This elite U.S. special operations unit required an oath of secrecy to join

Today, the U.S. special operations community is the most capable in the world. But that was not always the case. It was during the Vietnam War that the then-nascent U.S. special operations units found their stride. And, in the midst of all of the fighting, an elite, covert American unit operated deep behind Communist lines, achieving feats of legendary proportion.

The Military Assistance Command Vietnam-Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a joint special operations unit tasked and equipped to conduct covert cross-border operations in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and North Vietnam.

For 1964 to 1972, MACV-SOG commandos fought a desperate but secret war to stop Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops and supplies from infiltrating into South Vietnam.

Officially, Laos and Cambodia – two countries that neighbor Vietnam from the West – were neutral. However, the Viet Cong Communist guerrillas and the North Vietnamese military had infiltrated the countries and built an enormous supply line (the Ho Chi Minh Trail) that snaked for hundreds of miles from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam. Often underground, the Ho Chi Minh Trail supplied tens of thousands of tons of military equipment and moved tens of thousands of troops into South Vietnam.

For U.S. troops, serving in MACV-SOG was only on a volunteer basis. The organization recruited from Army Green Berets, U.S. Navy SEALs, Recon Marines, and Air Commandos. Those who served in the covert unit had to take an oath of secrecy, never disclosing their unit or missions to friends and family. And for good reason.

Since the U.S. was not at war with Laos, Cambodia, or Thailand, the presence of US troops there was a violation of those countries’ neutrality. To circumvent that formality, MACV-SOG teams did not carry anything that could link them to the U.S. military. Serial numbers were scrubbed from weapons, dog tags were left behind, and even their clothes did not carry anything that could link them to America.

A unique organization

MACV-SOG team reconnoiters a section of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. (Joel D. Meyerson/U.S. Army Center of Military History)

MACV-SOG was unique in the sense that it paired U.S. special operators with indigenous anti-Communist troops, primarily Montagnards, Chinese Nungs, and South Vietnamese. Affectionally called “Little People” by their American partners, the indigenous troops proved extremely loyal and fierce warriors.

Together, American and indigenous commandos formed small reconnaissance teams that would number from a handful to around a dozen operators.

These recon teams operated alone deep behind enemy lines. They would insert via helicopter and patrol toward suspected Ho Chi Minh locations, mapping the area, calling air strikes, placing mines, and sabotaging along the way.

However, more often than not, they would engage in running battles against vastly superior enemy forces – sometimes even against 10,000 to one odds. Indeed, during one particular mission, a six-man MACV-SOG team went up against 30,000 North Vietnamese, evading them in a running battle until the commandos were rescued by helicopters.

Recon teams run countless missions against impossible odds.

The danger they faced on a daily basis is evident in MACV-SOG’s casualty rate. The special operations organization had an unprecedented – for a still operational unit – 100% casualty rate. That meant that every single commando was killed or wounded; some were wounded multiple times. During the eight years the unit was operational, MACV-SOG commandos received 12 Congressional Medals of Honor, the highest award for valor in the U.S. military.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in November 2025.

Feature Image: A MACV-SOG Reconnaissance Team in 1966. Legendary operator Dick Meadows is in the center without a hat. (U.S. Army Special Operations Command History Office)

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