15 Months in SOG: A Warrior's Tour
Mar 2011 · Presidio Press
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About this ebook
"When we cross the border: no ID, and it's kiss yourself good-bye if Charlie gets ahold of you."
In Vietnam, the Military Assistance Command's Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) fielded small recon teams in areas infested with VC and NVA. Because SOG operations suffered extraordinary casualties, they required extraordinary soldiers. So when Capt. Thom Nicholson arrived at Command and Control North (CCN) in Da Nang, SOG's northernmost base camp, he knew he was going to be working with the cream of the crop.
As commander of Company B, CCN's Raider Company, Nicholson commanded four platoons, comprising nearly two hundred men, in some of the war's most deadly missions, including ready-reaction missions for patrols in contact with the enemy, patrol extractions under fire, and top-secret expeditions "over the fence" into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. Colonel Nicholson spares no one, including himself, as he provides a rare glimpse into the workings of one of the military's most carefully concealed reconnaissance campaigns.
In Vietnam, the Military Assistance Command's Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) fielded small recon teams in areas infested with VC and NVA. Because SOG operations suffered extraordinary casualties, they required extraordinary soldiers. So when Capt. Thom Nicholson arrived at Command and Control North (CCN) in Da Nang, SOG's northernmost base camp, he knew he was going to be working with the cream of the crop.
As commander of Company B, CCN's Raider Company, Nicholson commanded four platoons, comprising nearly two hundred men, in some of the war's most deadly missions, including ready-reaction missions for patrols in contact with the enemy, patrol extractions under fire, and top-secret expeditions "over the fence" into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. Colonel Nicholson spares no one, including himself, as he provides a rare glimpse into the workings of one of the military's most carefully concealed reconnaissance campaigns.
Ratings and reviews
4.0
51 reviews
Debra Molinoli
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March 19, 2013
This book was hard to read because of the author and his attitude to others regardless of rank or race. As he proudly said "he was a cut above them." He rarely ran his company when he was in the field ... the one time he did he was walking right in the middle of a trail when they ran into NVA. He also had bodyguards and he even took them with him in the field. Normally you read about officers having bodyguards to prevent being fragged by his own men. He was that gung ho leader that was not knowledgable to lead. I have read many books on SOG and it is so difficult to believe he was in this elite group of men. Men of SOG respected the indigenous troops they worked with and they had unique terms for there actions which the author never used. Was he SOG .... as stated early the books I have read were about the same command and base as he was at, yet I have never heard of his name in any of them. Considering he was a company commander a familiar name would of been expected. Last, if you can not stay true to your love ones and be honest with yourself leadership qualities will be poor if not absent. My review sums up the book because he only hads words about himself.
5 people found this review helpful
A Google user
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April 16, 2012
The book is about one person against all odds came out of the jungles of vietnam and laos .
A Google user
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October 21, 2012
This book is 90% fiction and 10% non fiction as admitted by the author. It was an interesting story, but the author wasn't on the missions described. Go to the SOG websites and see what his fellow soldiers have to say about the book.
About the author
Thom Nicholson was born in Springfield, Missouri, and grew up in northern Arkansas and southwest Missouri. After graduating from the Missouri School of Mines, he worked briefly in a uranium mine in New Mexico and then entered the U.S. Army. He served as a Special Forces officer in Vietnam in 1966, as an A-team executive officer, and, in 1969, as a Raider Company commander for CCN, MACV-SOG. After being discharged, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve and completed his career in staff and command assignments with special operations and training commands. In 1996, with more than thirty years commissioned service, he retired at the rank of colonel.
As a civilian, Mr. Nicholson was a registered professional engineer. He received an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and graduated from National Defense University and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School. After military and civilian retirement, he started writing novels, many about the Civil War and the American West. He and his wife, Sandra, have five children.
As a civilian, Mr. Nicholson was a registered professional engineer. He received an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and graduated from National Defense University and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School. After military and civilian retirement, he started writing novels, many about the Civil War and the American West. He and his wife, Sandra, have five children.
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