Project GAMMA: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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Detachment B-57 arrived in Vietnam in June, 1967. On 26 February 1968 it was moved from [[Saigon]] to [[Nha Trang]] and it received the designation Project GAMMA on 1 April 1968, in conjunction with other special forces units such as Project DELTA (Detachment B-52) and Project SIGMA (Detachment B-56), both responsible for Special Recon.<ref>{{cite book |title= Vietnam Order of Battle|last=Stanton |first= Shelby L.|authorlink= |coauthors= |year= 2003|publisher= Stackpole Books|location= |isbn= 0811700712|page= |pages= 244-245|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=aUg2zQ9JpHQC&pg=PA244&lpg=PA244&dq=Detachment+B-57&source=bl&ots=jKM1ymiqhB&sig=_d-dyhJqsGBaC4LoVVGIMmBEfkk&hl=en&ei=M4wySsTVLZW0MJ3b_IkK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#PPA245,M1|accessdate=13 June 2009}}</ref> Members of the detachment operated from nine sites under the cover of civil affairs and psychological operations offices.<ref name="Stanton_1985_196">Stanton (1988), p. 196</ref> |
Detachment B-57 arrived in Vietnam in June, 1967. On 26 February 1968 it was moved from [[Saigon]] to [[Nha Trang]] and it received the designation Project GAMMA on 1 April 1968, in conjunction with other special forces units such as [[Project DELTA]] (Detachment B-52) and [[Project SIGMA]] (Detachment B-56), both responsible for Special Recon.<ref>{{cite book |title= Vietnam Order of Battle|last=Stanton |first= Shelby L.|authorlink= |coauthors= |year= 2003|publisher= Stackpole Books|location= |isbn= 0811700712|page= |pages= 244-245|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=aUg2zQ9JpHQC&pg=PA244&lpg=PA244&dq=Detachment+B-57&source=bl&ots=jKM1ymiqhB&sig=_d-dyhJqsGBaC4LoVVGIMmBEfkk&hl=en&ei=M4wySsTVLZW0MJ3b_IkK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#PPA245,M1|accessdate=13 June 2009}}</ref> Members of the detachment operated from nine sites under the cover of civil affairs and psychological operations offices.<ref name="Stanton_1985_196">Stanton (1988), p. 196</ref> |
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Project Gamma was responsible for obtaining intelligence on Cambodian support for the activities of the NCA and VC, as well as VC camps within Cambodia. At this they were remarkably successful. The top intelligence officer on [[Creighton Abrams|General Abrams']] staff stated in October 1968 that Project GAMMA was providing 65 percent of the known data on NVA base camps and strengths in Cambodia, as well as 75 percent of the same data on South Vietnam.<ref name=Seals2007> Seals, Bob (2007) The "Green Beret Affair": A Brief Introduction, militaryhistoryonline.com http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/20thCentury/articles/greenberets.aspx</ref> According to historian [[Shelby Stanton]], by early 1969 Detachment B-57 "had developed into the finest and most productive intelligence-collection operation the United States had in Southeast Asia". Stanton attributes this success to the South Vietnamese authorities not being aware of operations conducted by the detachment's indigenous agents.<ref name="Stanton_1985_196" /> |
Project Gamma was responsible for obtaining intelligence on Cambodian support for the activities of the NCA and VC, as well as VC camps within Cambodia. At this they were remarkably successful. The top intelligence officer on [[Creighton Abrams|General Abrams']] staff stated in October 1968 that Project GAMMA was providing 65 percent of the known data on NVA base camps and strengths in Cambodia, as well as 75 percent of the same data on South Vietnam.<ref name=Seals2007> Seals, Bob (2007) The "Green Beret Affair": A Brief Introduction, militaryhistoryonline.com http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/20thCentury/articles/greenberets.aspx</ref> According to historian [[Shelby Stanton]], by early 1969 Detachment B-57 "had developed into the finest and most productive intelligence-collection operation the United States had in Southeast Asia". Stanton attributes this success to the South Vietnamese authorities not being aware of operations conducted by the detachment's indigenous agents.<ref name="Stanton_1985_196" /> |
Revision as of 06:54, 28 August 2009
Project GAMMA | |
---|---|
Active | 1968 - 1970 |
Country | United States of America |
Branch | United States Army |
Type | Covert Operations |
Role | Intelligence |
Size | Detachment, 6 US, 460 Indigenous personnel |
Engagements | Vietnam War (Cambodia) |
Insignia | |
Flash Colors | File:5SFG trim.gif |
Project GAMMA was the name given to Detachment B-57, Company E (Special Operations), 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, U. S. Army in Vietnam from 1966 to 1970. It was responsible for covert intelligence collection operations in Cambodia.
History
Detachment B-57 arrived in Vietnam in June, 1967. On 26 February 1968 it was moved from Saigon to Nha Trang and it received the designation Project GAMMA on 1 April 1968, in conjunction with other special forces units such as Project DELTA (Detachment B-52) and Project SIGMA (Detachment B-56), both responsible for Special Recon.[1] Members of the detachment operated from nine sites under the cover of civil affairs and psychological operations offices.[2]
Project Gamma was responsible for obtaining intelligence on Cambodian support for the activities of the NCA and VC, as well as VC camps within Cambodia. At this they were remarkably successful. The top intelligence officer on General Abrams' staff stated in October 1968 that Project GAMMA was providing 65 percent of the known data on NVA base camps and strengths in Cambodia, as well as 75 percent of the same data on South Vietnam.[3] According to historian Shelby Stanton, by early 1969 Detachment B-57 "had developed into the finest and most productive intelligence-collection operation the United States had in Southeast Asia". Stanton attributes this success to the South Vietnamese authorities not being aware of operations conducted by the detachment's indigenous agents.[2]
According to some sources, GAMMA was also responsible for intelligence operation against Norodom Sihanouk[4].
Green Beret Affair
In early 1969 some of Detachment B-57's sources of information started to disappear. This led the detachment's leadership to conclude that its intelligence agents had been compromised.[2] In the spring of 1969 a reconnaissance detachment operating in Cambodia captured photos showing Thai Khac Chuyen, a South Vietnamese GAMMA agent, meeting with North Vietnamese intelligence officers. Chuyen was subsequently arrested and interrogated for ten days, with polygraph tests indicating that he had compromised security arrangements and was working with the Viet Cong. Various ways of dealing with Chuyen were discussed within Detachment B-57, including possibly killing him. While the 5th Special Forces Group's executive officer strongly opposed killing Chuyen, the detachment's commander and operations officer met with the CIA headquarters in Saigon who suggested that "elimination ... might be the best course of action".[5]
On 20 June 1969, three officers assigned to Project GAMMA drugged Chuyen, took him out on a boat into Nha Trang Bay, shot him twice in the head and dumped his body into the South China Sea. A cover story claiming that Chuyen had been sent on a one-way mission as a test of his loyalty was later approved by the 5th Special Forces Group's commander, Colonel Robert B. Rheault.[6]
Later, Sergeant Alvin Smith, Chuyen's former handler, became concerned for his safety and sought sanctuary with the CIA in Nha Trang where he revealed that Chuyen had been killed. General Abrams heard of the matter and ordered the arrest of Smith and seven involved officers, including Colonel Rheault.[7] The case went to trial and was covered extensively by the media. The Army defense lawyers for the 8 soldiers called General Abrams and CIA officials to the witness stand. Both declined to get involved in the proceedings and testify. Finally in September of 1969 Secretary of the Army, Stanley Resor announced to all that all charges would be dropped against the 8 soldiers since the CIA, in the interests of national security, had refused to make its personnel available as witnesses, therefore making any manner of a fair trial impossible.[3]
Project GAMMA was deactivated on 31 March 1970.
An official Army history of the Green Berets, published after the Vietnam War,[8] does not mention Project GAMMA or Detachment B57. Although the Pentagon has declassified much material about Green Beret crossborder operations inside Laos and Cambodia, nothing on Project Gamma has been made available.[3]
Organization
Project Gamma used members of the Khmer Serei and the Khmer Kampuchean Krom in its activities inside Cambodia.
It consisted of five collection teams supervising 13 nets with 98 indigenous agents.[3]
A listing of the personnel assigned to Detachment B57 "GAMMA" is available from Radix Press Houston, Texas. [9]
See Also
Notes
- ^ Stanton, Shelby L. (2003). Vietnam Order of Battle. Stackpole Books. pp. 244–245. ISBN 0811700712. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
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(help) - ^ a b c Stanton (1988), p. 196
- ^ a b c d Seals, Bob (2007) The "Green Beret Affair": A Brief Introduction, militaryhistoryonline.com http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/20thCentury/articles/greenberets.aspx
- ^ Hersh, Seymour M.,The Price of Power, Kissinger in the Nixon White House, Summit Books, 1983, paper, Cambodia: The Coup p175; ISBN 10: 0671447602
- ^ Stanton (1988), p. 197
- ^ Stanton (1988), pp. 197–198
- ^ Stanton (1988), p. 198
- ^ Kelly, Francis John (1972) History of Special Forces in Vietnam, 1961-1971. Center for Military History, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C. http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/BOOKS/Vietnam/90-23/90-23C.htm
- ^ Sherman, Stephen; WORK-IN-PROGRESS, Who's Who from Detachment B-57 (Project GAMMA), Radix Press 2006. See reference below.
References
- Hersh, Seymour M. (1983). The Price of Power, Kissinger in the Nixon White House. Summit Books. ISBN 0671447602.
- "The "Green Beret Affair": A Brief Introduction". Seals, Bob. militaryhistoryonline.co 2007.
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- "WORK-IN-PROGRESS, Who's Who from Detachment B-57(Project GAMMA)". Sherman, Stephen. Radix Press 2006.
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- Stanton, Shelby L. (1985). Green Berets at War. U.S. Army Special Forces in Southeast Asia, 1956-1975. Ballantine. ISBN 0804118841.
- Stein, Jeff (1993). A Murder in Wartime: The Untold Spy Story that Changed the Course of the Vietnam War.
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Periodical References to the Green Beret Affair
- Rowan, Carl T. (October 10, 1969). "Russian Propaganda Mills Run Wild on Green Berets". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- Hoffman, Fred S. (September 20, 1969). "Green Beret Trouble Sets Off Bitter Trouble". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Beret Case is Dizzy Mess". Spokane Daily Chronicle. August 18, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Army Names Trigger Man in Green Beret Slaying". The Evening Independent. September 27, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Green Berets Free of Murder Charge". Rome News-Tribune. September 30, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- Kraft, Joseph. "Green Beret Case Indicates Willingness to Hide Truth". Toledo Blade. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- Baker, Russel. "Green Berets of Mafia: A Question of Style". Pittsburg Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
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- "Green Berets on Trial". TIME. August 22, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- Kaiser, Robert G. (August 19, 1969). "Brother of Victim Breaks Army Secrecy on Berets, Tell as to Saigon Press". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Green Beret Denied Release". The Evening Independent. August 15, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- Anderson, Jack (August 19, 1969). "Green Berets Usually Left Executions to Vietnamese". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "8 Green Beret Soldiers Held, Charged in Killing". Toledo Blade. August 6, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Green Beret Inquiry to Reopen Soon". The Age. Aug 18, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Seven Green Berets Get 'Routine' Post in US". St. Petersburg Times. October 7, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Army to reveal details of case against berets". Eugene Register-Guard. Setptember 26, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
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- "Famed Attorney to Aid Defense of Green Berets". Pittsburg Post-Gazette. September 20, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "7 Green Berets Leave for Home". The Spokesman-Review. October 1, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Green Berets Freed". The Age. August 19, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- "Who Killed Thai Khac Chuyen? Not I, Said the CIA". TIME. September 05, 1969. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
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