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MACV-SOG Awarded Presidential Unit Citation
Award Period: 24 January 1964 to 30 April 1972
General Order # 2001-25

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, I have today awarded THE PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION (ARMY) FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM TO THE STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS GROUP, MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND, VIETNAM SOG-MACV 11:00 AM April 4th, 2001 at Ft. Bragg, NC

The Studies and Observations Group is cited for extraordinary heroism, great combat achievement and unwavering fidelity while executing unheralded top secret missions deep behind enemy lines across Southeast Asia. Incorporating volunteers from all branches of the Armed Forces, and especially, U.S . Army Special Forces, SOG's ground, air and sea units fought officially denied actions which contributed immeasurably to the American war effort in Vietnam.

MACV-SOG reconnaissance teams composed of Special Forces soldiers and indigenous personnel penetrated the enemy's most dangerous redoubts in the jungled Laotian wilderness and the sanctuaries of eastern Cambodia. Pursued by human trackers and even bloodhounds, these small teams outmaneuvered, out fought and outran their numerically superior foe, to uncover key enemy facilities, rescue downed pilots, plant wiretaps, mines and electronic sensors, capture valuable enemy: prisoners, ambush convoys, discover and assess targets for B-52 strikes, and inflict casualties all out of proportion to their own losses. When enemy counter-measures became dangerously effective, SOG operators innovated their own counters, from high altitude parachut- ing and unusual explosive devices, to tactics as old as the French and Indian War. Fighting alongside their Montagnard, Chinese Nung, Cambodian and Vietnamese allies, Special Forces-led Hatchet Force companies and platoons staged daring raids against key enemy facilities in Laos and Cambodia, overran major munitions and supply stockpiles, and blocked enemy highways to choke off the flow of supplies to South Vietnam.

SOG's cross-border operations proved an effective economy-of-force, compelling the North Vietnamese Army to divert 50,000 soldiers to rear area security duties, far from the battlefields of South Vietnam. Supporting these hazardous missions were SOG's own U.S. and South Vietnamese Air Force transport and helicopter squadrons, along with USAF Forward Air Controllers and helicopter units of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. These courageous aviators often flew through heavy fire to extract SOG operators from seemingly hopeless situations, saving lives by selflessly risking their own. SOG's Vietnamese naval surface forces -instructed and advised by U.S. Navy SEALs -boldly raided North Vietnam's coast and won surface victories against the North Vietnamese Navy, while indigenous agent teams penetrated the very heartland of North Vietnam.

Despite casualties that sometimes became universal, SOG's operators never wavered, but fought throughout the war with the same flair, fidelity and intrepidity that distinguished SOG from its beginning. The Studies and Observations Group' s combat prowess, martial skills and unacknowledged sacrifices saved many American lives, and provide a paragon for America' s future special operations forces.

President of the United States
George Walker Bush

By direction of the Secretary of Defense, under the provisions of the Department of Defense 1348.33M, dated 1996, award of the Presidential Unit Citation to the following units of the Armed Forces of the United States and cobelligerent nations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941, is confirmed according to AR 600-8-22, paragraph 7-2: MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND, VIETNAM, STUDIES AND OBSERVATION GROUP

24 JANUARY 1964 TO 30 APRIL 1972 and the following assigned or attached units:

• Command and Control Detachment, 5th Special Forces Group, Danang 1 January 1965 to 31 December 1968;
• Special Operations Augmentation, Command and Control North, 5th Special Forces Group, Danang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1968 to 31 December 1971;
• Task Force One, Advisory Element, U.S. Army Vietnam, Danang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1971 to 30 April 1972;
• Special Operations Augmentation, Command and Control Central, 5th Special Forces Group, Kontum, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1969 to 31 December 1971;
• Task Force Two, Advisory Element, U.S. Army Vietnam, Kontum, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1971 to 30 April 1972;
• Company E (Provisional), Detachment C-5, 5th Special Forces Group, Ho Ngoc Tao, Republic of Vietnam, 1 June 1967 to 31 October 1967;
• Project Omega, Detachment B-50, 5th Special Forces Group, Kontum, Republic of Vietnam, 1 J une 1967 to 31 October 1967;
• Project Sigma, Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group, Ho Ngoc Tao, Republic of Vietnam, 1 June 1967 to 31 October 1967;
• Special Operations Augmentation, Command and Control South, 5th Special Forces Group, Ban Me Thuot, Republic of Vietnam, 1 November 1967 to 1 No vember 1971;
• Task Force Three, Advisory Element, U.S. Army Vietnam, Ban Me Thuot, Republic of Vietnam, 2 November 1971 to 30 April 1972;
• Detachment B-53, 5th Special Forces Group, Camp Long Thanh, Republic of Vietnam, 24 January 1964 to 31 December 1971;
• Training Center Advisory Element, U.S. Army Vietnam, Camp Long Thanh, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1971 to 30 April 1972

• Naval Advisory Detachment, Danang,Republic of Vietnam;
• One U.S. Navy EC-121 Aircraft and Crew based at Saigon, Republic of Vietnam

• Units assigned individually to Studies and Observation Group staffs.

• 1st Flight Detachment, Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 24 January 1964 to 31 December 1971;
• 15th Air Commando Squadron, Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 January 1966 to 15 November 1968;
• 15th Special Operations Squadron, Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 16 November 1968 to 15 November 1970;
• 90th Special Operations Squadron, (less non-Studies and Observation Group Pony Express detachment at Nakhon Phanom AFB, Thailand), Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 June 1967 to 31 August 1968;
• 20th Special Operations Squadron, Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, 1 November 1968 to 31 March 1972

• Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam - Studies and Observation Group, Saigon, Republic of Vietnam

• 219th Helicopter Squadron, Danang. Republic of Vietnam