we learn that our movement to the ambush site was good as was our initial actions during ambush. But we had failed to properly place flank security and a follow-on NVA force had taken advantage of our mistake, assaulted through our flank and caused casualties including my own KIA. We hadn't rehearsed action on the objective and paid for it. We took too long in the killzone and weren’t efficient in our tasks. Our trail security element once the ambush was sprung should have shifted position to more effectively engage targets down the trail farther from the killzone. As we quickly learn, we do well at what we rehearse, less well when we don't Solution: take the time to rehearse the entire mission down to the slightest detail and plan for contingencies. Seldom does an ambush go down like it is planned.

Saturday morning and the weather is foreboding. Low grey clouds streak across the sky. Rumor is that the monsoon will start early this year. In fact the remnants of Hurricane Joseph are due to hit our AO this afternoon. No problem. We operate rain or shine.

Saturday

Recondo is an incredibly immersive and difficult training environment. It's becoming clear to me that the best we can do is meet 50% of the completion standard. 60% is for supermen. Still 50% feels like failure. It's Saturday morning and we go out on a recon mission. We're given four hours and an objective to patrol. Voodoo is TL, Cho ATL. I'm on drag - meaning I'll be walking backwards most of the time and "cleansing" our back trail. Long (A first generation Vietnamese American) is on point - the best Point man at Recondo. Ranger Josh Warren is our lane grader. We're starting to catch on and we don't trust his big smile and "helpful" advice. Voodoo does a fantastic job briefing our movement. Our movements are textbook. We move tactically. Very slowly. No noise. We avoid all obvious trails and stop frequently to check for the enemy, facing outwards in a circle with our hats off observing and completing SLLS checks. Our pace is about 200 yards per hour. Feels really slow yet John Burford tells me that on actual missions LRRPs expected to cover 80-100 yards per hour. This brings everything into perspective. We double back periodically to insure we aren’t being followed. We know the enemy uses hunter killer teams and Men with Green faces have a bounty on their heads. To mess with our heads, Captain Warren pressures us to speed up. We ignore him and continue our patrol worrying that he is trying to get us to make mistakes and stumble into an ambush. Long on point sees a cluster of hootches to our east. We form a wagon wheel and observe for 10 minutes with hearts pounding. This is our first evidence today of enemy activity. Who knew that moving slowly could be so stressful. At each break we pass around a canteen so each man stays hydrated. Leaving the swampy area that has provided us with such great cover, we enter a more open wooded area with a fern floor. Long halts us. The signal comes back that a danger area is ahead. It's a big Red Ball trail, perhaps a meter across and well used. We avoid the temptation to use it even though it’s a high speed trail in the direction we want to go. Moving west instead, we halt 25 meters from the trail and observe. It's our one mistake of the day. We are too close to the trail. Cover is poor, mostly small saplings and ferns. Worse, the team is not in visual contact because a small gully and rise block our sight lines. We hear firing to our North and decide to stay quiet. No movement. No shooting. Burford and Rollins have made it clear to us that survival in the field depends on the team's ability to not reveal its position. Dog's are a team's worst enemy but that's a story from Rollins we'll hear with a cold Budweiser around the fire tonight. 20 meters to my front I see a Pith helmet rise from the ferns and duck back down. It happens before I have time to raise my rifle and fire. How did they get so close without detection? As I raise my 16, the jungle erupts in gunfire. Rounds are flying by my head. I can't see the enemy as though he is reaching out to touch us. I shoot at the ferns where I saw the NVA. I hear a scream and later calls for “Ba Chi” “Ba Chi.” I assume my victim wants a medic. Sucks to be him but I’m not going to worry about. Sometimes marksmanship is more luck or volume of fire than skill. Even with realistic ammo loads sometimes it pays to just dump a mag. Since no high caps are allowed it’s something one has to think about.

I have no idea what's happening to the team. The volume of fire increases. I hear a shout of Peel Left. Left makes no sense as the majority of the enemy fire is coming from the left. I guess that we are supposed to peel right. As drag man I'll have a few seconds while the team races by me. I pull two smoke grenades off my webbing and throw them to our left and front to cover our movement. It’s a clusterluv. I see Cho go down. I assume that the team has taken casualties. Shane to my left gets up to peel right and I follow. I hear the dull thud of bullets on flesh and Shane goes down. LRRPs had an understanding that the team would leave its wounded behind if under pressure. Nonetheless I run to Shane, grab his webbing and try to pull him clear. I make it only a few feet before a line of tracers cuts my torso in half. The team is wiped out.

During our AAR Captain Robison reveals that this evolution was to test our reaction to contact. The odds were stacked against us. However, we had done really well (prior to all dying). Our movement was textbook, and Captain Robison tells us that he often couldn't see us even though he new where we are. We are some Strack mother-luvers in movement. Turns out that the firing we heard prior to the ambush was the NVA flush team trying to get us to move into a prepared ambush to our south or reveal our position through fire. We did the right thing lying dog. Our mistake was not moving far enough from the trail as it was a major highway for the NVA allowing them to move troops quickly into the area. The odds were against us during the engagement. The 3-man flush team moved in from our north, while the 8-man ambush team moved on us unobserved from our South. We were way outnumbered and our only option was to have not been where we were. Nonetheless, we managed to kill 5 NVA during the few seconds the firefight lasted . I was surprised because my fight consisted of a brief glance at one NVA. NVA field craft is outstanding. Our attempts at fire superiority against an unseen enemy were almost successful. Lesson learned.

That afternoon we are briefed on a night ambush mission involving all teams. Higher wants a prisoner. According to Burford and Rollins, prisoner snatch missions were among the most dangerous as the NVA don't like to be snatched. Often you end up with US KIA or with all the NVA in the kill zone dead. Team 1-1 is combined with Team 1-2 as an observing and blocking force - we'll observe the trail and report to the grab team the presence of any NVA elements small enough for them to snatch. After the snatch we'll act as a blocking force for any follow-on NVA forces. Cpl XXX from 1-2 is TL and I am ATL. We have not worked together before. We plan our movement and develop our OPORDS over the next two hours. As ATL my job is to make sure the team is ready and has packed all the necessary gear. The weather is looking good for a prisoner grab. A light rain has started and the dark clouds forebode much worse in the future. I check my team's gear. We're all green for ammo and gear. Jump checks confirm that each man's gear won't make noise in the bush.

It's raining lightly as we jump off from the FSB with 1-3 and our combined team. Its twilight and getting darker - our goal is to get in position before dark so we can recon the trail before we set up. We leave team 1-3 at their snatch site, continue north in order to approach our ORP position from a different direction then the ambush team. I have a rough sense of where we are from map study but start to lose my situational awareness. I'm impressed with the TL's navigation - I think we're lost but the ORP and trail juncture appear in front of us. With the larger team, messages take longer then usual to traverse the line. The ORP is in a perfect location on top of a small cliff overlooking the trail. Its getting dark and the rain is coming down harder. I'm soaked all the way through but am warm from the adrenaline. Visibility is down to about 40 feet. This is how cluster luvs happen. As I arrive at the ORP, the TL appears out of the rain at the base of the cliff and signals me to send the men down to him. I shuffle the nearest two men down the cliff but the ex-ATL of team 1-2 stops the movement. He has orders to wait for the TLs return from a leaders recon and is unaware that this movement is at the TLs request. With these weather conditions, all you need is a few moments for the team to get separated. By the time things are cleared up and men moving down the cliff face again, the TL and two men with him have disappeared into the rain-soaked darkness. I set the men up at the base of the cliff with orders to sit tight while I attempt to make contact with the TL. After 40 feet I am forced to return to the team. The visibility in the heavy rain is so poor that I risk losing the team in the dark. I guess that the TL has hunkered down nearby and have the RTO radio in our situation and intent to charlie-mike. Lying there as the dark settles on us and visibility drops to nothing, I realize why the men need to be shoulder to shoulder for a night ambush. Without physical contact there is no hope for communication. I feel alone. The full force of the monsoon falls on the team. Yet I am still warm and comfortable. Weird. Time passes and three shadows move down the trail. Unsure if they are NVA or even people we whisper in the sighting and stand by to interdict the trail for any follow on forces. The rain is loud. We strain to hear any contact from 1-3's position. Good news though, the radio crackles and reports that the grab team has taken a prisoner. We are ordered to return base. Its now raining so hard I feel like I'm underwater. Forget horizontal rain - this rain is coming down, sideways, and up. We find our lost sheep 150 feet further down the trail. They had hunkered down and waited once we lost contact. Good training pays off. Cold beer - luv it - I want a hot coffee. The return to base is uneventful. But events at base are not good.

A Sandy driver has been shot down near our AO. The TOC has been monitoring comms and is using the Sandy's wingman as a relay. The pilot is alive but badly injured with a broken leg and other injuries that immobilize him. He is in good cover and his description of his surroundings and the grid he was shot down in match an area we patrolled yesterday. No rest for the weary - we have been tasked as a blue team with all team's working on a rescue mission. Sgt Czech is put in command. Long, myself and XX are squad leaders. We are in for a long night of planning and know it. It's already 11pm. Settling in the TOC, we work out options that will get us to the pilot without getting ambushed in the process. We have to assume the Charlie knows we are coming. Immediately sending out a 3-man LRRP team to monitor NVA activity, identify potential ambush sites, and locate the pilot is denied by higher. Under the Czech's guidance, a plan emerges that has 1-1 as a blocking force along the known NVA approach route. 1-2 and 1-3 will then make a wide sweep and approach the pilot from the opposite azimuth. The plan is sound and we think it is the best we can come up with. Yes, we are separating our forces, but we feel we need to act unpredictably or risk ambush and losing even more men. We send the men to bed with a pre-dawn wake up. Jump off is set for first light. I'm so juiced I can,t sleep. In the Operations tent John Burford is holding court with some cold ones and Warren, Halligan, Voodoo, Diez, LT Mac, and XX. This man is a living legend and his stories are unbelievable. We stay up all night sharing war stories.

0-dark 30 and unbelievably the men are awake and getting last minute ammo and gear squared away. The Czech has his shinola together and has us rehearse our movements by team and as a combined unit until we move without error. Take home lesson: rehearsal is a bitch but can make or break a mission. Jump off and we melt into the treeline. Noise discipline is outstanding. We move for 300 meters as a combined unit at LRRP pace of 100 meters an hour. SLLS check and nothing observed. Our team under SPC Long breaks off to our blocking site.

We sight the trail and halt for what I assume is a quick recon before moving to our ambush site. I don't like where I am as I have no cover to the front and my rear is completely exposed. To my right Voodoo is improving his cover, placing ferns and other vegetation over his prone position. Before we can move to our ambush position, we hear NVA approaching on the high speed trail we are staking out. Now I really regret not using my limited time to improve my concealment. Instead of continuing down the trail into our kill zone the NVA stop. shinola! They must have seen our back trail. They begin to explore the trail which puts them directly behind me. I can't believe I am undetected. I feel totally exposed but my tiger strips must be doing there job. Voodoo has shifted his position to cover the NVA. Any movement on my part will give away our position so I am forced to leave my back exposed trusting that Voodoo will keep me safe. The NVA freezes and slowly levels his AK at my back. Before he can fire Voodoo opens up with his Stoner. Rounds rip the air as the team opens up. NVA rounds stir up the vegetation around me. I dive for better cover. shinola. shinola. My gun jams. shinola. I can't return fire and our only chance of survival is to gain fire superiority. Cho is yelling at me to maneuver on the flank. MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! I move but can’t fire. My personal hell is happening. We're getting torn apart and I can't do anything. Long goes down with a burst to the chest. Cho takes a round to the throat. Only Voodoo is still firing. Finally the numbers weigh against him and he is overwhelmed. Vietnamese voice chatter as my vision fades to black. 1-1 ceases to exist. While our personal war felt like a failure, it turns out that our mission was a success. We intercepted and delayed the NVA force moving to the crash site. The recovery team manages to locate and retrieve the pilot without contact. Their personal hell came in the form of a 200lb pilot they had to hump 400 meters back to the extraction point through extremely rough terrain. Mission accomplished. Turns out pilots are more valuable then grunts. We are congratulated on our mission planning.

Recondo is a leadership school hidden in an airsoft event. After every mission we are debriefed and learn from our mistakes. By the 3rd day, the team's skills amaze me. I feel confident even though it feels like we failed most every mission. The best we can do is 50% of perfect. The 50% we did was easily the best airsoft experience of my life. I made friendships that will last a lifetime. I'm looking forward to Recondo 2010. I learned a lotr about individual skills, patrolling, small unit leadership and the Vietnam experience. I know it sound corny but I also learned a lot about myself

 

Journal of Mung Von Giap captured during Recondo 2009

 

27 August - We made the long walk from the North down the Ho Chi Minh trail to our base camp deep in the jungles of South Vietnam. After many long weeks we noticed the faint glow of a fire deep in the trees just a few meters off the trail and we finally arrived. The camp was already buzzing with much activity as another platoon had arrived a few days before us. Many of our brave brothers and sisters of the Revolution were busy at work and we were welcomed with open arms. The long walk had tired us out very much, but it wasn't long after we had dropped our heavy packs to the ground that our brothers offered us a spot around the fire and we filled our grumbling bellies with the delicious noodles that the Revolution generously provided. As we got to know our other comrades, we learned that our area was fairly quiet and our efforts to store caches and other activities went about completely unchallenged. Buddha and I had heard rumours of men with painted faces roaming about, vanishing like ghosts and bringing about death from the sky. However, our comrades assured us that no such thing had been witnessed by anyone in quite a while in our sector.

 

 

28Aug -We woke up to rain, an inconvenience for the long-noses, but one that we welcomed and did not affect our morale. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast of oats and grains. Afterwards, Lt. Mercy educated us and assisted us in honing our skills and tactics. We learned much and it wasn't long before we set off into the jungle to hide weapon caches for the support of our other brothers and sisters in the Revolution. Afterwards, we headed back to our camp in order to enjoy a wonderful lunch of noodles before heading out to begin patrolling.

 

With the rain and wet leaves masking the sound of our movement, I took my three-man-cell and began our patrol while another cell did the same in another sector. After a few uneventful hours of walking through the jungle, we made our way back to camp when I noticed something that did not belong about 50 meters to the left of our trail. It took me a second, but there it was -- MEN WITH PAINTED FACES, all laying out in a bed of ferns, completely exposed and looking everywhere except at us. I initiated fire and saw two imperialists soldiers fall to my bullets which were immediately followed by the wrath of my brother's rifles. I fell to the ground with a bullet in my shoulder, but not before more puppet soldiers fell victim to our fire -- two soldiers were able to escape, dragging their team leader whose jaw had been obliterated by brother Buddha's RPK.

 

29 Aug - Finally, before the evening came to an end, we decided to give the GI's one last reminder that they were never safe. With our other brothers probing the wire, Buddha and I began our slow crawl in the mud, carefully inching our way past the American's perimeter until we were 20 meters from their bunkers. They shone their light upon us, but they saw nothing and finally at the right moment we struck unleashing all our firepower into their base camp. The fear and shock in the Americans voices when they found out that they had once again been infiltrated was enough as we broke our contact and disappeared once more into the night.