"Brokhausen mixes irreverence, perversity, and sarcasm with touches of
gonzo journalism to recreate his 1970 tour with the Military Assistance
Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group..." -- Vietnam Veterans
of America
This riveting memoir details the actions and experiences of a small
group of Americans and their allies who were the backbone of ground
reconnaissance in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. On his
second tour to Vietnam, Nick Brokhausen served in Recon Team Habu, CCN.
This unit was part of MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam
Studies and Observations Group), or Studies and Observations Group as it
was innocuously called. The small recon companies that were the center
of its activities conducted some of the most dangerous missions of the
war, infiltrating areas controlled by the North Vietnamese in Laos,
Vietnam, and Cambodia. The companies never exceeded more than 30
Americans, yet they were the best source for the enemy's disposition and
were key to the US military being able to take the war to the enemy, by
utilizing new and innovative technology and tactics dating back to the
French and Indian Wars.
Brokhausen's group racked up one of the most impressive records of
awards for valor of any unit in the history of the United States Army.
It came at a terrible price, however; the number of wounded and killed
in action was incredibly high. Those missions today seem suicidal. In
1970 equally so, yet these men went out day after day with their
indigenous allies - Montagnard tribesmen, Vietnamese, and Chinese
Nungs - and faced the challenges with courage and resolve.
