Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam [Mass Market Paperback]

firstly, just buy this book and read it you will not be dissapointed.
this book details many missions that the sog went on during the vietnam war, and one thing that gets you almost immediately was the sheer loss of life that these units experienced. the missions they went on were virtual suicide missions. they knew they would have contact with the enemy as soon as they had been inserted,they knew there was a mole in saigon relaying their mission details to hanoi, and they knew they would be persued constantly while they were in cambodia and laos, yet they still went on the missions. this book is gripping, if you can cope with the many deaths described in the book.
excellent read, not glorified or gung ho at all.

Studies & Observations Group. Seldom has a military unit's title so inadequately described what they actually did. Which was, of course, the point.
I have read many books on the subject of Special Forces & covert ops in Vietnam. This is, without doubt, the best. Still utterly compelling and inspiring, even now on the third read.
What you have to keep reminding yourself, when reading this book, is that it is a true account of a secret war. So brave, heroic, selfless & daring were the deeds carried out by the men of SOG, it is easy to forget that they were real events that happened to real people in real danger.
It's a gripping account of the activities of men, who's job it was to play the most dangerous game of `cat & mouse' imaginable. SOG men volunteered to go into hostile territory in small teams (typically 6 to 8 men), surrounded by thousands of enemy soldiers and bring back vital intelligence which was almost certainly responsible for saving many thousands of American lives. Sometime they did this completely undetected, all too often they had to run and fight for their lives to escape a vastly numerically superior foe intent on their destruction.
John Plaster recounts many recon missions and the battle for survival SOG men faced each time they waged their silent war against the VC and NVA. You can almost feel the fear and adrenaline generated from such dangerous work. Almost. No book could ever truly give you a full understanding of how it felt to do what SOG did, but this book gets closer than any other I've read.
At times this book also made me angry. All too often, deeds of heroism and bravery went unrecognized, due partly to the secret nature of what SOG did but sometimes due to the incompetence of the military. Although several SOG men received The Congressional Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War, it is clear many more should have. That said, the men of SOG didn't fight for medals or for some ideological hatred of communism. They fought and died for each other, their fellow soldiers, their "brothers". The greatest accolade for a SOG man wasn't a medal, (Purple Hearts were often not even requested) it was to be considered to be "good in the woods" by their peers.
During The Vietnam War, SOG suffered a casualty rate of over 100% (every man wounded at least once). The unit had a kill ratio of 150:1 (150 enemy dead for each SOG operator killed). After reading this book you'll understand why they were so effective and you'll be amazed that their casualty rate wasn't higher.

As a former SOG helicoper gunner (20th SOS Green Hornets) it is truely amazing that the story can finally be told on what went on so long ago in the skies and ground areas of Cambodia and Laos. To us who served, it is a tribute to an operation that to most in the military at that time did not exist. To those of us who were there, and saw the bodies returned, this was a war that will forever be in the forefront of our memories. After 28 years of putting the war behind me, this book (the first I have read on Vietnam) has helped me come to terms with my Vietnam service. I would recommend the reading to anyone unfamiliar with SOG operations. The book truly is the stuff movies are made of!