Note: This is part of a series. You can read part one here. After seven days of weather delays, false starts, and enemy rocket attacks at the top-secret Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) compound in Kontum and at the Dak To launch site, Green Beret Capt. Eugene McCarley gave the order to move out to 15 Green Berets and 120 … [Read more...] about Operation Tailwind: The Special Forces-led assault force launches
John Stryker Meyer Articles
Operation Tailwind: Special Forces operators aid CIA op deep inside Laos
One of the most successful operations conducted during the eight-year secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War was conducted south of the Bolovens Plateau in southern Laos, 45 years ago. Lead by Green Beret Capt. Eugene McCarley, 15 Green Berets and 120 Montagnard mercenaries executed a hair-raising, four-day mission deep inside enemy territory to take the pressure off of a … [Read more...] about Operation Tailwind: Special Forces operators aid CIA op deep inside Laos
Stuff Special Forces recon men carried on the battlefield
Editor's note: Since this article is talking about gear, we wanted to give a shoutout to The Loadout Room for a great launch. Check them out if you haven’t already! In the Vietnam war, the most important piece of equipment we carried on missions was the CAR-15. It was the preferred weapon of choice by everyone on ST Idaho. The sling for it would vary: Sometimes I used a … [Read more...] about Stuff Special Forces recon men carried on the battlefield
The weapons and gear Special Forces recon teams carried in the Vietnam War
I’ve received many inquiries about the equipment that I and fellow Special Forces soldiers carried when we ran top-secret reconnaissance missions into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam during the eight-year secret war under the aegis of Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG), or simply SOG. Most are curious about the state-of-the-art … [Read more...] about The weapons and gear Special Forces recon teams carried in the Vietnam War
A hot MACV-SOG Christmas Day in Laos
Christmas Day, 1968 was just another day for MACV-SOG Spike Team Idaho. Early that morning ST Idaho was loaded onto Kingbees and flown to the Quang Tri launch site. That day’s target was one of the MA targets west of the DMZ in Laos, along the river that ran through the DMZ. In the briefing room there was a large map with all of the DMZ targets and all of the MA targets in … [Read more...] about A hot MACV-SOG Christmas Day in Laos
CNN aided Iraq, besmirched Green Berets 20 years ago
Twenty years ago on June 7, CNN aired a new a story entitled “Valley of Death,” which twisted one of the most heroic missions during the eight-year war during the Vietnam War into an erroneous story. The claims alleged that 16 Green Berets and 120 indigenous troops on that top-secret mission deep inside Laos had destroyed a village, killed women and children, and had directed … [Read more...] about CNN aided Iraq, besmirched Green Berets 20 years ago
SOFREP Exclusive: SOG/NVA Meet For First Time
The most elite warriors of the secret war during the Vietnam War, Green BeretsGreen BeretsGreen Berets and the North Vietnamese Army’s highly-trained killer teams met in Southeast Asia last week, in a meeting – naturally, cloaked in secrecy, SOFREP has learned. For combatants on both sides of the deadly secret war, this meeting not only was one of unique historic … [Read more...] about SOFREP Exclusive: SOG/NVA Meet For First Time
SOFREP Analysis: Continued Progress on Vietnam POW/MIA issue unprecedented
Led by the Trump administration, American POW/MIA insiders are surprised and pleased at the unprecedented progress made with Vietnam government officials on this issue that has lain dormant in the public eye in recent years. As the poet Elizabeth Browning wrote, let us count the ways. After remaining reticent for nearly a year on the topic of finding, identifying and … [Read more...] about SOFREP Analysis: Continued Progress on Vietnam POW/MIA issue unprecedented
SOFREP Exclusive: League delegation en route to Southeast Asia
Only two months after Vietnam quietly announced unprecedented levels of cooperation regarding on-going U.S. POW/MIA efforts in Southeast Asia (SEA), a delegation from the National League of POW/MIA Families and a parallel group of Green Beret Vietnam veterans will travel to Southeast Asia (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, & Thailand) January 11-30th to meet key U.S. and Vietnamese … [Read more...] about SOFREP Exclusive: League delegation en route to Southeast Asia
US delegation attends Soviet veteran wreath laying event
Americans who traveled to Russia during the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission (USRJC) on POW/MIA Affairs 21st Plenum in Moscow, participated in a moving salute to all Russian service members who died defending the Motherland at a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at what many refer to as Russia’s Arlington, the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery opened in 2013 – the official national … [Read more...] about US delegation attends Soviet veteran wreath laying event
Renewed US-Russia talks focus on POW/MIA issues
A U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIA Affairs (USRJC) is making progress toward resolving unanswered questions on personnel missing and unaccounted-for from four separate wars. This positive development is evolving despite frayed nerves between these two nations over serious issues, from military involvement in Syria and the Ukraine, to politically-charged allegations of … [Read more...] about Renewed US-Russia talks focus on POW/MIA issues
Vietnam offers unprecedented support to US POW/MIA recovery issues
President Donald J. Trump recently scored a major political accomplishment in Vietnam regarding on-going POW/MIA efforts in Southeast Asia (SEA) stemming from the Vietnam War that the mass media and many Vietnam veterans organizations are apparently ignoring. After remaining reticent for nearly a year on the topic of finding, identifying and returning to America the remains … [Read more...] about Vietnam offers unprecedented support to US POW/MIA recovery issues