LRRP. Masters of the distant patrol
The Vietnam War took US forces by surprise. The Pentagon was preparing for the Soviet tank the English Channel throws, carpet bombing, the massive use of rocket weapons. Instead, the Americans fell into the inhospitable jungle. Their enemy did not try to win in conventional combat, but skillfully used the entire arsenal of partisan warfare. In order not to feel like blind kittens in a war with an invisible and elusive adversary, cumbersome, aimed at a big war, the armed forces needed a powerful tool.
Weighty argument
The remedy was found almost by accident. History LRRP, long-range reconnaissance patrol units, is not rooted in counter-guerrilla wars like the Vietnamese. They were created to obtain real-time information about a large conventional enemy in a maneuverable war. That is why the first LRRP companies appeared in units stationed in West Germany, in the 1961 year.
And it turned out to be very useful in the jungles of Vietnam. The cumbersome structure of the American army was intended for the "classical" war of the 20th century, where there is at least a clear front line. Here she was absent, which greatly hampered the actions of ordinary parts. But at the same time it simplified the work and increased the value of LRRP. After all, who else, if not saboteurs of intelligence, will be able to find a black cat in a dark room, that is, Viet Cong units in the dense jungle?
Therefore, long-range patrol units began to appear quickly there, and quite quickly. This happened back in the 1964 year, on the basis of special operations forces in Vietnam. That is, even before the introduction of a large army group there. But later, their LRRP companies began to appear in relatively "ordinary" army divisions - for example, in the famous 101 airborne.
Modus Operandi
The Americans had the widest arsenal of means of striking, and did not hesitate to use it. Artillery, helicopters, "Phantoms" with napalm, as well as gantracs armed beyond measure. All this allowed any jungle to be turned into a heap of smoking ash and crushed stumps. From LRRP only one was required - to show the place. Therefore, the main task of such patrols was precisely intelligence, and not sabotage activity. The ideal raid was considered the one in which it was possible to extract as much information as possible, and at the same time not make a single shot.
The best time for disembarking was considered the last several hours before dawn. Usually the group went to the task in 4-7 people, each of whom was carrying 35 kilograms of equipment. She was determined in advance by the square of patrol, not in contact with the controlled territory. Therefore, helicopters were used for delivery. The States were a rich country, so the support of the intelligence officers was excellent. As a rule, 5 helicopters participated in the case. 3 "Huey" - air command center, transport and reserve, at the same time imitating false landings in neighboring squares. And 2 "Cobras" in order to work through the jungle, if something goes wrong.
Having landed the scouts, the helicopters circled near for another half an hour. After this, the group commander's usual sign followed that everything was in order, and the "birds" were hidden from view. Next, the scouts were waiting for a tedious six-day raid through the jungle - in addition to the cunning and cunning enemy, they were to meet the heat, leeches and other "joys" of Vietnam. And all this in the midst of hard work - regular observation, interception of the enemy negotiations, analysis, and reports on the radio.
Friendly fire
It did not do the Americans without a mess. The dangerous enemy of the LRRP were often their own helicopters - not the ones that, of course, landed and supported the scouts, but the vehicles of other units. The thing is that LRRP contacted 3 once a day, transmitting information in time close to real. And they used their ciphers, which changed almost with every new raid. Screaming clear text to the helicopters that scouts are working in the square was not very useful - the negotiations were heard in both directions. Yes, and the frequency, often, they were different, and also try to quickly find.
Everything was aggravated by the way of hunting for Viet Congists, popular among American helicopter pilots, which was brightly named as "Hunter-Killer". Initially, followed by a hunter, "Hunter." It was a light and nimble reconnaissance helicopter OH-6, 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 into the business - as a rule, a pair of stuffed Cobras arsenal unpleasant for the Vietnamese. They happily worked on the enemy found out of all that they had, and rather reported to the headquarters about a successful hunt.
And the grief was to the LRRP group that ran up against the Hunter-Killer group and allowed itself to be discovered. Especially since, like many special forces, the intelligence officers dressed were quite diverse - it was more convenient. And taking them from the air for the Viet Cong was quite simple. It was possible, of course, to launch a rocket, but this put an end to the main thing - the secrecy of the operation.
And this did not guarantee a result. The Vietnamese did not hesitate to catch helicopter pilots in sophisticated traps, equipping false landing sites, actively signaling trophy American smoke and missiles, leading active radio games. Therefore, even helicopter pilots could simply not believe in an identification missile in a square remote from American bases.
The decline of silent intelligence units in Vietnam
LRRP raids gave a real result - having eyes in the impenetrable jungle is very expensive. The scouts opened the enemy supply paths, found active and temporarily abandoned bases, and even disrupted enemy attacks on the bases. After all, the latter were largely designed for surprise. But when the Americans are not sitting relaxed, they know exactly where you are, and they are already directing artillery, helicopters and gantracks, the predator and the prey are quickly changing places.
But everything comes to an end, and LRRP were no exception. In 1968, the Americans tried to end the war diplomatically. To this end, they suspended the bombing of North Vietnam. The result, of course, was the opposite. The weakening of pressure made it possible to make actions against American bases more frequent. The fact of the “inclusion of diplomacy” by the Americans acted on the intensification of the activity of the partisans. After all, the best way to improve your bargaining position is to drive the slack enemy into even greater political and military discomfort.
The affairs of the Americans have deteriorated sharply. With the increased activity of the enemy, the command was no longer up to "quiet" intelligence. It was necessary to use all the resources that are there, and more and more conversations began to be heard that it was time for LRRP to take more active actions, such as ambushes, sabotage and the physical destruction of the enemy. The scouts themselves were not against them - they had long since been itching to arrange the enemy for any particular dirty trick, and not just to observe and report. And in January, the 1969 divisions of the LRRP began to transform into rangers who had just such a profile.
The Vietnam War is over. By 80, Americans even partially managed to overcome its psychological consequences. They more and more often came back to the fact that LRRP is still needed and must exist as separate units with their own specifics, and not just as rangers companies. Still, the mental consequences of this conflict have not been eradicated. LRRP formed before Vietnam and clearly manifested themselves in its conditions. They were too associated with this unfortunate war. And then the exit was found - the shop just changed the sign. The heir to the LRRP became the LRS - subunit of deep intelligence (Long-range surveillance). Under this name, they operate today.
Weighty argument
The remedy was found almost by accident. History LRRP, long-range reconnaissance patrol units, is not rooted in counter-guerrilla wars like the Vietnamese. They were created to obtain real-time information about a large conventional enemy in a maneuverable war. That is why the first LRRP companies appeared in units stationed in West Germany, in the 1961 year.
And it turned out to be very useful in the jungles of Vietnam. The cumbersome structure of the American army was intended for the "classical" war of the 20th century, where there is at least a clear front line. Here she was absent, which greatly hampered the actions of ordinary parts. But at the same time it simplified the work and increased the value of LRRP. After all, who else, if not saboteurs of intelligence, will be able to find a black cat in a dark room, that is, Viet Cong units in the dense jungle?
Therefore, long-range patrol units began to appear quickly there, and quite quickly. This happened back in the 1964 year, on the basis of special operations forces in Vietnam. That is, even before the introduction of a large army group there. But later, their LRRP companies began to appear in relatively "ordinary" army divisions - for example, in the famous 101 airborne.
Modus Operandi
The Americans had the widest arsenal of means of striking, and did not hesitate to use it. Artillery, helicopters, "Phantoms" with napalm, as well as gantracs armed beyond measure. All this allowed any jungle to be turned into a heap of smoking ash and crushed stumps. From LRRP only one was required - to show the place. Therefore, the main task of such patrols was precisely intelligence, and not sabotage activity. The ideal raid was considered the one in which it was possible to extract as much information as possible, and at the same time not make a single shot.
LRRP group from 173 US Airborne Brigade in helicopter, summer 1967. Judging by the meaningful, and not exhausted persons, the intelligence officers are still flying to the mission, and not returning from it - the many-day hiking raid through the jungle completely exhausted people
The best time for disembarking was considered the last several hours before dawn. Usually the group went to the task in 4-7 people, each of whom was carrying 35 kilograms of equipment. She was determined in advance by the square of patrol, not in contact with the controlled territory. Therefore, helicopters were used for delivery. The States were a rich country, so the support of the intelligence officers was excellent. As a rule, 5 helicopters participated in the case. 3 "Huey" - air command center, transport and reserve, at the same time imitating false landings in neighboring squares. And 2 "Cobras" in order to work through the jungle, if something goes wrong.
Having landed the scouts, the helicopters circled near for another half an hour. After this, the group commander's usual sign followed that everything was in order, and the "birds" were hidden from view. Next, the scouts were waiting for a tedious six-day raid through the jungle - in addition to the cunning and cunning enemy, they were to meet the heat, leeches and other "joys" of Vietnam. And all this in the midst of hard work - regular observation, interception of the enemy negotiations, analysis, and reports on the radio.
Friendly fire
It did not do the Americans without a mess. The dangerous enemy of the LRRP were often their own helicopters - not the ones that, of course, landed and supported the scouts, but the vehicles of other units. The thing is that LRRP contacted 3 once a day, transmitting information in time close to real. And they used their ciphers, which changed almost with every new raid. Screaming clear text to the helicopters that scouts are working in the square was not very useful - the negotiations were heard in both directions. Yes, and the frequency, often, they were different, and also try to quickly find.
Raid LRRP in progress. Vietnam, 1968 year
Everything was aggravated by the way of hunting for Viet Congists, popular among American helicopter pilots, which was brightly named as "Hunter-Killer". Initially, followed by a hunter, "Hunter." It was a light and nimble reconnaissance helicopter OH-6, 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 into the business - as a rule, a pair of stuffed Cobras arsenal unpleasant for the Vietnamese. They happily worked on the enemy found out of all that they had, and rather reported to the headquarters about a successful hunt.
And the grief was to the LRRP group that ran up against the Hunter-Killer group and allowed itself to be discovered. Especially since, like many special forces, the intelligence officers dressed were quite diverse - it was more convenient. And taking them from the air for the Viet Cong was quite simple. It was possible, of course, to launch a rocket, but this put an end to the main thing - the secrecy of the operation.
And this did not guarantee a result. The Vietnamese did not hesitate to catch helicopter pilots in sophisticated traps, equipping false landing sites, actively signaling trophy American smoke and missiles, leading active radio games. Therefore, even helicopter pilots could simply not believe in an identification missile in a square remote from American bases.
The decline of silent intelligence units in Vietnam
LRRP raids gave a real result - having eyes in the impenetrable jungle is very expensive. The scouts opened the enemy supply paths, found active and temporarily abandoned bases, and even disrupted enemy attacks on the bases. After all, the latter were largely designed for surprise. But when the Americans are not sitting relaxed, they know exactly where you are, and they are already directing artillery, helicopters and gantracks, the predator and the prey are quickly changing places.
But everything comes to an end, and LRRP were no exception. In 1968, the Americans tried to end the war diplomatically. To this end, they suspended the bombing of North Vietnam. The result, of course, was the opposite. The weakening of pressure made it possible to make actions against American bases more frequent. The fact of the “inclusion of diplomacy” by the Americans acted on the intensification of the activity of the partisans. After all, the best way to improve your bargaining position is to drive the slack enemy into even greater political and military discomfort.
The affairs of the Americans have deteriorated sharply. With the increased activity of the enemy, the command was no longer up to "quiet" intelligence. It was necessary to use all the resources that are there, and more and more conversations began to be heard that it was time for LRRP to take more active actions, such as ambushes, sabotage and the physical destruction of the enemy. The scouts themselves were not against them - they had long since been itching to arrange the enemy for any particular dirty trick, and not just to observe and report. And in January, the 1969 divisions of the LRRP began to transform into rangers who had just such a profile.
The Vietnam War is over. By 80, Americans even partially managed to overcome its psychological consequences. They more and more often came back to the fact that LRRP is still needed and must exist as separate units with their own specifics, and not just as rangers companies. Still, the mental consequences of this conflict have not been eradicated. LRRP formed before Vietnam and clearly manifested themselves in its conditions. They were too associated with this unfortunate war. And then the exit was found - the shop just changed the sign. The heir to the LRRP became the LRS - subunit of deep intelligence (Long-range surveillance). Under this name, they operate today.
- Timur Sherzad
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