Montagnards in MACV-SOG

and traditional Vietnamese band present at a 1965 ceremony where Montagnard militias swear an oath of allegiance to the South Vietnamese state; Note the flag of South Vietnam in the upper-right The Studies and Observation Group (SOG) expanded in 1966, creating a need to recruit more individuals in order to fill the new elements. To fill this need, the contemporary SOG commander, then-Colonel Donald D. Blackburn, looked to the Montagnards as a viable option due to a warrior-nature that was already extant among specific Montagnard tribes. American SOG members Jim Hetrick and J.D. Bath were sent on one of the initial trips to recruit Montagnard warriors from their villages. Besides pay, many Montagnards felt compelled to join SOG simply for an opportunity to fight against the People's Army of Vietnam and Viet Cong. Many of the Montagnard tribes had been infiltrated by Viet Cong agents, subjecting the Montagnards to varying degrees of oppression from propaganda to outright armed attacks. == Montagnards on SOG reconnaissance teams ==

Once recruited, Montagnard volunteers were brought to one of three "Command and Control" locations; Command and Control North (CCN), Command and Control Central (CCC), or Command and Control South (CCS.) Here, Montagnards were assigned to reconnaissance teams, which were distinguished by the ethnicity and tribe of the indigenous mercenaries that manned it. Each recon team had 2-3 American Green Berets, who were responsible for training the Montagnard warriors who would be on their team. There were anywhere from 4 to 9 Montagnards on a recon team that was going on a mission. The Montagnards would often fill the role of point man and rear security of the recon team, sometimes even dressing in North Vietnamese Army (NVA) uniforms to cause confusion among any NVA that they came upon. With the deeply clandestine nature of the Studies and Observations Group, there are not clear data figures given, though many SOG veterans attribute the Montagnards to be the largest indigenous mercenary group in SOG. For the same reason, there is no official number for the amount of Montagnards killed in action while serving with SOG. of the Australian Army (right), 1968 == Montagnards after SOG and post-war ==

The American side of SOG was deactivated on April 30, 1972. An attempt to transfer leadership over to the ARVN ultimately failed, resulting in the fall of Saigon to the North on April 30, 1975. From that day onward, Montagnards have faced continuous persecution from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Pockets of Montagnard resistance against the Communist government continued through 1992, when the George H. W. Bush administration (a result of heavy Vietnam veteran pressure in Congress) began the first of many Montagnard refugee extractions to the United States. Since then, the Montagnard population in the United States has grown considerably, with regions such as North Carolina becoming a cultural center for the Montagnard people. Montagnard service to the United States via their service in SOG, has gained a growing recognition in the United States as monuments and exhibits have been created to recognize the Montagnard people. == References ==