Special Operations in Vietnam - Developing MACV-SOG with Green Beret Col. Rich Wall | Mike Drop #190

About this video

Colonel Rich Wall explains the origins and mission of MACV-SOG, describing it as a joint unconventional warfare task force that preceded JSOC and took over paramilitary operations from the CIA in Vietnam. Wall recounts that SOG conducted various operations including maritime, air, ground reconnaissance, and intelligence missions, with never more than 500 personnel at a time. He shares his experience as a launch officer coordinating helicopter insertions and monitoring teams via radio, and describes how North Vietnamese forces intercepted communications and killed SOG teams, including one led by a young soldier whose Air Force colonel father came looking for answers.

Key takeaways

• Wall states that MACV-SOG was a joint unconventional warfare task force that served as the precursor to JSOC, with lineage tracing back to OSS, Jedburgh teams, and other special operations units.
• Wall explains that SOG conducted multiple mission types including maritime operations, air operations, ground reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and prisoner snatches, with operations divided into different numbered units (Op 31-35).
• Wall recounts that SOG teams operated under strict radio silence using only squelch breaks, and describes losing a team while serving as a launch officer, including the painful encounter with the killed soldier’s father who was an Air Force colonel.

Episode details: published June 2, 2024 · 5.4K views · 8:48 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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