Been watching podcasts with MACV SOG guys. Those guys were either brain damaged or had balls the size of 30 pounder cannon balls. But listening to these brings a question to mind. Were these units considered LRRP teams or were these two designations for different units and different mission sets? Done some preliminary searching but have not found anything that speaks to this. Anyone here have any insight into this?

AgBQ-00 said:

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Been watching podcasts with MACV SOG guys. Those guys were either brain damaged or had balls the size of 30 pounder cannon balls. But listening to these brings a question to mind. Were these units considered LRRP teams or were these two designations for different units and different mission sets? Done some preliminary searching but have not found anything that speaks to this. Anyone here have any insight into this?

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MACV SOG were Green Beret/SEAL/CIA/ODA types.
LRRPs were special platoons set up within regular army units like 101st, 1st, 25th and 173rd in Viet Nam. They were also in Germany during the Cold War.

Two very different mission sets.
MACV/SOG were spooks. They were the ones going into Laos, Cambodia and North Viet Nam.
LRRPs went out to "out guerilla the guerillas". The did recce and harassment of the enemy in their own back yard.

All LRRP units were re designated "Ranger" units in 1969 and exist today as the 75th Ranger Regiment.

Appreciate it. Make sense.

The Army continued to have LRRS units up until everything became BCTs during the GWOT.

Each Corps had a LRRS company, assigned to the Corps MI Bde, IIRC. The light divisions (including airborne and air assault) also had their own LRRS units. I forget if these were companies or platoons.

Not sure why the heavy divisions didn't have them. To my way of thinking, the mechanized units would have needed them even more, since they can move much further, faster than light units, and thus need to 'see' further out ahead.

Those all were lost to the BCT-ification.

The heavy divisions had armored cavalry squadrons and helicopters. The thought was the light LRRS teams couldn't move fast enough to keep up with an armored penetration. There was also a very long and distinguished argument between the Ft. Knox Scout Leaders Course and the FT. Benning Reconnaissance Leaders Course. Those have been combined now much to the chagrin of both parties.