RECON 'Nam. A Metal & Gunther collab

[Metal Head]

LRRPs at Bien Hoa

The 173rd Airborne Brigade arrived at Saigon, Vietnam on 7 May 1965. They were the first major US combat unit to arrive in Southeast Asia. They were assigned to the US III Corps as larger US units entered the country. Their home was established at Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. This unit would be the only US unit to conduct a combat jump during the Vietnam War. That would happen in February 1967.

The Brigade consisted of the following units:

Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 173rd Airborne Brigade
1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne)
2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne)
4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne)
3rd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment (Airborne)
173rd Support Battalion,
173rd Engineer Company
Troop E/17th Cavalry
Company D/16th Armor
335th Assault Helicopter Company

By January, 1967, the Sky Soldiers as they had become known developed a fierce reputation fighting against Viet Cong Guerrillas in the Saigon area and War Zone D. They developed Counter Insurgency Techniques which they used in rooting out the Vietnamese Guerrilla forces. The Brigade implemented Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols as ordered by General Westmoreland, Commander of Military Assistance Command – Vietnam (MACV).

The LRRPs were volunteers from the three Airborne Infantry Battalions in the Brigade. A fourth Battalion would join the Brigade the following September. Each Battalion provided a platoon forming a Long Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Detachment (LRRS-D) or company sized organization.

The LRRP Platoon consisted of an Airborne Ranger qualified Lieutenant as the Platoon Leader, an Airborne Ranger Qualified Sergeant First Class as the Platoon Sergeant and three LRRP Squads or Teams. Each Team was lead by an Airborne Ranger qualified Staff Sergeant with an Airborne Ranger qualified Sergeant as his Assistant Squad Leader. The team consisted of a sniper team, a radio telephone operator and an additional scout. These six-man teams would be inserted deep in enemy territory initially to gain information on enemy unit locations, identification, strength and intentions. Eventually, the LRRP teams were used in direct action operations, conducting raids and ambushes against Viet Cong and PAVN Regular forces.

Our role play will consist of one of the LRRP teams consisting of volunteers from 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne). We will insert our characters in their team into “Indian” country looking for Viet Cong guerrillas.

The date is Monday, January 2, 1967

The Sky Soldiers need you to step up and join their LRRP platoons!

[Metal Head]

Updated with a bump

[Gunther]

If you enjoy a military themed Role play, this is for you! We are going to use the rules for the game, RECON as moderated by HEAVY METAL. There are a total of six positions in the LRRP Team. If we bring along the PL, he would make the seventh, but maybe that would be an NPC?

@CaptainBritton, @POOHEAD189, @Andreyich & @Dutchbag

[POOHEAD189]

I just got my computer back, so I am playing catch up with RPs. Maybe I'll have the time...

[Gunther]

Heavy and I are coming up with ideas for a role play and nothing seems to be taking yet. The next one is a Post Apocalyptic (Mad Max Style) Into the Badlands / western themed role play set in 1890. I'm even working on a map to use for it.@POOHEAD189

[CaptainBritton]

Apologies for taking so long, was at marching band camp for the past week with little to no internet access. I would be absolutely interested. I especially would be eyeing that RTO spot, as I've got a pretty intricate familiarity with documentation on the AN/PRC-77 manpack radio.

While not part of the 173rd, my dad was part of the 101st and participated in their last unit-wide jump before they lost jump status. He deployed to the Nam as part of the 62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) and was what is now the 91B Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic MOS (may have been 63C back then?). His duty posts outside of Vietnam included Fort Campbell, Fort Hood, and Schofield Barracks, and his main post in-country was Phan Rang Air Force Base, where he participated mainly in vehicle recovery and construction projects until withdrawal in 1974. He ETS'd in 1976 at the grade of Specialist 4.

[Gunther]

The Six-man team consists of the following positions:

Squad Leader - Staff Sergeant
Assistant Squad Leader - Sergeant
Sniper - Specialist-4
Spotter - Private First Class or Specialist
Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) - Private First Class
Scout - Private First Class

The Spotter, RTO and Scout could also be Spec-4. I figured with Basic Combat Infantry Training (14 weeks) + Airborne School (4 weeks) + Ranger School (9 Weeks), there would be no Privates (E1 or E2) by the time they reach Bien Hoa Air Base. Promotion from E1 to E2 and from E2 to E3 are automatic which would take 6 months (26 weeks) to attain Private First Class (E3). E4 requires points. But having attended Airborne and Ranger school as well as being on a deployment to a combat zone would hasten that promotion too. I know I was promoted to E4 after 19 months time in service. I could see a bunch of LRRP grunts making E4 after 12 - 14 months time in service.

[Gunther]

Heavy is going to be the GM taking on the role of referee and the OPFOR (VC and NVA).
I will take the SL position
Captain Britton at RTO

Still need:
ASL, Sniper, Spotter & Scout

The Sniper and Spotter should be close. They will spend a lot of time together.
Same goes with the SL and RTO, but I've been RPing with Britton for years.

[Gunther]

If you are someone who enjoy Military Role Plays, please join us.

[Gunther]

This role play starts a month before the 173rd Airborne Brigade makes the only Airborne jump of the Vietnam War.

[Kale19]

If this is still open I'm interested

[Metal Head]

If this is still open I'm interested

@Kale19

This is more complicated than D&D , so I'm gonna have to say no.

[Gunther]

At Ellis W. Williamson's promotion ceremony to Brigadier General, in June 1963, Secretary of the Army, Elvis J. Stahr remarked, "The army's promoting men to General officer a lot sooner than they used to."

"Yes sir," quipped Williamson. "This is my second promotion in nineteen years."

General Willuamson was working at the pentagon helping to develop the airmobile concept with rotary wing aircraft. He became the first commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) following his promotion to Brigadier General.

[Gunther]

At the beginning of our Roleplay, the Brigade commander is BG Paul F. Smith, former ADC of the 1st Infantry Division. General Smith jumped into Normandy with the 82nd Airborne as a Lieutenant and jumped over the Rhine with the 507th PIR in 1945.

[Gunther]

I'm reading more into the book on Dak To. The book focuses more on the soldiers in the battalions rather than the LRRPs. THey are in the Central Highlands getting into the shit with the NVA.

Still looking for three or four more people. One person could RP as the sniper team: sniper and spotter if they wish.

[Gunther]

I just completed Chapter 4 in the Dak To book. On 22 June 1967, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment had two platoons in a fire fight with elements of the 24th NVA Infantry Regiment attempting to move into Cambodia in the Central Highlands north by northwest of Saigon. When the fighting was over 67 Americans were dead and 48 wounded from a 137-man company. That's 22 survivors. General Westmoreland, Commander of MAC-V came out to Dak To to tell the soldiers what a great victory they won and how they kicked ass against the enemy. None of the soldiers assembled bought his bull shit, wondering what exactly he had been smoking recently. When the soldiers of B & C Company dug up recent graves after the fight, they found corpses of maybe 50 or 60 enemy dead. The two units essentially traded one for one. In his report to Washington D.C., Westmoreland reported the encounter inflicted over 500 enemy dead.

[Gunther]

@Dutchbag You might be interested in this.

[ODAberration]

Interested if another RP doesn't get rolling. Sniper or spotter.