For The Pathfinder Here
- Thread starter Retired W4
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LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
Us crazy? No, the 20-year old Wobbly One on the stick of the Huey taking 4 or 5 of us into Injun Country and hovering over some remote point on a map while we rappelled the last 30 or 40 feet to the ground, that nice Huey fully exposed to ground fire at rock-throwing range for several minutes, that young man was certifiably crazy!
The whole object of the exercise was to establish a landing zone for combat insertion at a point known to be in active use by hostile forces. One lone helicopter (maybe a second ship for support) flying at treetop level (usually at night or very low light conditions) with little or no guidance other than a set of map coordinates, then coming to an abrupt hover for a minute or two while a gang of teenaged hoodlums unassed the bird and ran for the bush, with hopes of finding a hole to hide in for 24 to 48 hours while the truly wise and all-knowing staff officers monitoring this insanity monitored a dedicated radio frequency so they could appear at the all-important Commander's Briefing at 0700 hours and report (hopefully) a successful insertion of the Pathfinder team in advance of the next phase of the combat operation.
There were times when we had to rely on helicopter crews to relay messages because our backpack radios were limited to line-of-sight operation in rough terrain. There were other times when we deployed more than one Pathfinder team, just to support communications with the team tasked with the LZ.
There were times when we found ourselves inserted at night into a position that turned out to be several miles from the intended spot. I recall once having to rely on US Navy offshore artillery fire to identify hilltops in order to tell where in the H-E-double-L we were at dawn when nothing on the ground matched up with our operational maps. The Bosses were not happy, and I'm glad that I wasn't the young warrant officer pilot who lost a Pathfinder team at a point that did not meet with operational criteria.
When everything went well we hunkered down for a night or two, then set up the LZ for the operation, setting panel markers, strobes, smokes, whatever was needed to guide the choppers into the intended LZ. Couple of days manning the radios to maintain air traffic control, prioritize med-evac ships and resupply birds. When everything went according to the Big Plan we then got to coordinate the extraction of all units, then wait for the final extraction of the Pathfinder team.
On a really, truly successful operation we were there when the Big Brass flew in with reporters and photographers to document just how wonderful the whole shebang was going! Probably the only times I ever saw anyone over 25 years old on a combat operation, all shaking hands and getting their photographs taken for Stars & Stripes or the ABC Evening News.
The motto of the US Army Pathfinders is "First in, last out". We were proud of that. I spent my 19th birthday in the bush, then became a team leader. By the time I was 20 I was the operations sergeant for a Pathfinder Detachment. 40 young men, very few old enough to vote, and I think every single one of them had at least one Purple Heart medal. Our assigned duties did not include actively engaging the enemy, but it happened at times.
Crazy? No, I don't think so. Maybe, just a little bit.
The whole object of the exercise was to establish a landing zone for combat insertion at a point known to be in active use by hostile forces. One lone helicopter (maybe a second ship for support) flying at treetop level (usually at night or very low light conditions) with little or no guidance other than a set of map coordinates, then coming to an abrupt hover for a minute or two while a gang of teenaged hoodlums unassed the bird and ran for the bush, with hopes of finding a hole to hide in for 24 to 48 hours while the truly wise and all-knowing staff officers monitoring this insanity monitored a dedicated radio frequency so they could appear at the all-important Commander's Briefing at 0700 hours and report (hopefully) a successful insertion of the Pathfinder team in advance of the next phase of the combat operation.
There were times when we had to rely on helicopter crews to relay messages because our backpack radios were limited to line-of-sight operation in rough terrain. There were other times when we deployed more than one Pathfinder team, just to support communications with the team tasked with the LZ.
There were times when we found ourselves inserted at night into a position that turned out to be several miles from the intended spot. I recall once having to rely on US Navy offshore artillery fire to identify hilltops in order to tell where in the H-E-double-L we were at dawn when nothing on the ground matched up with our operational maps. The Bosses were not happy, and I'm glad that I wasn't the young warrant officer pilot who lost a Pathfinder team at a point that did not meet with operational criteria.
When everything went well we hunkered down for a night or two, then set up the LZ for the operation, setting panel markers, strobes, smokes, whatever was needed to guide the choppers into the intended LZ. Couple of days manning the radios to maintain air traffic control, prioritize med-evac ships and resupply birds. When everything went according to the Big Plan we then got to coordinate the extraction of all units, then wait for the final extraction of the Pathfinder team.
On a really, truly successful operation we were there when the Big Brass flew in with reporters and photographers to document just how wonderful the whole shebang was going! Probably the only times I ever saw anyone over 25 years old on a combat operation, all shaking hands and getting their photographs taken for Stars & Stripes or the ABC Evening News.
The motto of the US Army Pathfinders is "First in, last out". We were proud of that. I spent my 19th birthday in the bush, then became a team leader. By the time I was 20 I was the operations sergeant for a Pathfinder Detachment. 40 young men, very few old enough to vote, and I think every single one of them had at least one Purple Heart medal. Our assigned duties did not include actively engaging the enemy, but it happened at times.
Crazy? No, I don't think so. Maybe, just a little bit.
OP
Lobo, you have put down in that post the most accurate description of that essential piece of heliborne combat ops that I could imagine. It is an important read for any one who wants to learn how those ops went down, especially the beginning and the end. "First In, Last Out" Some times things went well, many times they did not. Having been involved in Pathfinder insertions and extractions I know the lonely feeling of picking the spot for you guys and sneaking in, single ship, with no gun ship cover. It was a lot different than coming in with a nine ship formation with guns blazing after a five minute arty prep. And speaking of the arty prep, you guys would be on the ground while the 105 or 155 rounds were hitting, "danger/close". Not conducive to a warm and fuzzy feeling. The motto of the Army flight school at Ft; Rucker was "Above the Best". The best being the guys on the ground, and that's how we saw it and did what we did.
Oh, and by the way, the school patch I wore while instructing at mother Rucker is the pathfinder emblem. Check it out.
Oh, and by the way, the school patch I wore while instructing at mother Rucker is the pathfinder emblem. Check it out.
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LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
I have one of those patches on a cap I use from time to time. The Pathfinders were considered as part of Army aviation during my time. Primary MOS was infantry, airborne qualification required. Pathfinder training included land navigation, map reading, camouflage, survival, escape & evasion, mines & countermeasures, communications (radio & signaling devices), basic air traffic control, capabilities & specs of all the Army aircraft, rigging sling loads for everything from pallets of rations to 105mm howitzers.
Parachute operations were not common in Vietnam, and the emphasis of Army combat doctrine was evolving into air mobility. Pathfinders were among the very few troops who continued to draw "jump pay" in Vietnam as we were expected to deploy by parachute if a mission required that. Jump pay was $55 per month for enlisted soldiers, $110 for officers, which may not sound like much until you compare it to military salaries at that time (my base pay was $248.75 per month as a sergeant E5).
By 1971 the pace of ground combat operations was drawing down. In addition to combat insertions and extractions our Pathfinder unit was also tasked with quite a few rescue and recovery missions for downed aircraft. Our "ready teams" were expected to be in the air within minutes of notification, and it was a race against the bad guys to get to a shot down helicopter (or USAF, USMC, and USN combat aircraft), extract the crews, and either recover the ship or destroy it in place. No "sneak and peak" involved, go in with everything we could put together while on the way, and ready to call in the wrath of God (gunships, fast-mover ground attack aircraft, artillery, mortars, rockets, napalm, whatever we could get to suppress the bad guys while we took care of business). Priorities were live crew members first, KIA second, classified stuff (encrypted radios, code books, maps, etc), salvageable equipment last (or destroy to avoid leaving anything the bad guys could use).
In Army airborne units there was a term used to describe missions and events called the "pucker factor", which was a measurement of just how far up inside the gut your anus could go.
After action debriefing and reports were a required part of every job. As a team leader I spent quite a bit of time with sharp young lieutenants from G-1 drafting the narratives for decorations and awards. Lots of Purple Hearts, Army Commendation Medals, Bronze Stars, couple of Silver Stars, and the Air Medals and a DFC or two for the aviation crews. Of course, after a few staff officers got finished with all the embellishments necessary for such things, no one could ever remember the events described in the appropriate superlative military manner.
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They started in WWII, even had their own guidance system, Eureka- Rebecca which was pretty high tech for then. Guided the drop A/C to drop zones. Several good books on Airborne operations have stories about Pathfinders.
Brave young men working in a team to do really impressive things. Not a bystander in the bunch.
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