Serving Your Country: The Emotional Toll of Military Service

[NewScientist]

Art - there are more, just not officially recognised due to the areas in which the troops operated or the way in which the troops were liberated etc.

 

[Art]

Art - there are more, just not officially recognised due to the areas in which the troops operated or the way in which the troops were liberated etc.

To keep this discussion factual do you have a reference to prove this statement?

 

[NewScientist]

Nope - I thought common sense would prevail.

 

[1123581321]

most of that SOG stuff no one knows about, its called classified. i know that more people excaped than that duering the course of the war. perhaps you are thinking only of airmen who excaped from places like the hanoi hilton.

fibonacci

 

[Art]

most of that SOG stuff no one knows about, its called classified. i know that more people excaped than that duering the course of the war. perhaps you are thinking only of airmen who excaped from places like the hanoi hilton.

fibonacci

source please?

 

[NewScientist]

Okay art - do you understand the word CLASSIFIED. And you nieve enough to believe that there are people the DOD do not want to become known - or more precisely some of their missions?

America has, and always will, be forced to make black bog ops and as such they will never appear on figures for casulaties as the people involved do not officially exist - they have no dog tags.

-NS

 

[Art]

Okay art - do you understand the word CLASSIFIED. And you nieve enough to believe that there are people the DOD do not want to become known - or more precisely some of their missions?

America has, and always will, be forced to make black bog ops and as such they will never appear on figures for casulaties as the people involved do not officially exist - they have no dog tags.

-NS

Are you naive enough to believe CIA operatives and the like, which I presume you are referring to, sign on for 3 month tours of duty at their discretion. Fib's post claims he KNOWS more than the people I listed escaped during the Vietnam war and so I have asked him for his source. I am particularly curious as to how somebody under the age of 17 has access to classified information.

 

[NewScientist]

I don't mean the Company, I'm talking about US Army Spec Ops, http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/BOOKS/Vietnam/90-23/90-23C.htm gives you a break down of deployments, these are the types of people you do not acknowledge the position of, nor the type of mission they are on.

 

[Art]

I don't mean the Company, I'm talking about US Army Spec Ops, http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/BOOKS/Vietnam/90-23/90-23C.htm gives you a break down of deployments, these are the types of people you do not acknowledge the position of, nor the type of mission they are on.

For goodness sake read your own reference. It gives extremely detailed information on the activities of this group during Vietnam including the names and ranks of those who won the highest honours. To suggest the names (and even existence) of special forces who escaped from POW camps is 'classified' is as ludicrous as it is ridiculous. I'd ask why on Earth you imagine this would be so secret (as if it is identities that are the issue then anon. labeling such as soldier A etc has worked well in the past) but to be honest I really don't care.

 

[NewScientist]

Okay - let me break it down for you - this is taken from WikI as I do not have time to write my own version:

Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention granted the POW rights to captured military personnel, some guerrilla fighters and certain civilians.

In principle, to be entitled to prisoner of war status, the captured servicemember must have conducted operations according to the laws and customs of war, e.g. be part of a chain of command, wear a uniform and bear arms openly. Thus, franc-tireurs, terrorists and spies may be excluded.

End of Wiki

So, a Spec Ops operative who does not wear a uniform is not classed as a POW - and it is not in the interests of the detaining force to make them a POW as this prevents them from torturing them. You may argue in 'Nam that this doesn't matter - however you must recognise that the DOD does not recognise some spec ops missions - thus the term black bag - the DOD has no link to the soldiers and as such has complete deniability.


-NS