Inside Force Recon: Recon Marines in Vietnam (Stackpole Military History Series) by Michael Lee Lanning & Ray W. Stubbe

Author:Michael Lee Lanning & Ray W. Stubbe [Lanning, Michael Lee]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Published: 2017-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Work on the Task Force Level

When the Force Recon units first arrived in Vietnam, they were employed to provide reconnaissance at the regiment level. As more Marine units, including division headquarters, came in-country, the recon men progressed to supporting the divisions. Of course, this was still one headquarters down from the Force level of III MAF (Marine Amphibious Force), where, according to doctrine, they should have been assigned. However, in the massive area for which III MAF was responsible, small-unit hit-and-run engagements dominated rather than static lines and large battles. Controlling recon assets at the level where maneuver units could immediately respond to their findings was valid at the time.

The arrival of the remainder of the Third Force Recon Company in April 1967 fairly well established the reconnaissance unit assignments. By then each Marine division had an organize reconnaissance battalion as well as a Force Recon company. For the next two years, the 1st Marine Division would have its 1st Recon Battalion with the First Force Recon Company under its operational control. The 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion with the Third Force Recon Company OPCONed to it (i.e., under its operational control) was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division.

The exception to this organization was during the periods when the Force Recon Companies were detached from their division assignments so that they could provide reconnaissance for ad hoc task forces. Task forces were specially formed units composed of two to nine infantry battalions—often a mixture of both Marine and Army organizations. Usually commanded by a brigadier general who was an assistant division commander, task forces were organized to perform specific jobs. The I Corps tactical area of operations was so large that frequently a division headquarters could neither control nor support its widely dispersed units. A task force with a provision support unit attached could provide both and therefore increase the combat capability of friendly units in the corps zone. Another advantage of task forces was their ability to respond to specific threats or to secure critical areas or waterways. Depending on which of the Marine divisions provided the major part of the task force, either the First or Third Force Recon Company was OPCONed as its recon asset. Upon completion of the task force’s specific objectives, the Force Recon company returned to division control.

Force Recon support of task forces was marked by repeated successes in finding and destroying the enemy while developing new and innovative methods of patrolling. Individual acts of heroism and overall team proficiency were routine.

Maj Edwin H. Walker IV assumed command of the First Force Recon Company on 15 December 1967. Walker, a former commander of the Second Company back at Camp Lejeune and operations officer of the 1st Recon Battalion in Vietnam, was the author of the first SOP for STINGRAY and long-range reconnaissance patrols. A meticulous, detail-oriented, energetic officer, Walker was somewhat eccentric. Upon completion of his career in the Corps, he became an Episcopal priest.

On 4–5 January 1968, Walker moved the First Company “bag

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