Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG

Major John L. Plaster recalls his remarkable covert activities as a member of a special operations team during the Vietnam War in a “comprehensive, informative, and often exciting…account of an important part of the overall Vietnam tragedy” (The New York Times).

Before there were Navy SEALs, there was SOG. Short for “Studies and Operations Group,” it was a secret operations force in Vietnam, the most highly decorated unit in the war. Although their chief mission was disrupting the main North Vietnamese supply route into South Vietnam, SOG commandos also rescued downed helicopter pilots and fellow soldiers, and infiltrated deep into Laos and Cambodia to identify bombing targets, conduct ambushes, mine roads, and capture North Vietnamese soldiers for intelligence purposes.

Always outnumbered, they matched wits in the most dangerous environments with an unrelenting foe that hunted them with trackers and dogs. Ten entire teams disappeared and another fourteen were annihilated. This is the dramatic, page-turning true story of that team’s dedication, sacrifice, and constant fight for survival. In the “gripping” (Publishers Weekly) Secret Commandos, John Plaster vividly describes these unique warriors who gave everything fighting for their country—and for each other.

• SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam
• Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam
• Uncommon Valor: The Recon Company that Earned Five Medals of Honor and Included America's Most Decorated Green Beret
• SOG Chronicles: Volume One
• SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam
• On The Ground: The Secret War in Vietnam
• Across The Fence
• US MACV-SOG Reconnaissance Team in Vietnam (Warrior)
• 15 Months in SOG: A Warrior's Tour
• We Few: U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam