Hatchet Force

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Hatchet Force
The patch of Company C, Command & Control Central, MACV-SOG
Active1966 – October 1972, January 1973[1]
Country United States
Allegiance United States
 South Vietnam
BranchMACV-SOG
TypeSpecial forces
RoleHo Chi Minh trail operations
Size16-man teams, or larger
Part ofUnited States Army Special Forces
Nickname(s)"Hatchet Force"
EngagementsVietnam War

A Hatchet Force or Hatchet Team was a

special operations team of American and South Vietnamese members of MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War, who operated in small covert operations along the Ho Chi Minh trail from 1966.[2] The units specialized in search and destroy missions and in locating missing American servicemen in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam.[3]

Organization

Hatchet Force teams were organized under three field commands: Command and Control North (CCN), Command and Control Center (CCC) and Command and Control South (CCS).[1][4] Operating in small groups, usually three American Special Forces soldiers – a team leader, a radioman and a medic – and 20–40 indigenous soldiers, the teams' purpose was to "probe the border areas looking for a fight".[5] Hatchet Force teams remained in operation until each field command was deactivated; for CCN this was on 16 October 1972, CCC on 18 October 1972, and CCS in January 1973.[1]

Operations

Khe Sanh 1967–1968

During the

siege of Khe Sanh, the United States Marine Corps airfield, Hatchet Forces operated out of Firebase-3. While the Hatchet team consisted of six American special forces and 32 indigenous soldiers, the firebase held 131 Americans and 457 Special Commando Units of indigenous soldiers.[6] The Hatchet teams were used as strike forces, operating in the jungle against targets located by recon teams operating from Khe Sanh.[6]

A Hatchet team boards an aircraft during Operation Tailwind

Searching for MIAs

On 30 December 1968 a Hatchet Force of 40 men under the command of 1st Lt. James R. Jerson was inserted one mile east of the Laos/

NVA forces. Three and a half hours later the Hatchet Force managed to blast a landing zone from which they were extracted with 50% casualties, including Jerson.[7] Jerson's second in command, Robert L. Howard, later received the Medal of Honor. A second team of Montagnards were sent in during January 1969 and spent four days searching for Scherdin, before being killed in a helicopter crash after extraction.[8] Scherdin remains listed as missing in action.[9]

On 23 June 1971 a Hatchet force were inserted 60 miles west-southwest of

HALO team the day before. The Hatchet team located a CAR-15 rifle and a parachute at the base of a tree, however Strohlein was missing and there was no evidence of blood or bandages. Strohlein remains listed as missing in action.[10]

Operation Tailwind

Main article: Operation Tailwind

Between 11 September and 13 September 1970, a covert incursion took place into southeastern

war crimes, by Peter Arnett, Producer April Oliver, Producer Jack Smith, Sr. Producer Pam Hill, and others.[11][12]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Stanton, p. 252.
  2. ^ Military Special Forces Patches from the Vietnam War, Retrieved 22 November 2007
  3. ^ Clark, G. R. p. 221.
  4. ^ Rottman, Special Forces p. 17.
  5. ^ Krasnoff, p. 38.
  6. ^ a b Rottman, Khe Sanh p. 45.
  7. ^ Robert Howard's MoH presentation Retrieved 22 November 2007
  8. ^ Robert Scherdin Task Force Omega, Retrieved 22 November 2007
  9. ^ "SCHERDIN, ROBERT FRANCIS Compiled by Task Force Omega Inc". 28 April 2023.
  10. ^ Madison Strohlein Task Force Omega, Retrieved 22 November 2007
  11. ^ "DoD News Briefing, Operation TAILWIND, Tuesday, July 21, 1998". DefenseLINK, the official web site for the U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 9 May 2007.
  12. ^ Valley of Death CNN Retrieved 22 November 2007

References

Printed sources:

Websites:

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