Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG)
Never assigned an official crest or patch, SOG personnel adopted this unofficial self-designed insignia
Active24 January 1964 – 1 May 1972
Country United States
TypeUnconventional warfare task force
RoleStrategic reconnaissance, covert action, psychological warfare
SizeBrigade +
Garrison/HQSaigon (HQ)

Detachments:

NicknamesSOG, MACSOG
EngagementsVietnam War
DecorationsPresidential Unit Citation

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a highly classified, joint special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations before and during the Vietnam War for the United States.

Established on 24 January 1964, it conducted strategic reconnaissance missions in the South Vietnam, the North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. MACV-SOG's missions included taking prisoners, rescuing downed pilots or prisoners of war throughout Southeast Asia; and overseeing agent team activities and conducting psychological operations.

The unit participated in most of the significant campaigns of the Vietnam War, including the Gulf of Tonkin incident which precipitated increased American involvement, Operation Steel Tiger, Operation Tiger Hound, the Tet Offensive, Operation Commando Hunt, the Cambodian Campaign, Operation Lam Son 719, and the Easter Offensive. The unit was downsized and renamed Strategic Technical Directorate Assistance Team 158 on 1 May 1972, to support the transfer of its work to the Strategic Technical Directorate of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam as part of the Vietnamization effort.

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