Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Monday, February 7, 2011
Books: Maritime Sniper Manual–Precision Fire From Seaborne Platforms, By Fredrik Jonsson
This looks like an awesome resource for those of you out there that are looking for some reading material on the subject of precision fire from boats. I have not read this book but I definitely perked up after seeing the endorsements on the thing. Mr. Plaster was one of them, and his books have been mentioned before on this blog. I will take his word that this book is a good resource. –Matt
Facebook Page for book here.
Buy the book via Amazon at Jundi Gear Store here.
Buy the book from Paladin Press here.
Precision Fire from Seaborne Platforms
by Fredrik C. Jonsson; foreword by Maj. John L. Plaster, USA (Ret.)
Click here to read a FREE supplement to this book written by Fredrik C. Jonsson titled Modern Piracy and Maritime Terrorism.
“This manual is a necessity for any unit attempting to combat piracy or undertake any maritime operation.”
–Chief Chris Kyle, former Navy SEAL sniper/instructor
“I strongly recommend adding this book to your training resources.”
–Sgt. Major Mark Spicer, retired British Army sniper instructor
For the professional sniper, engaging a target on the high seas is one of the most challenging assignments of all. Erratic movement introduced by waves, vessel speeds, and engine vibrations; short, sudden windows of opportunity; and a host of unique environmental factors make the shot that much more demanding for even experienced marksmen.
Now, master sniper Fredrik Jonsson has written what is destined to become the classic manual on precision fire from seaborne platforms.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Books: Secret Commandos–Behind Enemy Lines With The Elite Warriors Of SOG
This is a great book, and is just one of many that Mr. Plaster has written over the years about SOG. What is cool is that I continue to get something new out of these books, every time I flip through them. Lots of battlefield innovation going on there and they should definitely be on your reading list.
The one area that I wanted to talk about with these books, was the North Vietnamese tracker teams that were tasked with hunting down these SOG teams. On page 54-55 of this book, Mr. Plaster goes into detail about what it was like to be hunted by these NVA tracking teams, and it was fascinating.
One of the deals I picked up on was the use of CS powder to throw off the dogs the Vietnamese would use. Although, according to the SOG troopers, it was skilled trackers who were more feared than dog teams. The reason for that is because a human can read the land and knows to keep their mouth shut.(the dogs were noisy, and only as good as the handlers) The NVA tracking teams would also drive teams purposely into traps.
The one story that Plaster talked about was being followed by a tracker team that wanted to be heard. Plaster’s SOG team figured out that the trackers were purposely trying to spook the recon team into paths, or channeling them into NVA blocking forces/ambushes. What made these trackers so effective, was how well they knew their little piece of land they were assigned along the Ho Chi Minh trail and their ability to read spoor. As a result, many SOG teams feared these trackers and had to plan accordingly. Many SOG teams were also killed and a few captured due to the efforts of these trackers. Having a knowledge of combat tracking in that environment, was just one key to the success of SOG troopers operating in such a hostile environment.
My other favorite part was Project Eldest Son. This was basically booby trapping ammunition, and planting that ammo on dead NVA soldiers that the teams would kill. This ammo was designed to destroy the AK when it was fired, as well as hurting or killing the soldier firing it. These types of operations would put doubt into the quality of ammunition the NVA troops were getting from the Chinese, and then hopefully hinder the relationship between China and Vietnam at the time. That was the idea at least.
One other story that I liked was about Bob Howard’s team and their use of Nightingales. These were distraction devices designed to make the enemy think they are being fired upon, when in fact they were just firecrackers going off. Pretty slick. But how the team used it, and the end result, was fantastic. The SOG team decided to slip one of these devices right into the center of a camp of NVA. When it went off, the NVA woke up and thought that an enemy attack was happening right in their camp. And because the SOG teams were known to dress up like the NVA and use their same weapons (pseudo operations), the NVA instantly thought that a SOG team was attacking. The funny thing was, is that there was no SOG team attacking and the chaos was being fueled by panicked NVA and the Nightingale. The outcome is what was really crazy. The NVA was actually shooting at each other and killing one another. It is the kind of results that would make the Joker from Batman giggle. In the end, the NVA camp was littered with dead and the SOG troopers were able to escape unharmed.
Anyways, check it out and let me know what you think. These books have been around for awhile, and they are great reads while out on deployment. On a side note, the video game called Call of Duty: Blackops has a story line based on the MACV SOG missions.(Mr. Plaster advised on that game) –Matt
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Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG
John L. Plaster
SOG was the Studies and Observations Group, a U.S. Army organization that operated behind enemy lines in the Vietnam War. It gathered intelligence and was responsible for rescuing downed pilots, identifying bombing targets, kidnapping enemy officers, wiretapping phone lines, ambushing convoys, and mining the Ho Chi Minh trail. Plaster shares details of his training in Fort Bragg as a Green Beret before being sent to Vietnam, where he served three one-year tours in SOG. He chronicles the group’s operations and portrays the soldiers he worked with there. Some readers may find too much here about fighting a war that many people today believe should have never happened, but the book nonetheless is an intriguing first-person account of this elite group’s intrepid operations.
Product Description
Iraq: Winning The Sniper War In Iraq
The most dangerous enemy snipers proved to be the insurgents who mimicked the Washington, D.C.-area snipers who terrorized our nation’s capital in 2002 by firing from the concealment of a car. Cruising the streets of Baghdad, Mosul and other towns, these mobile sniper teams sought G.I.s manning roadside checkpoints, fixed security posts and sitting in armored vehicle cupolas. As quickly as they fired, the insurgent riflemen disappeared into urban traffic. Some sniping vehicles carried extra license plates, phony taxi markings and secret compartments for stowing a sniper rifle. Insurgent Web sites boasted that quick reaction forces arrived too late to catch them.
Because al-Qaeda paid the gunmen up to $5,000 per kill, the mobile snipers documented their engagements on videotape, the spotter serving as both observer and videographer.
*****
This is a fantastic article, and kind of rare. The sniper guru talks about insurgent tactics and how we stopped them. If you would like to further expand your knowledge on how our guys did it, Plaster added a whole new chapter in his book dedicated to the current war. Not only is he famous for his books and lectures on sniping, but he is also a veteran of MACV SOG during the Vietnam War and certainly a living legend.
Why is this significant? To me, SOG was probably the most daring and most innovative unit to come out of the Vietnam War, and I put them right on par with the Selous Scouts. Both units had to be masters of their environment and of their task, because both had to operate behind enemy lines. They also had to operate in other countries, which made the advent of getting caught even more dangerous and extremely embarrassing to their home countries. I look at the Pakistan problem in today’s war as the same dilemma.
Al Qaeda has no problem exploiting the borders of sovereign nations, and that is how they are able to survive and grow. It is an aspect of this war that will most certainly have to be fought by covert warriors for a very long time, and in some very dangerous places.
But back to this article. Mr. Plaster mentioned one thing that caught my eye. Al Qaeda introduced free market warfare into their strategy, and the end result was some pretty dangerous and innovative sniper teams. Please note the quote up top. –Matt
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Winning the Sniper War in Iraq
A war within a war.
By Maj. John L. Plaster, USAR (Ret.)
As an American military convoy rumbled along a dusty street in Habbaniyah, Iraq, 50 miles west of Baghdad, a silver van eased to the curb. Preoccupied with operating their heavy trucks, the U.S. Marine drivers didn’t notice the van and its civilian occupants.
Fortunately the convoy was overwatched by guardian angels: a Marine sniper and his spotter atop a nearby roof. Alerted by his spotter, the Marine marksman shifted his 10X optic to the silver van—and discovered the driver videotaping the convoy while his passenger raised a scoped rifle! As one, the Marine sniper and his spotter fired, shooting dead the cameraman and his sniping partner. By itself this was a dramatic accomplishment, but there was more: Pried from the dead terrorist’s hands was a Marine-issue M40A3 sniper rifle—taken from a Marine sniper killed by insurgents in August 2005. It was now back where it belonged.
The Habbaniyah engagement was a limited but significant milestone in this unnoticed war-within-a-war, a quiet triumph of skill and courage, strategy and technology, which yielded a victory as great as that of British snipers who wrested domination of the World War I trenches from Germany’s snipers in 1915.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Legal News: Some Thoughts on HR 3571
There was a 19 % increase (from 10,743 to 13,232) of armed DoD PSCs in Iraq compared to the 2nd quarter FY 2009 census. This increase can be attributed to an increased need for PSCs to provide security as the military begins to drawdown forces and to our continued improved ability to account for subcontractors who are providing security services.
. There was a 20% increase (from 4,111 to 5,165) of armed DoD PSCs in Afghanistan compared to the 1st quarter FY 2009 census. The increase correlates to the build up of forces in that AOR. -Contractor Support of U.S. Operations in USCENTCOM AOR, Iraq, and Afghanistan, June 30,2009
*****
There is a lot of talk in the anti-defense industry circles these days about HR 3571 and how it could apply to the removal of a lot of the big players in the defense industry. You don’t hear about reforming the industry or anything, just the idiotic notion of eradicating the defense industry–national security be damned. I am sure our enemies are liking this one…Pffffft.
The other thing to note, is that HR 3571 was created as a mechanism to defund ACORN. I don’t think lawmakers intended on inadvertently defunding the entire defense industry. It is all about the intent people, and the intent to do such a thing is not there.