Dedicated to the Lrrps in Nam

[illuminus33]

They were some of the best MF'ers in nam .. hope you all enjoy the pics..

http://img61.photobucket.com/albums/v185/illuminus3/myphotos/untitled.bmp

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[graphicsguy at PH]

They were some of the best MF'ers in nam .. hope you all enjoy the pics..
http://img61.photobucket.com/albums/v185/illuminus3/myphotos/butler48.jpg


Unfortunatly there is no pin to pull on that... its the "clacker" to a claymore mine.

[illuminus33]

I didn't place the caption on the picture .. but i still thought it was funny and a cool pic...

[MEGR]

LRRPS were a bunch of crazy arse mofos.

[ZeroPositive]

lol :D

[scrybe]

Read a lot of stories from the LRRPs. Very hardcore guys. I had an opportunity to hold a small conversation with an ex LRRP about a year ago while working at a farm store.

One of his hands and wrist was obviously impaired. He mentioned something about needing help loading a gate because he wasn't able to lift well with the impaired hand. That led into the story of how it became impaired.

He said he was a LRRP in Vietnam, and I acknowledged that I had read a lot about what they had done, and that I greatly respected what he had done.

He said after the war he become somewhat of an adrenaline junky, which eventually led him to cart racing along the Baja Peninsula. He said he rolled his cart, and one of his hands became pinned in between the ground and one of the crossbars of the roll cage, grinding his hand off at the wrist as he slid across the desert floor.

When he was pulled from the cart, everyone was urgently trying to rush him to an emergency room, but he kept demanding that someone go back and get his hand so they could reattach it. No one would go get it for him, so he finally turned around, walked up the track from his cart, and picked up his own hand to take to the hospital with him.

He finished the story with something to the effect of, "Meh, it didn't bother me. I'd seen a lot worse. I just wanted my hand, you know?" I didn't doubt that he had.

[flickme]

Thats Long Range Recon Patrol right? They had it rough.

[-=Nap=-]

I've read several books on LRRP's all very interesting. Amazing men

[illuminus33]

Here are some links for those that want to learn more about the Lrrps

http://www.*******************/1stbrgpage.htm

http://www.tomah.com/lrrp_ranger/PicIndex.htm

[NcDeuce]

The modern-day LRS and Pathfinder guys are just as hardcore, don't ever hear about them though...

[Roger Rabbit]

The modern-day LRS and Pathfinder guys are just as hardcore, don't ever hear about them though...

Perhaps thats a good thing. Security wise.

[Chuck.]

The modern-day LRS and Pathfinder guys are just as hardcore, don't ever hear about them though...

the modern LRRPs "where'nt" in nam !
so its a big difference between the LRRP in nam and the modern LRRP.

[cchccrowder]

what is the difference between modern day lrrps and vietnam lrrps, by the way do they still even have lrrps?

[haze99]

Yes, these units are still around. Now known as LRSD or LRSU.
Long-Range, Survallinece Detachment/Unit.

Each Army Division and Brigade (Seperate) have one. I think they are platoon-size element. All have attended Airborne and most go to Ranger school. Plus, some are HALO or SCUBA qualified!

[NcDeuce]

The modern-day LRS and Pathfinder guys are just as hardcore, don't ever hear about them though...

the modern LRRPs "where'nt" in nam !
so its a big difference between the LRRP in nam and the modern LRRP.

http://www.online-thecatsmeow.com/images/Emoticons/clap2.gif

[Poontang_Dan]

Well don't just leave us hanging here, tell us about the lrrp's in those photos Illuminus?

* Well being a lrrp enthusiast myself with a Vietnam era warm spot an' all I'd like to see a discussion on these fellas a little more than the fact they rule...

They just simply presented what was best in the us Vietnam effort.

[haze99]

LRRP, LRP, now LRSU missions (to my understanding) is to provide forward eyes and ears for the division or brigade commander. Pretty much they observe, confirm and relay. They operate behind enemy lines. (NO door kicking)

Now with the advent of UAV's, this will help in relaying battlefield information. Of course it will only help the LRSU that much more!

[Poontang_Dan]

lrp = lrrp. At the time both of the terms were used to describe long range recon patrols, there is no difference(I do not mean that Haze doesn't know that). Later the lrrps transformed into ranger companies.

I am basing this on the best(at least to my knowledge) available literature lrrp source, Lanning's "Inside The LRRPs". In case you guys haven't read it, get it now! You can get the cheap softcover version for a few lousy bucks. It's basically a semianalytic introduction on the LRRPs: who they were, what they did, how they operated, what equipment they operated with. It's all there in a very compact form. A great read!

[Poontang_Dan]

I'd like to hear some good recommendations for reading on the lrrps in VietNam. Anyone got any good ones?

Here's two that tell a good story, I do recommend them. They are both written by former lrrps.

--Larry Chambers - Recondo
Mr Chambers is a great writer, well, maybe he's got a good editor too. But this is a great nonfiction book from his lrrp days, the famous 5th SFG Recondo School and whole lotta hairy situations in country.


--Frank Johnson - Diary Of An Airborne Ranger(A lrrp's year in the combat zone)
A honest nonfictional, actual, real diary(!) of Mr Johnson's year in the L Co(lrrp) in country. Down-to-earth style of telling, you really get a glimpse of one man's year in a lrrp company.Quite frankly, he sounds like a 19-year old. And that is because he was at the time of his diary writing.

Oh also, Illuminus forgot a really good link to the lrrps: http://lrrp.com (duh!)

[illuminus33]

Sorry I was gone for a few days and didn't have a chance to respond earlier.

I called them that because they would go on patrols with normally 6 men sometimes 12, deep into enemy territory for up to 6 days at a time to recon enemy movements, locate bunkers, set ambuses and assess bomb damage. Often their only support came from Arties or cobra heli's. They would get inserted by hueys and their only means for getting out was by huey meaning if the "**** hit the fan" they often were on their own or atleast had to fend for themselves until an extraction heli could get in for them. Alot of times the heli's couldn't get in due to weather so a 4 day recon could turn into more. What really amazes me about them was the fact that they were all voluteers. I've been reading alot of first account books about their missions and lives and it's been very interesting to say the least.

some books i would suggest reading are :

"LRRP Team Leader" by John Burford
"Eyes Behind the Lines" and "The Eyes of the Eagle" by Gary A. Linderer
"Recondo" and "Death in the A Shau Valley" by larry chambers
"Charlie Rangers" by Don Ericson and John L Rotundo

if anyone is interested I could suggest some other books by navy seals and/or snipers just send me a PM.

Oh and Dan i have to say after reading Larry's story about the lightning strike and then reading it from Gary's side really added to the story. I love when I get a chance to read the same story from two different people that experienced it.

[OldRecon]

I'm surprised the units was only of platoon size for a whole division. In the Norwegian army we have a whole squadron/company of troops with a similar modus operandi for each division in the mobilisation structure + each brigade also have a full squadron/company of troops operating more or less in the same way though limited to medium depth penetration level.
Then on the other hand you also have divisional helo-recce and mech-rech assets we don't have.
Also somewhat surprised at the size of the patrols, 10-12 men where units employed on similar missions of other nations, like SAS, Gurkha independent para coy,... etc., normay suffice with 4-5 men (4 gives neater pairing if patrols are split vs. the 5th man comes handy with recards to casevac and carriage of extra stores).
Mentioned cases of numbers of purple hearts given to certain indiviual "lurps" also suggest a bolder "advance to contact" mode of operating than similar forces elsewhere?

[Poontang_Dan]

OldRecon, originally the lrrp teams were actually smaller, according to Lanning. The first teams were 5 man patrols. It's also an interesting detail, that it was Col. Hackworth (of whom I have great respect btw) who first started calling the recon patrols lrrps. Anyway, only later the teams were beefed up to 6, but some teams if I've understood correctly, were strength of 8. Also, the strength of long range recon wasn't quite that lacking. There was the lrrp company for the divisions and a strenghened platoon for separate brigades.

One has to remember that the lurps originally weren't in the army organization. There just weren't any lrrps! I'll guess these guys filled a need!

[OldRecon]

Seems to underline the need for flexible recon solutions for armies with world wide commitments.
With more emphasis on foot recon in close country/restricted mobility terrain vs. mechanized recce in more open accessible terrain.
Supplemented on both instances with helo/air recon assets.
I guess at the time of the start of the Vietnam melee, the US Army was too much oriented towards a mechanised war in Europe and thus somewhat off balance in its recon elements with regards to other scenarios.
As for the emphasis on firepower with US LRRP units, the (Norwegian) unit I served in as a conscript was almost at the opposite end of the scale with too much emphasis on stealth. Though that have changed since.
No doubt through its contact with USMC Force Recon as hosts for elements of that force on winter training here.
Though still think they are somewhat less firepower oriented than similar US units.

[MEGR]

Phantom Warriors vol. 1,2,3 are excellent books about Lrps, Lrrps, and Rangers in Vietnam.