The Vietnam War caught the US military by surprise. The Pentagon was preparing for Soviet tank throws to the English Channel, carpet bombing, and the massive use of rocket weapons. Instead, the Americans were trapped in an inhospitable jungle. Their enemy did not try to win in conventional combat, but skillfully used the entire arsenal of guerrilla warfare. In order not to feel like blind kittens in a war with an invisible and elusive enemy, bulky, aimed at a big war, the armed forces needed a powerful tool.
A weighty argument
This remedy was found almost by accident. The history of the LRRP, long-range reconnaissance patrol, is not rooted in anti-guerrilla warfare such as Vietnam. They were created to obtain real-time information about a large conventional enemy in mobile warfare. That is why the first LRRP companies appeared in units stationed in West Germany in 1961.
And they turned out to be very useful in the jungles of Vietnam. The bulky structure of the American army was intended for the "classic" war of the 20th century, where there is at least a clear front line. Here she was absent, which greatly impeded the actions of ordinary units. But at the same time it simplified the work and added value to the LRRP. After all, who else, if not saboteurs-scouts, will be able to find a black cat in a dark room, that is, Viet Cong units in the dense jungle?
Therefore, long-range reconnaissance patrol units began to appear there quickly, and quite quickly. This happened back in 1964, on the basis of the special operations forces located in Vietnam. That is, even before the introduction of a large army grouping there. But later, their LRRP companies began to appear in relatively "ordinary" army divisions - for example, in the famous 101st Airborne.
Modus operandi
The Americans had the broadest arsenal of means of striking, and did not hesitate to use it. Artillery, helicopters, Phantoms with napalm, as well as gantrucks armed beyond measure. All this made it possible to turn any jungle into a heap of smoking ash and scrapped stumps. Only one thing was required from LRRP - to show the place. Therefore, the main task of such patrols was precisely reconnaissance, and not sabotage activities. The ideal raid was considered to be the one as a result of which it was possible to obtain as much information as possible without firing a single shot.
An LRRP group of the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the U. S. Army in a helicopter, summer 1967. Judging by the sensible, not exhausted faces, the scouts are still flying on a mission, and not returning from it - a multi-day foot raid through the jungle was completely exhausting people
The best time to disembark was the last few hours before dawn. Usually a group of 4-7 people went on a task, each of whom was carrying 35 kilograms of equipment. She was pre-determined by the patrol square, not in contact with the controlled area. Therefore, helicopters were used for delivery. The States were a wealthy country, so intelligence support was high. As a rule, 5 helicopters were involved in the case. 3 "Huey" - an air command center, transport and reserve, at the same time imitating false landings in neighboring squares, and 2 "Cobras" in order to work out in the jungle if something goes wrong.
Having landed the scouts, the helicopters circled nearby for another half hour. This was usually followed by the go-ahead of the group commander that everything was in order, and the "birds" were hidden from sight. Further, the scouts were waiting for a tiring six-day raid through the jungle - in addition to a cunning and insidious enemy, they had to meet the heat, leeches and other "joys" of Vietnam. And all this in the midst of hard work - regular surveillance, wiretapping of enemy communications, analysis, and radio reports.
Friendly fire
The Americans could not do without a mess. The dangerous enemy of the LRRP was often its own helicopters - not the ones that landed and supported the scouts, of course, but the vehicles of other units. The thing is that LRRP got in touch 3 times a day, transmitting information in a time close to real. And they used their ciphers, which changed almost with every new raid. Shouting to the helicopters in plain text that scouts were working in the square was not very useful - the negotiations were obeyed in both directions. And the frequencies, often, they were different, but also try to find it quickly.
The LRRP raid is in progress. Vietnam, 1968
Everything was aggravated by the method of hunting the Viet Cong, popular among American helicopter pilots, which was casually referred to as the "Hunter Killer". First came the hunter, Hunter. It was a light and agile OH-6 reconnaissance helicopter, which was looking for the enemy. And sometimes the enemy was so stupid that he himself began to shoot at him. Then the "Killers" entered the business - as a rule, a pair of "Cobras" stuffed with an unpleasant for the Vietnamese arsenal. They happily worked out everything that they had on the detected enemy, and reported to the headquarters about the successful hunt.
And the grief was that LRRP group that ran into the "Hunter-Killer" group, and allowed themselves to be discovered. Moreover, like many special-purpose units, the scouts dressed quite differently - as it was more convenient. And mistaking them from the air for Viet Cong was pretty easy. It was possible, of course, to fire a rocket, but this put an end to the main thing - the secrecy of the operation.
And this did not guarantee the result. The Vietnamese did not hesitate to catch helicopter pilots in sophisticated traps, equipping false landing sites, actively signaling with captured American smoke and rockets, and playing active radio games. Therefore, even in an identification rocket in a square far from American bases, the helicopter pilots could simply not believe.
The decline of silent reconnaissance units in Vietnam
The LRRP raids gave real results - having eyes in the impenetrable jungle is very expensive. Scouts opened enemy supply routes, found active and temporarily abandoned bases, and even thwarted enemy attacks on bases. After all, the latter were largely calculated for surprise. But when the Americans do not sit relaxed, but know exactly where you are, and are already directing artillery, helicopters and gantrucks, the predator and prey quickly change places.
But everything comes to an end, and the LRRPs were no exception. In 1968, the Americans tried to end the war through diplomacy. To do this, they suspended the bombing of North Vietnam. The result, of course, was the opposite. The easing of pressure made it possible to increase the frequency of actions against American bases. The fact that the Americans were “turning on diplomacy” also acted to intensify the activity of the partisans. After all, the best way to improve your bargaining position is to drive a weak enemy into even greater political and military discomfort.
The Americans' affairs have deteriorated sharply. With the increased activity of the enemy, the command was no longer up to "quiet" reconnaissance. It was necessary to use all the resources that were, and more and more talk began to be heard that it was time for the LRRP to take more active actions - for example, ambushes, sabotage and physical destruction of the enemy. The scouts themselves were not against it - their hands were itching for a long time to arrange some specific dirty trick on the enemy, and not just observe and report. And in January 1969, LRRP units began to transform into Rangers, who had just such a profile.
The Vietnam War is over. By the 80s, Americans were even able to partially overcome its psychological consequences. They more and more often returned to the idea that LRRPs are still needed and should exist as separate units with their own specifics, and not just as ranger companies. Still, the mental consequences of this conflict have not been eliminated. LRRPs formed before Vietnam and showed themselves vividly in its conditions. They were too associated with this unsuccessful war. And then the way out was found - the shop just changed the sign. The successor to the LRRP was the LRS - Long-range surveillance units. They operate under this name even today.
