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Speaker 1: Welcome back everybody. Yesterday we talked about the MACV SAG

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and we bumped into the hatchet teams of the MACV SAG.

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So I decided to do a podcast today on who

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they are. So let's take a look. Today. We focus

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on the exploitation forces here so commonly designated as hatchet

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forces or hatchet teams, these platoon and company size elements

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formed the striking arm of SOG's ground operations, bridging the

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gap between small reconnaissance teams and larger scale direct action

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Operating under conditions of extreme secrecy and peril, hatchet forces

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conducted raids, ambushes, and rescue missions that inflicted significant disruption

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on enemy supply lines while sustaining some of the highest

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casualty rates in modern American military history. Hatchet forces emerged

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as SOOG expanded its capabilities beyond initial retic reconnaissance efforts

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in the mid nineteen sixties. By late nineteen sixty seven,

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with the establish of Command and Control North CSEN at Dagnang,

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Command and Control Center CCC at Contum and Command and

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Control Centers current Command and Control South CCS at bon Mantoat,

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dedicated exploitation units performalized under the Broader Ground Studies Group.

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These forces drew from US Army Special Forces personnel often

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assigned on temporary duty from the First Special Forces Group

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on Okinawa and Snake Bite teams, alongside Navy Seals, Marine

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Force recon and other services. Indigenous components like the Multi

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Nard Tribesmen, the Nung Mercenaries, and South Vietnameans commanders provided

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the majority of manpower valued for their combat prowess, terrain, familiarity,

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and loyalty. A typical hatchet platoon comprised approximately of three

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to five American Green berets and leadership, communications and medical roles,

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paired with twenty to forty Indigenous soldiers. Multiple platoons could

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combine the company sized Havoc or Hornet elements or even

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larger search, Locate, annihilate, and monitor SLAM companies. For major operations,

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the primary roles included reinforcing pinned down reconnaissance teams, launching

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independent raids on enemy base areas and supply cachets, conducting

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ambushes along infiltration routes, and executing personnel recovery missions under

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the bright Light program, operating without identifiable insignia or documentation

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to maintain deniability. These teams inserted via helicopter, often relying

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on South Vietnamese aged thirty four king bees, into heavily

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contested border regions. Hatchet Forces engaged in relentless cross border activity,

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targeting the Ho Chi Min Trail complex. They probe for

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enemy concentrations, destroy logistical hubs, and gathered intelligence that informed

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broader air campaigns. Their mobility and firepower, augmented by close

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air support, enabled them to engage superior numbers effectively. One

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emblematic properation was the June nineteen sixty seven raid on

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Oscar eight, a suspected PAVIN headquarters near Quisan. Following B

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fifty two strikes. A Hatchet force inserted by helicopter encountered

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fierce resistance, resulting in significant casualties among US and Indigenous

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personnel during a prolonged extraction. The action underscored both the

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tactical risks and the value of coordinated air ground integration.

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The most celebrated Hatchet Force mission, though remains, Operation Tailwind

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in nineteen seventy, commanded by Captain eug McCarley, a reinforced

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company of sixteen Americans and approximately one hundred and ten

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Montennards from CCC's company B inserted deep into southern Laos,

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farther than prior AESAG incursions to divert North Vietnamese forces

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from a concurrent CIA supported operation on the Bullivance Plateau.

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Over four days, a force conducted aggressive movement called devastating airstrikes,

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seized valuable intelligence documents, and inflicted substantial enemy losses before extraction.

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Despite heavy contact and numerous wounded, the operation achieved as

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diversionary objectives and represented one of SOG's deepest and most

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successful raids. Hatchet elements also performed critical quick reaction roles,

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extracting compromised reconnaissance teams under fire and conducting prisoners snatches

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or sabotage against fuel pipelines and supply depots. Their operations

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complement smaller spike recon teams, creating a layered approach to

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denied area warfare. The operational environment imposed extraordinary demands. Hatchet

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forces frequently confronted numerically superior North Vietnamese Army units equipped

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with anti aircraft weapons and tracker teams. Missions unfolded in

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complete isolation, with no conventional support and stringent rules of engagement.

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Shape of political constraints. Casualty rates reflected the intensity. SG

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overall sustained the highest losses of only any US Army

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formation since the Civil War. The indigenous partners also bore

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disproportionate share of the toll, yet their contributions remained vital

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to mission's success. Despite these hardships, Hatchet forces achieved remarkable

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effectiveness through superior training, small unit tactics. They generated kill

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ratios far exceeding conventional forces, and if you ever heard

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of stories of the Macvie sovs, it's through the wild

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what they've done. Their adaptability from platoon, from platoon ambushes

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to company raids highlighted the strategic leverage of these elite groups.

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As vietnamization progressed and cross border authorities diminished in the

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early seventies, Hatchet Operations contracted the commands transition responsibilities to

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South Vietnamese counterparts, with final deactivations occurring between late seventy

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two and early seventy three. The innovations of Hatchet Forces

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joined Special Operations integration significantly influenced subsequent US doctor informing structures,

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such as today as modern jaysock their veterans accounts and

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declassify records continue to eliminate the complexities of covert warfare.

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In two thousand and one, SOG received the Presidential Unit Citation,

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as we mentioned, including the Hatchet Forces. The Hatchet Forces,

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how would you say, embodied the audacity and sacrifice inherent

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and special operations conducted in the shadows their story honors

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there of American operators, Indigenous warriors, and support personnel who

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advanced the mission admit immense PERILM Well, thanks for joining

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us again. Make sure to share and subscribe if you

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enjoyed our podcast, and we'll talk to you all next time.