Recondo

For firefights in the swamps, ambushes in the jungle, or just facing the enemy dead-on, Recondo trained LRRPs to win. They will never be able to duplicate the 5th Special Forces Recondo School and the training that gave its grads something they desperately needed—the skills to survive Long Range Patrol missions in the jungle that NVA considered its own. Vietman veteran Larry Chambers vividly describes the grit and courage it took to pass the tough volunteer-only training program in Nha Trang and the harrowing graduation mission to scout out, locate, and out-guerrilla the NVA. Here is an unforgettable account that follows Chambers and the Rangers every step of the way—from joining, going through Recondo, and finally leading his own team on white-knuckle missions through the deadly jungles of Vietnam. “I made this book mandatory reading for my Rangers. . . . We went from the worst platoon in the regiment to the best platoon in six months. In training we'd get to the objective so fast they had to hold us back.”—U.S. Army Master Sergeant H. “Max” Mullen Ret. 75th Ranger Regiment

The purpose of this book is to provide a military reference source concentrating primarily on U.S. Army designs where most shoulder sleeve insignia originated. However, we have incorporated some of the most popular U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps designs that will be encountered. Keep in mind that in 1947 with the advent of the realignment of the armed services, several major changes occurred. The U.S. Air Force was created and separated from Army control to become an independent entity and the U.S. Marine Corps ceased wearing patches on uniforms. Also includes a section of "Unofficially Authorized" patches prevalent in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Author Larry Chambers vividly describes the guts and courage it took to pass the though volunteer-only training program in Nha Tarng to be part of the 5th Special Forces Recondo School, the hair-raising graduation mission to scout out, locate, and out-guerilla the NVA. Here is an unforgettable account that follows Chambers and the Rangers every step of the way--from joining, going through Recondo, and finally leading his own team on white-knuckle missions through the jungle hell of Vietnam.

Lurps is the revised edition of the memoir of a juvenile delinquent who drops out of ninth grade to chase his dream of military service. After volunteering for Vietnam, he joins the elite U.S. Army LRRP/Rangers—small, heavily armed long-range reconnaissance teams that patrol deep in enemy-held territory. It is 1968, and the Lurps find themselves in some of the war's hairiest campaigns and battles, including Tet, Khe Sanh, and A Shau. Readers witness all the horrors, humor, adrenaline, and unexpected beauty through the eyes of a green young warrior. Gone are the heroic clichZs and bravado as compelling narrative and realistic dialogue sweep the reader along with a powerful sense that this is actually happening. This poignant coming-of-age story explores the social background that shaped the protagonist's thinking, his uncertain quest for redemption through increased responsibility, the brotherhood of comrades in arms, women and sexual awakening, and the baffling randomness of who lives and who dies.

The purpose of this manual is to provide a compendium of techniques and procedures used by reconnaissance teams (RTs). The success of any recon operation depends on the ability of the unit to develop its own procedures and to adapt and exploit those which prove successful. Ultimately, success depends on the motivation and training of the RT. This manual will provide an introduction to the required training and a basis for continuation of training. While no technique represents the final answer, those described here have been proven successful in several years of Recondo-style operations. To the beginner, this manual will serve as a summary of the techniques he must master; to the "old timer," it will be a refresher and review. There is only one type of recon man that has stopped learning recon - the dead type. This manual is directed only towards RT employment. Therefore, always keep in mind that the tactics and techniques described are directed towards one goal - the collection of intelligence. The patrolling tactics, insertion techniques, communications, etc. are only a means to accomplish that end. Developed for use at Recondo (Recon Commando) schools by the US Army Institute for Military Assistance in 1970 as a means to capture the operational knowledge of Studies and Observation Group Recon Teams from Command & Control North, Central and South. It contains information very difficult to find elsewhere, much of it presented in the form of "lessons learned" from operations in Vietnam. Presented in Special Operations Press' distinctive ERDL camouflage cover, denoting a Vietnam-era publication, this edition is an easy-to-read 6 x 9 inch perfect-bound paperback printed on first quality paper in the USA.