Studies and Observations Group
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The Studies and Observations Group (SOG) was an extremely secret American special force which conducted unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War.
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Teams
The teams consisted of 1-3 Americans and another 5-8 "Indigs" (indigenous people) Nungs and Yards, tribesmen of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.
The members in a SOG RT or Recon Team were ranked like so: The One-Zero was the team leader, and was always the most experienced of the team regardless of rank. The One-One was the 2nd in command of the team. The One-Two was the team's radioman. These three were almost always Americans. The rest of the team consist of Indigs. Sometimes, for the most audacious missons, entire teams consisted of Americans.
Units
There were three main SOG units: CCN (Command and Control North) based out of Danang, CCC (Command and Control Central) based out of Kontum, and CCS (Command and Control South) based out of Ban Me Thout. CCN mostly ran missions in and north of the DMZ, or in Laos west of the northern part of South Vietnam. CCC worked the "tri-border area" where South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia met. And CCS ran operations mostly in Cambodia.
CCN's teams were mostly named after snakes (RT KRAIT, RT COBRA, etc.). CCC's teams were named after states (RT CALIFORNIA, RT MAINE, RT NEVADA). CCS's teams were named after tools (RT LEVEL, RT SICKLE).
The C&C camps didn't just have RT's; they also had their Hatchet Force (exploitation company) units. These company-sized units were composed of American SF officers and NCOs in leadership positions (down through Squad Leader) and mercenary troops (Montagnard or Nung). If an RT (or other source) located a likely target, a Hatchet Force would go in to tear it up, do a thorough job of seizure and search (especially if looking for possible US POWs or intelligence), or block a particularly sensitive road (just to aggravate the NVA). It was a Hatchet Force operation that was involved in the "Tailwind" scandal with CNN. Hatchet Force operations usually lasted no more than a week, with the company then being withdrawn by helicopter. Hatchet forces were divided into three groups: Hornet force at platoon strength, Havoc force at company strength, and Haymaker force at battalion size.
Weapons
A large variety of weapons and equipment were available to SOG recon men, mostly obtained through the CIA. Car-15s, AK-47s, M3 Grease guns, RPD machine guns, M1 Carbines, M1/A1 Thompsons, MP40 SMGs, and Sten SMGs were among the many guns recon men carried.
Recruitment
The American team members were taken from the Green Berets, usually from the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), after they had served with CIDG or Mike Force units. SOG has been said to have the highest kill ratio of any American unit, 100 enemy soldiers to one Recon man. SOG operated primarily in North Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
Mission
When inserted into Laos or Cambodia, recon men were "sterile". SOG RTs and Hatchet Force companies did not wear insigias, nor dog tags, and sometimes did not even wear US uniforms or carry US weapons. This put the soldiers outside the protection of the Law of Land Warfare and the Geneva Convention. However, NVA forces were not known to observe the conventions. SOG soldiers occasionally escaped enemy captivity and the NVA had been known to release captured recon men after brutally killing a member of their team. The purpose of this was for the soldier to return to his Command Center and relay the story of this atrocity.
RT missions were usually no longer than five days, but stretched to 10 on rare occasions. Anything over seven days was extreme; C&C HQs tried very hard to get teams out after six or seven days. However, if there were other emergencies demanding the air assets, if other teams were in trouble, if there were scheduled team insertions (and an insertion always took priority over a routine extraction), the team just had to sit there and wait. The only exception to this was if a team called a "Prairie Fire Emergency", meaning they were being overrun by enemy forces. In this instance, all available air resources would be immediately diverted to provide strategic air support.
SOG SOP was to move as stealthily as possible and avoid enemy contact at all costs. When enemy contact was made, recon men found themselves fighting an enemy force that was quickly reinforced to company or even battalion strength due to the availability of enemy resources in the areas they penetrated. Since SOG recon teams were so small any enemy contact usually meant the team was running for their lives and calling in air support for cover and evacuation.