Feral Jundi

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Books: Secret Commandos–Behind Enemy Lines With The Elite Warriors Of SOG

Filed under: Books,Games,History — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 4:06 PM

    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

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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Letter Of Marque: Prize Law

    Self-interest was the driving force that compelled men of the sea to accept the international law of prize . . . [including merchants] because it brought a valuable element of certainty to their dealings. If the rules were clear and universal, they could ship their goods abroad in wartime, after first buying insurance against known risks. . . . On the other side of the table, those purchasing vessels and cargoes from prize courts had the comfort of knowing that what they bought was really theirs. The doctrine and practice of maritime prize was widely adhered to for four centuries, among a multitude of sovereign nations, because adhering to it was in the material interest of their navies, their privateersmen, their merchants and bankers, and their sovereigns. Diplomats and international lawyers who struggle in this world to achieve a universal rule of law may well ponder on this lesson. –Donald A. Petrie, The Prize Game, p. 145-46.

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   This is cool.  Mr. Petrie has written an interesting book that deals with prize law back when privateering was a common worldwide practice.  Prize law was the necessary foundation of laws that insured everyone who actually captured an enemy’s stuff, could legally keep it.  This applied to privateers, but it also applied to the various navies that practiced the concept of commerce raiding and taking prizes.

   On a side note, the US Navy continued paying prizes to it’s officers all the way up until the Spanish American War.  Imagine if today’s Navy could seize ships and be legally awarded that prize in a court of law?

   The other reason why I wanted to get this out there, is that if we are to apply the Letter of Marque to modern day problems, the other necessary component that made the LoM work properly back then was prize law and courts who adhered to those laws.  And because prize law dealing with privateering or commerce raiding has atrophied do to non-use, it is necessary to bring up some recent literature on the subject, as well as older texts. A good first step in that process, is to refer to the mavens on prize law, if such a thing exists.  Mr. Petrie and his book would be a good first step.  Studying Grotius would be another good step to create a modern foundation of prize law. (there are others listed below)  I am also positive that there are plenty of lawyers out there that could reawaken prize law in this context.

   If the readership has any links to prize law related articles or books, I would love to add that stuff and make this post a good place to collect that information. Prize law is also way outside my lane, and I really cannot give it the proper respect.  So if you are a lawyer, judge or legal maven, please step in and correct the record, or add to the stew of ideas here.  I am all ears. –Matt

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Prize being towed

La Blanche towing la Pique, a French prize, 1795

The Prize Game: Lawful Looting on the High Seas in the Days of Fighting Sail 

Donald A. Petrie

Product Description

In the Middle Ages, European nations raised standing armies to fight their foes. At sea, however, their resources were much more limited and largely dependent on privately owned vessels and their crews. To stimulate the growth and ardor of their fleets, the monarchs of Renaissance Europe offered the crews of their naval vessels and licensed privateers a chance to get rich by plundering enemy ships and cargoes. These actions gave rise to the doctrine and practice of maritime prize–a subject little studied but regularly referred to by C. S. Forester, Patrick O’Brian, and other popular writers about the era. Now, after a decade of research in European and American archives, Donald A. Petrie explains the origins of prize taking, the rules of the sea that became universally accepted among the maritime powers of the world, and the final decline of prize taking during the nineteenth century.

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Saturday, February 6, 2010

History: The Range Wars Of The Old American West

     Conflict over land was a somewhat common occurrence in the development of the American West but was particularly prevalent during the late 1800s and early 1900s when large portions of the west were being settled by Americans for the first time. It is a period which historian Richard Maxwell Brown has called the “Western Civil War of Incorporation”.

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   This is some fascinating history, and it reminds me a lot of the pre-Treaty of Westphalia stuff I like to delve into.  During this time period in the West, famous and infamous characters started popping up.  Specifically, guys like Tom Horn, Frederick Russell Burnham, or even my favorite MoH recipient, William Cody.  And all of these guys were involved with some kind of warfare back then, to include range warfare.

   Back then, conflict over land was very common, and cattleman did all sorts of things to protect their land and cattle.  Primarily because the law back then was not very strong or capable.  The west was a treacherous war zone, with Indians, grizzlies and criminals, and most had to take matters into their own hands in order to protect themselves. The law or the military could not be everywhere and at all times, and self sufficiency was key to survival.  Back then, security contractors were highly sought after and very busy.  Range detectives, civilian scouts, bounty hunters, contract lawman, stage coach drivers, Pony Express, Pinkertons, etc., there was all sorts of opportunities for skilled security specialists.  And those that did this kind of stuff, were either veterans or adventurous types who wanted a taste of the wild west.  Of course the pay was probably a draw too, because security was a premium during the development of the west.

   Going back to the main theme I wanted to present.  These were wars, and they were mostly fought between cattle companies trying to protect land or cattle from the other guy who was trying to gain more land and cattle.  You could go back several hundred years in the history of warfare, and it would be very hard to distinguish between the wars between PMC’s or what these guys were doing in the wild west. This stuff was PMC versus PMC, and it was happening right here in America. It was also pretty brutal, as you will see below with all of the wars I posted.

   I also wanted to make a quick mention of the Range Detective concept.  The last known use of range detectives in the modern sense, was in Rhodesia during their war. Cattleman were paying detectives to rid their lands of cattle rustlers/insurgents there, because it was a massive problem during the conflict.  Low and behold, they probably got the idea from Tom Horn and the American west’s use of Range Detectives.  Hell, men like Tom were paid upwards of around $600 dollars for every rustler they killed or captured.  In Rhodesia, they paid $750 Rhodesian dollars for every rustler a Range Detective was able to stop. I am sure there are other examples of individuals working in range wars in modern times, but I figured I would bring up this modern history as a documented example.

   Definitely check out the Frederick Burnham story in the Pleasant Valley War I posted. I was shocked and then laughed at his luck. Not to mention his exploits in Africa which were also extremely lucky.  He gets badass of the week in my opinion. lol

  Now Tom Horn gets badass of the year, if we really want to get detailed.  He did it all, from being a civilian scout during the Indian Wars (and finding Geronimo none the less), to working for the Pinkertons, to bounty hunting or contract law enforcement, all the way to fighting as a contract soldier in the range wars. Tom also served as a Rough Rider with Teddy Roosevelt during the Spanish-American war. He was a quite the controversial character, and to some a hero and others a criminal. He was also quoted as saying “Killing men is my specialty, I look at it as a business proposition, and I think I have a corner on the market.” He was also hung for a shooting that was deemed a murder, and that ended his prolific and intense life.  Tom Horn was also portrayed by Steve McQueen in a movie called Tom Horn, and some groups even celebrate Tom Horn every year in Wyoming. Crazy.

   All of it is extremely interesting, and noticing the trends back then, it seems that the guys who were good at tracking and had cut their teeth in the Indian Wars or Civil War were probably the most sought after individuals for range warfare.  They knew the land, they knew how to track and kill humans, they we able to recruit others, they knew how to use weapons and they knew how to get the job done.  They were fearless and skilled, and these are exactly the kind of traits that made PMC’s during the pre-Treaty of Westphalia days so valuable and sought after. Let me know what you think and check it out. –Matt

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Tom Horn

Tom Horn.

Pleasant Valley War

The Pleasant Valley War (also sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud or Tonto Basin War) was an Arizona range war between two feuding families, the cattle-herding Grahams and the sheep-herding Tewksburys. Although Pleasant Valley is physically located in Gila County, Arizona, many of the events in the feud took place in Apache County, Arizona, and in Navajo County, Arizona. The feud itself lasted for almost a decade, with its most deadly incidents between 1886 and 1887, with the last known killing occurring in 1892. At one stage, outsider and known assassin Tom Horn was known to have taken part as a killer for hire, but it is unknown as to which side employed him, and both sides suffered several murders to which no suspect was ever identified. Of all the feuds that have taken place throughout American history, the Pleasant Valley War was the most costly, resulting in an almost complete annihilation of the two families involved.

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Thursday, February 4, 2010

Cool Stuff: William F Cody Medal Of Honor Headstone, Colorado

   I found this at the Home of Heroes website, which lists all the states who have graves of Medal of Honor recipients. Low and behold, the famous civilian scout William Cody rests in Golden, Colorado. Pretty cool, and something to check out for you contractors and history buffs that live in Colorado or just passing through. –Matt

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William Cody

Born:  February 16, 1846 at Scott County, IA

Entered Service in the US Army from Fort McPherson, NE

Earned The Medal of Honor During the Indian Campaigns For heroism April 26, 1872 at Loupe Fork of Platte River, NE

Died:  January 10, 1917 at the age of 70

     In the spring of 1872 a small party of Indians made a dash on McPherson station, about five miles from the fort, killing two or three men and running off quite a large number of horses. Civilian Scout William Cody guided a cavalry detachment in seeking out the responsible party, and upon finding their camp near the Loupe Fork of the Platte River, scouted the emplacement with six soldiers. After finding a small enemy patrol, concerned that they might escape, Cody led the six soldiers in an immediate attack though he was outnumbered two-to-one. The soldiers killed six of the thirteen Indians, the sound of the battle drawing a relief force of cavalry that then put the remainder to flight. For this action which resulted in the destruction of a dangerous party of hostile raiders, William Cody and three soldiers who fought with him in the battle were awarded Medals of Honor for “Gallantry in action.” The three cavalrymen cited were: Sergeant John Foley, Private William Strayer, and First Sergeant Leroy Vokes.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Letter Of Marque: CATO–Privateering And The Private Production Of Naval Power

     Another great hidden gem of a paper about one of my favorite topics.  I also really perked up on the conclusions of the paper.  That privateering did not go away because the concept sucked. Nope.  It went away, because of competition with government owned Navies who wanted to do it all. It kind of reminds me of the ridiculous fears that popped up when privatized mail and shipping companies came on to the scene.

     The post office (government) folks actually had to compete with private industry for the business of the citizenry, and despite the early fears of those folks thinking they will lose their good deal government job, that competition only helped invigorate the innovation and business processes of both groups.  And best of all, the PO and private industry are still around and still slinging it out for that business.  If you also look at the PO, they are continuing to look more and more like UPS and  Fedex all the time.

    I also like the lighthouse example listed below as well. I think private naval and military companies can exist along side the militaries and navies they are serving just fine.  Hell, we are seeing that right now with the war, with thousands of contractors being used. So to take that one step further with issuing LoM’s to companies, to help even further in the war effort, would not be a bridge too far.  It would also provide a pretty nice cost savings for the government, and the military and navies of those governments would now have competition.

     That competition would be healthy in my opinion, and with carefully constructed LoM’s and today’s technological advances, it would not be a problem at all to keep tabs on companies issued LoM’s. And like Matt Armstrong mentioned, issuing LoM’s to today’s PMC’s would be a quick fix for keeping them in line.  Either abide by the wishes of a congress and their issued contract (LoM), or instantly be turned into a criminal organization for crossing the line. That would be some serious legal control if you know what I mean. It would also cut out inefficient contracting offices and weak laws that fall short of keeping companies under control. Just some thoughts on a different way of doing business.-Matt

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Privateering and the Private Production of Naval Power

Gary M. Anderson and Adam Gifford, Jr.

     The early history shows that, contrary to the belief of many economists, a lighthouse service can be provided by private enterprise. The lighthouses were built, operated, financed, and owned by private individuals. … We may conclude that economists should not use the lighthouse as an example of a service which could only be provided by the government. —Ronald Coase (1974) 

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Introduction

     Privatization and the “contracting-out” of services traditionally provided by means of governmental monopoly continue to attract increasing interest from both politicians and scholars. Many studies have found that private provision of certain goods and services tends to be more efficient than comparable arrangements provided directly by the government.

     One of the very few areas relatively untouched by the recent attempts at privatization, or contracting-out, of governmental services is the military. Although some economists have argued that the priva-tization of major elements of the provision of national defense would be both feasible and efficient, in modern times military forces are essentially a pure governmental monopoly. Not only are private military forces illegal, but the military force maintained by the govern-ment is invariably wholly owned and operated by the government. National defense, like lighthouses, frequently serves as a stylized illustration of the need for governmental provision of “public goods” in economics textbooks.

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