Table of Contents

PART ONE: THE SECRET WAR BEGINS Chapter 1: Colby’s Covert War Chapter 2: Switching Back—SOG Is Born Chapter 3: Shining Brass PART TWO: THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL Chapter 4: Unfolding the Mysteries of the Trail PART THREE: SOG’s AIR ARM Chapter 5: Blackbirds and Night Skies Chapter 6: Special Helicopters and Special Crews Chapter 7: FACs and Fighters PART FOUR: RECON WEAPONS, MISSIONS, AND TACTICS Chapter 8: Recon Equipment and Weapons Chapter 9: Recon Missions Chapter 10: NVA Counterrecon Forces and Tactics Chapter 11: Recon Tactics and Techniques PART FIVE: RECON OPERATIONS Chapter 12: Getting Teams In and Out Chapter 13: HALO: The Ultimate Infiltration Technique Chapter 14: The Recon Ethic Chapter 15: Into Cambodia PART SIX: SOG’S HATCHET FORCES Chapter 16: Hatchet Force Operations Chapter 17: Operation Tailwind PART SEVEN: OTHER FRONTS IN THE SECRET WARS Chapter 18: Bright Light Rescues Chapter 19: The Greatest Raid of All Chapter 20: SOG in the Defense Chapter 21: SOG’s Darkest Programs Afterword Glossary

About the Author

Major John L. Plaster, USAR (ret.), served three 1-year tours in Southeast Asia with the top secret Special Forces covert operations unit, MACV-SOG. Qualified as a paratrooper and a Green Beret weapons and communications NCO, he led intelligence-gathering recon teams deep behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Leaving Vietnam as a staff sergeant, due to his extensive combat experience he received a direct commission as a reserve officer.
Under the GI
Bill he attended the University of Minnesota, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.
In 1983 he co-founded the National Guard Sniper School which quickly became a major national training program, instructing hundreds of students from all military services and many law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Customs Service, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Spanish Foreign Legion. After retirement he continued to instruct for police agencies. He twice served as the Chief of Competition for the U.S. and European Military and Police Sniping Championships, personally designing the targets and running the matches.
In addition to guest lecturing at various Special Operations schools and the U.S. Army’s Command & General Staff College, he has authored a number of books.

Reviews

If you are interested in Southeast Asia wars, this is an essential volume for both the aviation historian and the scale modeler.
*IPMS USA 14/12/2022*

...gives fascinating insight into this shadowy organization.
*Military Heritage 10/11/2022*