The Wild Bunch - MACVSOG, 1971-1972

This project will be done to depict the arms and equipment used by MACVSOG at the end of the Vietnam War.
The title from the project comes from a Western picture popular at the time named, “The Wild Bunch.” In it, an aging band of outlaws becomes confronted by the reality of changing times and technology, realizing that they won’t be able to survive much longer in the face of automobiles and border armies equipped with machine guns. Instead of going quietly into retirement, they go out in a blaze of glory fighting a much larger and stronger Mexican army encampment, killing dozens of Mexican soldiers in an orgy of bloodshed and slaughter.
Many recon men saw themselves in these outlaws – with an ongoing, steady withdrawal from Vietnam and a steadily worsening tactical situation across the fence. At this point in the war, teams would be frequently shot out of the LZ as soon as they landed or driven off by heavy, networked AAA fire. Those that were able to get on the ground were hunted by teams of specially trained counter-recon teams fielded by the North Vietnamese, men whose sole purpose was to hunt down and annihilate SOG teams. Faced with increasingly difficult odds, determined and heavily armed foes, and a war running to a close, the elite members of SOG didn’t back down, but upped the ante by packing increasingly heavy loadouts to kill as many enemy soldiers as they could before being driven back into South Vietnam.

Roster:
Nick Brokhausen - Team Leader, RT Crusader COMPLETE
Frank S. Pulley - Team Leader, RT Louisiana COMPLETE
Eldon Bargewell - Team Leader, RT Bushmaster NEARLY COMPLETE
Kenneth Bowra - Team Leader, RT Sidewinder
Robert Sinton - Team Leader, RT Florida
Billy Waugh - Recon Company SGM NEARLY COMPLETE

NICK BROKHAUSEN

The first member of the Wild Bunch is the 1-0 (team leader) of RT Crusader, Nick Brokhausen. Brokhausen previously served as the 1-1 (assistant team leader) on RT Habu before being transferred to run RT Crusader. He served in CCN until the unit was closed down in 1972 and the team disbanded. You can read more about his service (HERE) or from his book, We Few.
In addition to a previous interview given for ModernForces.com (HERE), Brokhausen consented to be interviewed by e-mail to help in the creation of this figure. Jason Hardy’s SOG photobooks covering RT Crusader and RT Habu were also used as references, along with We Few, Brokhausen’s memoirs describing his service with RT Habu.







The SS helmet was worn occasionally on missions. It’s been alternately described as belonging to his Uncle Otto (We Few) or his grandfather (Jason Hardy). More often, he would have worn as a bandana made from a triangle bandage (also seen being used as a belt on his uniform). These were typically worn for four reasons:
-They were light
-They didn’t obstruct vision
-They kept sweat from dripping into the eyes
-They could be used as a bandage in an emergency if no other medical equipment was available.



Brokhausen used a modified, standard issue OG-107 uniform while running missions across the fence. The spray-paint camouflage and moving the pockets to the arms were common modifications for these uniforms, as it allowed easy access to gear.

CC: Did you have any peculiar modifications for your uniform? I can see that you have additional sleeves on your pockets.
Brokhausen: Start off by getting the OD green jungle fatigues, wash them several times after ripping off the bottom pockets. Sew the bottom pockets on the upper arms, right at the shoulder. One keeps the morphine and the other is lined with a plastic bag to hold your CAK codes and any SOI material.
Sew two 4-inch by 10-inch pockets (expandable) on the inner thighs of the pants, use one for ration and the other for blood bags. Trick is not to stuff them so you walk bowlegged, but just enough so you can move normally. That way, you always have food and meds. I always shoved bouillon cubes in with the blood bags as emergency rats.
Shirts were tucked in and taped with black electrical tape, as were the ankles.
Use an old screen door and overspray the outfit. Then when that dries, TWIST them and spray it again in black matte. Looks like tiger fatigues.
We wore boony hats, which are normal jungle hats but with a cut down skinny rim. I mostly just wore a cravat unless it was raining, then any broad leaf would do.



The first gear layer consisted of a 1-0 vest loaded with 40mm HE rounds for the grenade launcher and mags for his side-arm. The 1-0 vest was a SOG-specific piece of webgear based on a fisherman’s vest used by Lynn Black Jr. (RT Alabama, RT Idaho).
All of the webgear was spray-painted to create the camouflage.



On top of the 1-0 vest was a Chicom chest rig, which was filled with six 30-round mags and four frag grenades. The STABO harness was fitted over that. Though not described in other sources, I have included a pair of shoulder pads for the STABO rig. These were made in-country to help make the webgear more comfortable.

CC: Then I assume that sling attached to the left side of your webgear was part of a retention system. Can you clarify how it was attached to the STABO?
Brokhausen: In the back the STABO comes to a cross at a point between the shoulder blades. The center strap for the sling holster went over this cross. The two side straps attach to the STABO just above the pistol belt.
From the left side would be one canteen cover full of mini grenades, the next cover would hold one canteen of water, the next had survival gear, the next would have been a two quart canteen then on the right rear hip would be the first cover with one 30- and six 20-round mags for the CAR-15, all with bullets facing out (I have been hit in the pouch and had all the rounds cook off, better that they fire away from you than into you). I always carried the grenades in the rear for the same reason - I didn't spend a lot of time running away, so less chance of getting hit in the back.
You are right about the sling and snap, that was for the sawed off Thump when I wanted it up front, like during Bright Lights and for stabilizing the RPD machine gun so I didn't have to bear all the weight on my arms. If I was carrying the RPD instead of the CAR-15, the canteen covers held fifty round belts. I carried an extra two hundred rounds belted up in my ruck along with two soap dish claymores, one regular claymore, one 60mm HE for the two inch mortar, or extra bandoleers of 5.56 mm for the CAR-15.



As a side-arm, he typically carried either a silenced Hi-Standard .22 or a silenced Walther PPK with four extra magazines. Either weapon was useful for prisoner snatches, killing tracker dogs, or eliminating sentries. I couldn't find pictures of the holster he used, so I created my own shoulder holster.



Of particular note are two things: The M79 holster (first described in the ModernForces interview) and the general size of the loadout carried. The M79 holster was made by a Filipino armorer, and consisted of a sheath with three straps on the back so that it could be secured to the back of the STABO rig for a quick draw.
Also of note is the size and weight of the loadout carried:

CC: Can you describe the combat loads that you carried and how it was arranged?
Brokhausen: Normal loads:
Carrying the CAR-15 and Thump:
-10x 40mm HE on my 1-0 vest, 10x more in cover #5 on the belt
-600x rounds 5.56 in 20-round mags on the belt
-360x rounds in 30-round mags. one per pouch and six in an AK vest on my chest
-4x mags of 9mm or .22 for the silenced pistol
-2x M67 frags on the pouches under the arm pits for the AK vest, 4x more in the pouches
-10x mini frags
-1x CS
-2x mini-CS
-2x smoke
Rations in the ruck usually PIRs LRRPs made for the indig, lots of fish and nuc mam, rice, etc... so we smelled like Asians, not gringos, when we sweated.






FRANK PULLEY

Frank S. Pulley served with RT Idaho (CCN), working his way up from the radioman (1-2) to the assistant team leader (1-1) from August 1971 until RT Idaho was transitioned to an all-Vietnamese team in January 1972. Pulley was then assigned as the team leader of RT Louisiana, which he ran until CCN closed in March 1972.
Mr. Pulley was not interviewed for this figure. The loadout is based on the typical setup carried by CCN recon men at the end of the war and photos from Jason Hardy’s books of Frank Pulley with RT Idaho and RT Louisiana, with an emphasis on the gear he carried as a member of RT Louisiana's team leader.







Pulley's kit reflects the advancements made in gear and equipment at the end of the war, including the M203 grenade launcher, nylon grenadier vest, STABO rig, and modified ERDL uniform.





The blood type and allergy name tapes were a common CCN uniform modification at the end of the war, but some "motivational" name tapes were also used according to Tilt Meyer. Examples given were "****** Off" and "I'm Dead".







The rest of the Wild Bunch will be posted as they are completed.

Cool customs. Look foward to seeing the rest of the team.

Awesome. Absolutely BA. Did SOG members usually wear the US issued jungle boots? I was under the impression they typically wore anything but, to conceal their identities from the boot tread patterns. Or was that typically more of an LRRP practice?

Very nice. Obviously a labor of love, and the attention to detail is very impressive.

ridetofight said:

Awesome. Absolutely BA. Did SOG members usually wear the US issued jungle boots? I was under the impression they typically wore anything but, to conceal their identities from the boot tread patterns. Or was that typically more of an LRRP practice?

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Neither LRRPs nor SOG followed that practice, actually.
You're absolutely right about the boot treads though, which is Bata boots were issued and occasionally worn. The unfortunate fact was that US jungle boots were better than the alternatives that were tried, which is why the Bata boots were almost always discarded after some use (unless the team was going full NVA, in which case they might be retained). The search for a means of concealing the boots treads did lead some interesting experiments, including human foot soles and sandal soles for the jungle boots. The alternative treads didn't work very well though and tended to fall apart easily, which destroyed any attempt at subterfuge. In the end, "best practices" such as concealing tracks were the best way to obscure the distinctive treads from the Panama and Vibram soles.
That isn't to say that SOG gave up on its attempts to conceal the boot prints left by the recon teams. What SOG ended up doing was air dropping thousands and thousands of Asian-sized jungle boots over Laos and Cambodia. NVA would usually discard their cheap Bata boots in favor of the superior US boots and the boot prints THEY left would help obscure any treads left by the American recon men. If you have a copy of Frank Greco's excellent "Running Recon," one of the NVA prisoners captured by CCC is clearly wearing a set of these airdropped boots.



Quick preview of future pieces. Bargewell, Waugh, and Bowra's WIP modified ERDL jungle shirt.

Thanks for your (thorough) reply - can't recall in which book I read about the boots or in what context exactly - wish now I had absorbed it better. Just finished Plaster's book "SOG" - excellent read. Any suggestions for further reading?

ridetofight said:

Thanks for your (thorough) reply - can't recall in which book I read about the boots or in what context exactly - wish now I had absorbed it better. Just finished Plaster's book "SOG" - excellent read. Any suggestions for further reading?

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SOG is an excellent primer and a good general history of the unit.
Both of Plaster's other books are quite good as well (he also made a photobook and wrote some memoirs under the title Secret Commandos.)

If I had to pick top five (technically seven, but you'll get the same flavor with either book for 4 and 5):
1. Secret Commandos - John Plaster. One of the best books I've ever read and filled with all kinds of interesting anecdotes about the war, with an emphasis on operations in CCC.

2 & 3. Across the Fence and On the Ground by Tilt Meyers. CCN's answer to John Plaster. Both books also place a strong emphasis on the technical side of things, including tactics, gear, and how things were used.

4. Running Recon by Frank Greco -or- SOG: A Photo History Of The Secret Wars by John Plaster. Either is an excellent photo history of SOG operations.

5. Break Contact, Continue Mission by Raymond Harris -or- Gentle Propositions by J. S. Economos. Either book gives a good idea of what it was like to run missions. Harris' book in particular is interesting as it was written by a CCC veteran when SOG was still largely classified - the events and people depicted are "fictional" versions of actual people and events.

Other books of note:
The Dying Place by David Mauer. More "fictional" non-fiction from a former SOG team leader.

Secret Green Beret Commandos In Cambodia by Fred Lindsey. One of the few books written about CCS operations.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by Lynne Black. An interesting memoir written by one of SOG's more accomplished recon men, complete with a first hand recounting of the Battle of Oscar-8 (October 5, 1968), the most astounding action you've never heard of.
An eight-man recon team landed on top of the headquarters of an NVA division (10,000 men) and the team was almost immediately hit by a large ambush after exiting the LZ. After the several hours of heavy fighting which involved the team quite literally constructing barricades made from stacks of enemy corpses (for they were killed so close and the bodies so numerous), the remains of the team were finally evacuated after jumping off a cliff to make the dash to a secondary LZ. In addition to the *several hundred* enemy soldiers personally shot or blown up the team with guns, grenades, and explosives, the NVA themselves estimate total casualties at approximately 8,000-9,000 dead or wounded as a result of the tac-air support and a B-52 ARC LIGHT that hit just after the team was pulled out.

Any of Jason Hardy's expensive, but comprehensive photo books.

Reflections of a Warrior by Franklin Miller. Memoirs from one of SOG's twelve (soon to be thirteen) Medal of Honor winners.

Strap-Hanger by Don Valentine. One of the funniest books I've ever read. Memoirs from a Special Forces veteran who (at one point or another) served with most of the projects in the Vietnam War, including White Star in Laos, 46th SF Company in Thailand, Project Delta, SOG, and as a HUMINTer with military intelligence. Sample quote regarding the use of "Green Hornets" (amphetamines): "One night on the last patrol I saw thousands of NVA coming through the night sky on chariots drawn by horses that were breathing fire. I’ll never take another one of those damn pep pills as long as I live."

A million thanks, sincerely.