Posted: 4/20/2026 8:18:05 PM EDT
[Last Edit: kotengu1][Edited]
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As always, the most detailed and up to date information will be on our Facebook event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1685698505731168/ For those non-Facebookers, I will try to post the most important bits here.  Intro: For the 10th Anniversary match, we are returning to the origins of the 5th Special Forces Group: MACV-SOG. The Legion Memorial Run N Gun is a centerfire biathlon – competitors will complete a 5k-ish or 10k-ish wilderness trail run combined with a shooting competition. The event is a test of man and equipment alike. It is intended to give participants an idea of how being hot, cold, exhausted, and challenged by the environment affects their shooting, and to test the effectiveness of their gear under field conditions. This event is not intended for inexperienced shooters – all participants are expected to be familiar with the operation of their firearms, and to observe basic principles of firearm safety at all times. With the exception of emergencies, Range Officers (ROs) are not allowed to help participants in any way. Good attitudes are a must. If you are the type of person who gets upset when minor changes are made to a plan or when you don’t always get your way, this is not the event for you. Basics: Participants will receive both a score for their run based on how long it took them to complete the course, and a score for their shooting based on how long it took them to clear each course of fire. The run score and shooting score will be equally weighted in determining the participant’s final score. This is true run-what-you-brung field-style shooting. For the most part, if you want to carry it for 5 or 10 clicks, be our guest. There are THREE equipment classes to reflect the different ways Green Berets fight: "MACV-SOG" in which you use iron sights only for both rifle and pistol (no optic of any kind), and your pistol must either be a single stack or a Browning Hi-Power; “Lightfighter” in which you can carry whatever you want, but are limited to one pistol and one rifle; or “Operator” in which you must FINISH the race with a pack weighing at least 25% of your bodyweight (not including your main rifle, pistol, and belt/chest rig) – but that pack may (and should) contain ANYTHING that can give you an advantage. The only limit is that pistol targets must be engaged with pistol rounds, and rifle targets must be engaged with rifle rounds. Want to carry a PCC? Be our guest. Think a scoped bolt gun or different upper in 6.5 Creedmore will give you an advantage? Go for it. You can even carry a shotgun to engage steel pistol targets if you want (birdshot only). Any weapons carried must be IN ADDITION to a primary rifle and pistol, and weight of the pack MAY include the weight of armor plates if you want to either wear or carry them in the pack. Packs may be removed prior to shooting, as that is how 5th Group would generally do it as well – but this will be done on your run time and BEFORE any wait time starts. Shooters are expected to have all their firearms sighted in and all their gear ready to go on the morning of the shoot. There will be no zeroing at the event. Think of this as a test of how you and your equipment would perform in a Second Amendment situation if you had to go take care of business at your current state of readiness, whatever that is. Run order will be more or less random. We will try to be accommodating to participants who wish to share firearms or equipment (we can have one person run in the morning and the other in the afternoon), or to partners who wish to run together. Due to issues with back-ups and large groups in the past, only two runners can start together. Equipment: The only equipment that is strictly required to participate is a safe center fire rifle, a safe center fire pistol, enough ammo to clear the course (at least twice the minimum required hit count is recommended), eye protection, ear protection, and some form of stopwatch. Rifle targets must be engaged with rifle rounds (no larger than 30-06), and pistol targets must be engaged with pistol rounds. In everything but the “Operator” class, competitors must carry one rifle and one pistol. Everything else is up to the participant. Shooters may use any type of gear they want to carry their equipment with, the only requirement being that pistols must be carried in a secure holster that covers the trigger if they are to be carried loaded. Rifles may be carried any way you like, as long as they remain pointed in a safe direction. You may not use tracers or armor piercing bullets that have a hardened penetrator core, as we will be using lots of steel targets that we don’t want to see damaged. To be safe – if your bullet attracts a magnet or has a green tip, leave it at home. Rules: First and foremost, all participants will be expected to comply with basic firearms safety at all times. If you demonstrate inability or unwillingness to follow basic firearm safety, you will be asked to leave, with no refund and no apology. Muzzles must be pointed in a safe direction at all times, and fingers must be off the trigger unless the firearm is pointed at a target. Weapons shall only be loaded when a shooter is at a stage, after the RO has given the "load and make ready" or “fire” command, depending on the stage. Some stages will be active, involving moving and shooting. Firearms may remain loaded during movement, but strict muzzle discipline must be maintained. Shooters will be disqualified (DQ’d) and not allowed to finish the course for the following violations: having a loaded rifle anywhere EXCEPT on a shooting stage after the “beep”, dropping a loaded weapon anywhere on the course, pointing a loaded weapon at someone, or having a Negligent Discharge (ND). It is solely the judgement of my Staff that I trust if these should occur, and if you argue with an RO you will lose. Procedures: When a shooter approaches a station, he will be required to show the RO an empty mag well and empty chamber on his weapons. If another shooter is currently on the stage when he arrives, the one who just arrived will be instructed by the RO to start his stopwatch to keep track of his wait time (this will be subtracted off the participant’s run time when his run score is calculated). It is purely the shooter’s responsibility to keep track of his wait time. The ROs have no responsibility whatsoever to help you do this. Even if an RO offers to help you keep track of your time, you have no one but yourself to blame if this is not done. When the shooter is ready to shoot the stage, the RO will record his wait time if any. The shooter will be given a quick summary of the course of fire. The RO will ask if the shooter understands the course of fire. If the answer is yes, the shooter may be given time to load one or more weapons, and then the beep of a shot timer will start the firing portion of the shooting stage. All stages will have a zone where the shooter must fire from -- either a particular hole in a barricade that you must shoot through, or a marked zone on the ground, in which every part of your body or equipment which touches the ground must remain inside of when you fire. Hits made from outside the designated area will not count toward completion of the course of fire. Every shooting stage will have a 3 minute time limit. This is to keep the runners moving and to prevent large backups of shooters waiting to shoot a stage. At the end of that 3 minute period, the shooter will be stopped and time penalties applied to their score for any target not fully neutralized as per the course of fire requirements. If for any reason the “cease fire” command is given, you will immediately cease fire, holster your handgun, and unload your rifle. You will do likewise when you complete a stage or time out. The RO should tell you your time for the stage. The RO will record your time on their iPad. You may want to carry a pen and notepad to keep track of your score in there is a mix-up with the scoring. Every shooter must show the RO an empty mag well and chamber on all weapons before leaving each stage. The RO will give directions on where to go to continue down the trail. Shooters are NOT required to leave their rifle’s bolt open during the run… this is actually discouraged, as it will allow lots of that beautiful Tennessee red clay to accumulate inside the action. There will be ample opportunity for this to happen on the course. The Run: The path for participants to follow will be marked with brightly colored flags and/or tape. Shooters must stay close to the marked path. Do not cut corners. Failure to follow the marked trail may take you into the impact area of a hot range!!! If the trail takes you through some difficult terrain, this is on purpose! Your Fitness: This event is in a remote area, and you need to be aware of over-exertion. We should have some folks with medical skills on hand, but your health is your responsibility. If you start having problems, slow down... drink some water... listen to your body! There is no shame in walking the course; know yourself and your limitations. Accommodations: Cedar Creek Precision is in a remote area outside of Hopkinsville, KY. Primitive camping onsite is available for $10/night. Full lodging and restaurants are available in Hopkinsville itself. There will be people on site all day Friday, as the ROs will be running the course. Registration for the day matches open at 5:00 a.m. and closes at 6:00 a.m on the morning of the match. The safety briefing begins at 6:00 a.m. Anyone who does not get signed in by 6:00 will not be allowed to participate, so be on time. The first runner will be sent out at 6:30 a.m., and another runner will be sent out in a uniform interval thereafter. The ROs will have run the course the day before. They will be scored along with all the other contestants. After the last runner has crossed the finish line, we will calculate the results. The winners will be announced, and trophies and prizes will be awarded as 5th Group sees fit. How to Sign Up: The registration fee for the Legion Memorial Run N Gun is $200for the 5k (Saturday) or $250 for the 10k (Sunday) - which includes a match t-shirt. Registration will be limited in number so all runners can finish the course before dark. Registration will be handled through Practiscore, and we will collect full payment online at the time of registration. Make sure you are familiar with all of our rules and procedures before signing up. All participants must register under their true names. Tickets are non-transferable. Pre-registration is mandatory, and no walk-ons will be allowed on match day as space and time is limited. Pre-registration will open 90 days prior to match day. Full refunds will be given (minus the 3% credit card processing fee we don't want SFA to eat) from now until 30 days before match day upon cancellation/withdrawal. Between 30 days and 14 days prior to match day, a 50% refund will be given. From 14 days prior to match day, NO REFUND will be given if you withdraw from the match. Be sure you can come before you sign up. Lastly - there is one "discount" check boxes at the bottom of the registration form, just before you enter your credit card number. This is for active or retired 5th Group personnel, who get in for 1/2 price. IF YOU ARE NOT THIS AND YOU TAKE A DISCOUNT WITHOUT HAVING EARNED IT, I WILL DELETE YOUR ENTRY AND KEEP YOUR MONEY FOR SFA. "Honor" is a word that has a strong meaning at this match and with these folks, and we take it seriously here. Do not select either of these discount boxes unless you are 5SFG. All proceeds from the match will go the Special Forces Association, Chapter 38. Learn more about them here: http://sfa38.org/ Directions: More details coming soon. Cedar Creek Precision is located at 14270 Melvin West Rd, Hopkinsville, KY 42240. |
This year instead of honoring individuals with each stage, we'll be honoring Reconnaissance Teams (RTs). From: https://www.army.mil/article/216498/macv_sog_history Reconnaissance teams (RT) consisted of two-to-three Americans and six-to-nine indigenous personnel, normally Vietnamese, Montagnards, Cambodians, or ethnic Chinese. Teams were given a variety of code names (U.S. states, poisonous snakes, weapons, tools, or weather effects). Support troops on site provided logistics, signal, medical, and military intelligence support. Each mission was unique, but most followed a similar tactical profile: after being alerted of a mission, the reconnaissance team was briefed and conducted detailed planning, rehearsals, inspections, and training, time permitting. Teams were inserted by helicopter into the target area. Team leaders were Americans and designated as One-Zeros (10), with American assistant team leaders, and radio operators serving as One-Ones (11) or One-Twos (12). Indigenous troops were Zero-Ones (01), Zero-Twos (02), and so forth. Teams were given considerable latitude regarding tactics, uniforms and weapons. Captured enemy equipment was often used. Vital communications were maintained with a Forward Air Control fixed-wing aircraft. Such airplanes coordinated for close air support for immediate extraction if a team was compromised, or upon completion of the mission. A mission lasted from three-to-five days. SOG was all-volunteer, and personnel could leave without prejudice. Can you imagine being inserted over the border into another country (where you aren't supposed to be) into the mountainous jungles, surrounded by the enemy, with only you and one other American and a small team of indig? This was everyday life for these guys. |
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Note that a new Division has been added specially for this year, and the Operator Division has been modified a little. This year you will have THREE Divisions to choose from: "MACV-SOG": iron sights only for both rifle and pistol (no optic of any kind), and your pistol must either be a single stack or a Browning Hi-Power (or clone) “Lightfighter”: carry whatever you want, but you are limited to one pistol and one rifle “Operator”: you must FINISH the race with a pack weighing at least 25% of your bodyweight (not including your main rifle, pistol, and belt/chest rig) – but that pack may (and should) contain ANYTHING that can give you an advantage. The only limit is that pistol targets must be engaged with pistol rounds, and rifle targets must be engaged with rifle rounds. Want to carry a PCC? Be our guest. Think a scoped bolt gun or different upper in 6.5 Creedmore will give you an advantage? Go for it. You can even carry a shotgun to engage steel pistol targets if you want (birdshot only). Any weapons carried must be IN ADDITION to a primary rifle and pistol, and weight of the pack MAY include the weight of armor plates if you want to either wear or carry them in the pack. Packs may be removed prior to shooting, as that is how 5th Group would generally do it as well – but this will be done on your run time and BEFORE any wait time starts.  |
 One stage this year will honor RT Fer-De-Lance. From https://www.untothebreach.net/2020/10/05/never-forgotten-rt-fer-de-lance/ On this date [5 OCTO 2020] 50 years ago a small Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) reconnaissance team found themselves outnumbered and surrounded by the North Vietnamese Army units in Laos, just ten miles or so west of the infamous A-Shau Valley. Staff Sgt. David A. “Baby-san” Davidson led the joint American-Vietnamese reconnaissance team, codenamed RT Fer-De-Lance. Davidson had earned a tremendous amount of respect during his three years with SOG, and before that, was among the first U.S. combat troops in South Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division in 1965. His assistant team leader was Sgt. Fred A. Gassman and the remaining men were Nung commandos. After RT Fer-De-Lance inserted, enemy North Vietnamese soldiers began searching for the small group. At about 1300 hours, the enemy was on three sides of the soldiers and closing in. The fight was on that evening. Davidson was the first to go down, hit in the head with machine-gun fire which sent him tumbling down a ravine. Heavily outnumbered and running out of ammunition, Gassman and his remaining squad fought off the assault while trying to coordinate an emergency extraction, but clouds obscured the area. The team had to hold out on their own until morning. made that impossible. An orbiting forward air controller (FAC) advised them that air support was available, but only if they could be vectored in via the team’s homing beacon — which fell down the cliff with Davidson. That equipment was the only way anyone was going to live through the night, and that meant Sgt. Gassman would have to go on a suicide mission to recover it. “Here goes nothing,” he told the FAC, “Wish me luck.” Gassman returned with the beacon and his fallen comrade’s body, but as the assistant team leader was calling in air strikes, his “luck” ran out. Enemy fire blew a gaping hole in his back. The surviving reconnaissance team members were extracted, but the heavy enemy presence kept search-and-rescue forces from recovering the bodies of Davidson and Gassman. A witness statement from the forward air control pilot, Capt. Evan J. Quiros (from the Coffelt Database): “On 5 October 1970, at approximately 1300 while on a visual reconnaissance mission, recon team Fer-De-Lance came up on [illegible radio frequency] said he wanted to advise that he had movement 100 meters to his North. After finishing the visual reconnaissance I went to recon team Fer-De-Lance’s area. After orbiting for twenty minutes the team leader [Staff Sgt. Davidson] came up and said he had movement on three sides. I returned to refuel and launched again at 1810 hours to obtain an remaining-over-night position from the team. As I approached the area the assistant team leader [Sgt. Gassman] came up on his emergency radio and declared an emergency extraction. He was excited and asked me to put down some ordnance. I tried several ways to reach his position but was unable because of the weather. It was night by now and visibility was less than a mile. I asked the assistant team leader to calm down and give me his status. At this time he calmed down and stated that the team leader had been hit and had fallen off a cliff and that they were taking fire from three sides, he was low on ammunition and requested immediate extraction. I told him extraction was impossible. At this time he became very calm and asked me if I had any suggestions. I asked him to find his homing-deice and I would launch a Stinger Gunship. He acknowledged and I requested a scramble launch of the gunship. I was told the gunship would arrive on scene in approximately forty-five minutes. I called the assistant team leader again and told him what I had done and he replied that the missing team leader had the instrument on him. I told him his only hope was to retrieve it. He said he would try and then said “here goes nothing — wish me luck. I did and he came up about five minutes later and said “I’ve been hit — and in the worst way.” There were several groans and then the radio went dead. About twenty minutes later a Commando came up on guard frequency and said he was moving North. I rogered and told him we would be back at first light to pull him. He acknowledged and I departed the area. ///// END OF STATEMENT/////” Sgt. Gassman was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. Records show Davidson as also having earned a Silver Star, but it is unclear whether his was awarded posthumously or prior to his final mission. Whatever their fate — the Department of Defense declared them dead the following day — we should honor their memory. As English novelist and poet George Eliot wrote: “Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.” |
 One stage this year will honor RT Montana. Unlike some of the others that just flat out disappeared on a mission or were wiped out in a single action, Montana was a team broken by casualties, reassignment, or rebuilds instead of one single event. The essay below is a little long, but I highly encourage you to read the whole thing to get just a small feel for what it was like for these guys. An excerpt: "The losses were staggering. The operational force from all three detachments never would have filled out a company formation in the typical division. Although we were only ten percent of the Special Forces contingent to vn, we accounted for over half the SF KIA and eighty-five percent of the MIA. We had more Congressional Medal of Honor winners than most infantry brigades. Of the seventeen earned by SF, eight were from SOG." Essay from: https://vvhp.vietvet.org/noise.htm "The Loudest Noise" By Sonny Hoffman Special Forces training was long and arduous for a young man eager to get into the war and prove his manhood. I could hardly believe I was supposed to wear the Green Beret as a trainee. Though it did not have a unit flash (the unit patch worn on the beret over the left eye), just a plain old green hat, it was the real thing. Throughout my training, I remained in awe of those giants wearing the colors of the 7th, the 3rd, the 10th. On occasion, we'd see the 5th. The 5th SF had a flash of black with a yellow diagonal band striped with three red lines. The fifth was in Nam, and the ones we saw were either coming or going. Seeing the fifth flash sent a chill down my spine. In '69, talk of the war was the only topic of off-duty BS sessions. Instructors laced their instruction with stories from the war. We newbies passed those stories around like baseball trading cards. The most coveted were of the projects; CCN, CCC, CCS, Delta, and Omega. We took most stories with a grain of salt. We weren't really sure the projects existed. The subject was taboo. I was with a group of students from our heavy weapons class, shooting the shit in a Bragg beer garden. The letters CCC and CCN were being tossed about wrecklessly. A figure loomed over our table and slapped the beret from the speaker's startled head. We all looked up to an angry fifth flash. The flash said, "If you stupid fuckers plan to wear that beret, you better learn to keep your God Damn mouths shut!" In the dead silence that followed, we learned. Months later, I earned my right to a glorious death, proudly sewed on my fifth flash, and packed my bags for "The Nam." I will never forget the day I saw my first SOG man. I was one month in-country and walking through the SF headquarters compound at Nha Trang with Top Kemner, our team sergeant. Top was an old Asia hand--been there since Diem Bien Phu, I think. Top took a liking to me right from the start. It bothered me that he treated me more like a son than a qualified member of the team. We were on our way to finance when a sergeant passed us wearing the gaudiest pocket patches. They were big, full of color, and very flashy. By that time, everyone wore subdued patches and rank insignia. This guy stood out like a daisy on a putting green. Top noticed my puzzled look and said, "CCN. He runs recon. That skull patch with the fire burst backing is the SOG patch. The Cobra on the right pocket is the team patch." This did not make a lot of sense to me and I bravely pressed for an explanation. He said, "They don't wear that in the field. It's mostly for the Yards. It builds team esprit. The Yards love flashy uniforms. C&C Yards get whatever they want. In the future, I'd advise you not to gawk with your tongue half hanging out. Some of those guys are a little touchy. If we're lucky, we might see some REMF captain give him a ration of shit. I once saw one lift a second louey by his lapel, bite the brim of his ball cap, spit it to the ground and say, 'That answer your question, Casey?'" Later in my first tour, while touring with the band, I got to see and play all three C&C sites. The compounds were located at Da Nang, Kontum, and Ban Me Thout. Those men were animals. They flat scared the hell out of us. If you saw the bar scene in the "Blues Brothers," imagine that without the chicken wire. Try to keep a beat to "Smoke on the Water" with a spoonless grenade rolling about your feet. Removing the blasting cap from a hand grenade and tossing it into the lap of a newbie was a favorite practical joke for those whacky guys. Boy, what fun-loving pranksters. Slightly disappointed for having survived my first tour, and feeling I needed to compensate for playing in a band, I volunteered for another with SOG. After getting a top secret clearance, I was off to Long Thanh near Saigon for One Zero school. The team leader of a SOG recon team is designated the one zero. The second American was the one one, the third was the one two. The head Yard, Nung, or Cambode was the zero one and so forth. The typical team at CCC consisted of three Americans and nine Yards. If a mission required the full complement, a one zero might be heard to say, "Were going in with the whole nine Yards." One Zero school was the SOG commando school. Here you learned the ins and outs of cross border recon, direct action missions, sabotage, and POW snatches. The class was small. Mine was eighteen and represented men from SF, Charlie Rangers, Navy SEALs, and Aussie SAS. Both officer and enlisted were treated the same. I graduated as the honor graduate from my class, got a plaque and everything. I strutted back to Kontum. First Lieutenant Bob Howard, former SFC and CMH recipient, the Recon detachment CO, congratulated me and introduced me to my one zero, Mike Sheppard of RT Montana. Mike's first words to me were, "The last two honor grads we got here weren't worth a shit. One got his team blown away; the other got ran off. Welcome to Montana, put these patches on your jungle fatigues. As soon as you get your shit squared away, I'll take you to the team house to meet the Yards." [It was almost as tough as getting accepted into the bar at VWar-l] 🙂 The Yards knew how to welcome an honor graduate even if they didn't know what one was. They liked my muscles, blond hair and blue eyes. They flipped over my name. Seems Sonny is a common Yard name. My chest got patted and I was christened Y Sonny Eban. I got the feeling that at least somebody on that team wanted to keep me from getting killed. Eventually, Sheppard and Bentley warmed to my presence and overlooked my accolade. I mailed the plaque home and never brought it up again. Most came to SOG the same way. All had to prove themselves on in-country missions. Those who stayed on an operational team saw action unlike any inside Vietnam. Across the fence (our metaphor for the boundary of Svn) it was a totally different war. On the other side of the fence, we were the VC and they operated in division-sized elements with air, arty, and tank support. Across the fence, you had no friends and no place to go but up. Across the fence, the enemy rode in trucks, walked the trails, and slept in bunkers. Across the fence was a very lonely place. Many crossed the fence and were never heard from again. The losses were staggering. The operational force from all three detachments never would have filled out a company formation in the typical division. Although we were only ten percent of the Special Forces contingent to vn, we accounted for over half the SF KIA and eighty-five percent of the MIA. We had more Congressional Medal of Honor winners than most infantry brigades. Of the seventeen earned by SF, eight were from SOG. CMH recipients are rare--living ones rarer still. Some people go through their service and never see one. I stood in a morning formation of less than thirty men with two of them--Bob Howard and Franklin Miller. Talk about feeling dwarfed by giants. These men did a remarkable job, and they did it in total anonymity. In addition, they did it without the protection of the Geneva Convention. Cross border missions were conducted sterile. That means, no rank or insignia, no dog tags, no id, no nothing that could identify them as a members of the US military. Consequently, the enemy was fully within their rights to treat captured SOG members as spies. We all knew what that meant. Surrender was never an option. The greatest fear we had was to be so badly wounded that the team would have to leave without you. Pacts were made between team members to do the unthinkable. The unthinkable was done. The second worst fear was being declared MIA. We knew that MIA was KIA, but our families would always hold out hope. Under the rules, unless a body is recovered, even if witnesses saw the guy get blown away, he went down as an MIA. Pacts were made for that, too. Some promised to cut of their buddy's head when we learned the hard way that a hand was not enough. You can still live without a hand. Others promised to tell the next of kin the truth. Sheppard had a simple solution: If twelve go in, twelve come out or none come out. When I signed on to that philosophy, I became an accepted member of RT Montana. Montana was not unique in this approach. Many teams fought to the last man and called in air strikes on the team location. We were so outnumbered across the fence, that we called ourselves Christians. The enemy were lions. I remember hearing about the demise of RT Arkansas as the one zero made his last situation report, "Lions four, Christians zero." Shortly after that, the radio went silent. When a team went down, their team house--silent, empty, a tomblike reminder--was anathema to the living. Teams got resurrected after a decent interval. Some teams have been wiped out repeatedly. McMike arrived at Kontum a month after I departed. He told me that Montana's team hooch was an empty shell when he got there. It amazes me that we did what we did. For those who fought in South Vietnam, who lost friends to mines and booby traps, who suffered from acts of sabotage, who tried to fight back at an elusive enemy who always seemed to slip away, perhaps you can take solace from our activities. We did recon, of course, but in addition we gave the enemy a dose of their own medicine. We mined their trails and planted false orders that moved units under B52 strikes. We found ammunition stockpiles and doctored rounds to explode in mortar tubes or in gun barrels. Some of their grenades blew up in their hands. We also destroyed much of their stockpiles and poisoned their food. We showed them how it is done by true professionals, and they hurt from the lesson. I watched a news documentary a few years back. The reporter interviewed the Southern NVA force commander. He asked what US unit gave him the most problem. Without hesitation, he said, "The mercenary teams led by US solders that penetrated the borders." He went on to explain that their activities forced him to place one-hundred thousand troops along the length of the Ho Chi Minh trail to protect supply lines. That was one-hundred thousand troops that were not hassling our troops. Not bad economy of force. We knew how important our mission was. We knew why it had to be a secret. We understood the risks and we made the sacrifices without notoriety. We could not even talk about what we did for ten years after leaving. I signed a document that threatened long jail time and a stiff fine for saying anything for a ten year period. America never knew until recently. MACV SOG was a part of that war from beginning to end. It was MACV SOG commando teams that attacked coastal defenses in North Vietnam that precipitated the Gulf of Tonkin incident. SOG teams operating out of bases in Thailand continued to operate long after the US exodus. I was in vn when the Green Berets went home. They went home in card board boxes. The men that wore them stayed. It was a somber formation when we took off our coveted berets and donned baseball caps. The job, however, remained the same. Shortly after that, Kent State happened. The next morning, we stood in formation sporting our new hats embroidered, "Ohio National Guard." Yes, we had our heroes. The men that flew us in; and, more importantly, flew us out, were our heroes. The Army pilots and crew that flew support missions for SOG operations flew under the most hazardous conditions. When they crossed the fence, they entered air space so laced with sophisticated anti-aircraft that fast movers had trouble. Imagine facing AAA and quad 37s in a chopper. They did, and they died. Heroic rescues were as common as five dollar whores. Vietnam had a lot of five dollar whores. How we kept our spirits up, I will never understand. Death and loss were always present. Our own, a constant specter. There is no sound so loud as the silence from a radio. |
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Registration will open Saturday June 6th at 10:00am central standard time. Because of issues with STRIPE payments in the past, we will NOT be collecting payment when you register. You will be sent payment instructions to secure your slot after you get registered, and have a limited amount of time to pay or we'll move on down the waitlist. Note the prices have gone up a little this year to $200 for the 5k and $250 for the 10k. 5k registration link: https://practiscore.com/5k-legion-memorial-run-n-gun-macv-sog-edition-2026/register 10k registration link: https://practiscore.com/10k-legion-memorial-run-n-gun-macv-sog-edition-2026/register  |
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I'm trying something new this year to raise more money for the Special Forces Association, Chpt 38 - which takes care of the soldiers and families of the 5th Special Forces Group. I have to be a little careful how I word this so I don't draw unwanted attention (mods please delete if not allowed here), so bear with me and read between the lines. Message me if you have any questions: A generous donor has provided this piece of history (pics below) to help raise funds for the match. To get a chance at owning this stick of metal and wood, go to https://www.sfa38.org/products/donation and make an online donation. For every $25 you donate, you'll get one chance at taking this stick home. Take a screenshot of your donation receipt and email it to me at [email protected] to get that chance locked in. IF YOU DO NOT EMAIL ME YOUR RECEIPT, YOU WILL NOT GET YOUR CHANCE - SFA has no way to log this if you simply make a generous donation and don't tell me. The lucky dog will be drawn at the 5k awards ceremony on Saturday night, September 5th, 2026. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE PRESENT TO WIN, AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ATTEND THE MATCH TO PARTICIPATE. I will ship this on your dime, complying with all laws. Please share this far and wide to raise as much as we can for SFA! Be careful with your wording so we don't get nuked.    https://i.imgur.com/dFbUuBC.jpeg |
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We've OK'd this in very special cases before, but today we have an official ruling on it: Full auto and FRT triggers are legal in any Division for the first time this year. You want to put a subgun in your pack to make weight for Operator Division? Great. You have an FRT trigger in your rifle and know how to run it? Fine. With the caveat that if any RO feels you prove incompetence while running BRRRTTT, you'll get a stage DQ and be restricted to semi-auto the rest of the match. If you go completely nuts and rounds leave the range fan, that's just like an ND with any weapon and is a Match DQ. Stay completely under control and safe - just like with any other weapon - and you'll be fine. And as always, all laws apply. DON'T. SCREW. THIS. UP. FOR. THE. REST. OF. US. Oh yeah - and you're going to want to pack more ammo. A LOT more ammo! :-) |
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One stage this year will honor RT Asp. There were actually two different incidents involving Asp - one all the way back in 1968 when they were still called "Spike Teams", and one later in 1971. Researching these is difficult and it's interesting (and frustrating!) to try to put together what happened based on several different accounts from various perspectives. In 1968 George Brown, Alan Boyer, and Charles Huston were lost during a rope ladder helicopter extraction after installing a wire tap in the jungle. In 1971 Klaus Bingham, James Luttrell, and Lewis Walston were inserted 12 miles from Laos and never heard from again. It was only decades later that a full inquiry gave some ideas of what happened in the jungle that day. Check out the images and the link below for as much of the story as we've found so far. https://sogsite.com/james-martin-luttrell/   |
One stage this year will honor RT Arizona. Raymond Echevarria, James Jones, Eddie Williams, and 3 out of their 4 indigenous personnel were declared MIA after being surrounded by the 578th North Vietnamese Army Regiment (outnumbered 100 to 1) shortly after insertion. 
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One stage this year will honor RT Idaho. This team stands out because it was the first time a whole team just disappeared without a trace. Glen Lane and Robert Owen along with four indig were inserted by helicopter into Laos, gave an all clear, and then shortly after were surrounded by a large NVA element. Spike Team Oregon was inserted to find them two days later. They called in air strikes on the NVA, and were extracted under heavy fire with no sign of RT Idaho. Oregon did report they were attacked with US grenades, and it is assumed those grenades were taken from the missing team. There never was any closure for Lane and Owen's family - their fate is still unknown.  |
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One stage this year will honor RT Kansas. 9 of the 14 men on the team were killed within the first 30 minutes of a firefight near Khe Sanh, including 1LT Loren Hagen who was later a recipient of the Medal Of Honor. Sergeants Tony Andersen, Bruce Berg, and GB volunteers SSG Oran Bingham and Sergeants Bill Queen and William Rimondi, along with eight Montagnard tribesman made up the team of 14. Check out https://www.macvsog.cc/the_last_stand_of_rt_kansas.htm for more details on the full action, or read about this and much more in Major John L. Plaster's book "SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam" at https://www.amazon.com/Sog-Secret-Americas-Commandos-Vietnam/dp/0451195086 
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One stage this year will honor RT Rattler. Dennis Neal and Michael Burns were waiting to be extracted when the NVA attacked with B-40 rockets and automatic weapons. Two indig escaped and were later extracted, but a Brightlight Team inserted later could never find Neal's and Burns' (or the other two indig teammates) remains.  |
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One stage this year will honor RT Alaska. John Allen was the lone survivor from multiple assaults by an overwhelming force of NVA. Kenneth Cryan, Paul King, and 6 Montagnards were KIA during the action. Read more at: https://x.com/MAC_VSOG/status/1817684339259535628 
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One stage this year will honor RT Pennsylvania: Jerry Pool, John Boronski, Gary Harned, and five indig personnel were inserted into Northeastern Cambodia for a recon mission. They were compromised early but managed to escape and evade for three long days. They were finally extracted by a helicopter from the 170th Assault Helicopter Company - only to be heartbreakingly shot out the the sky by a B-40 rocket - killing the whole team and the full crew of Huey #262: John Hosken, Michael O'Donnell, Rudy Becerra, and Berman Ganoe. Their crash site and remains were not found until almost 30 years later: https://www.macvsog.cc/no_name_creek.htm  |
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I am thrilled and ever thankful that Pete Jones from Alan's Arsenal LLC is returning yet again as a Title Sponsor this year. Pete is retired 5SFG himself, supported us from the beginning, and has been around long enough to have personally known several of the people we've honored with stages over the years. Stop by his booth at the match (and BUY SOMETHING!!!) and if you're lucky you'll hear some personal stories about many of these guys. And be sure to check out https://alansarsenal.3dcartstores.com/ for any cool shooty stuff you need!  |
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I am excited to share that Troy Industries is stepping up this year as a Title Sponsor! Be sure to check them out at https://worldoftroy.com/ Details are still in process, but they're talking about XM177 carbines signed by MACV-SOG members for the prize table, and an early sign-up for a 5th Group limited run of the new Troy T1 5.56 suppressed SBR ceracoated in multicam arid.  |
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One stage this year will honor RT Maryland. 3 NOV 1969: Gunther Wald, Bill Brown, Don Shue did not return from a recon mission into Laos from the Da Nang/CCN area. Inserted early morning and lost contact mid-afternoon near Yen Ngue Hill in Huong Lap Village. Two of the six indig with them were lost as well. Their remains were finally found and identified in 2011 and 2012, and these men were brought home 43 years later.  |
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I am pleased to share Primary Weapons Systems is sponsoring this year's match, and sending a MK116 MOD 2-M Rifle .223 Wylde and BDE556K-TI Suppressor for the prize table. These will be certifications to simplify FFL/transfer issues, so don't overlook small pieces of paper! Be sure to check them out at https://primaryweapons.com/   |
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I am happy to report that Scott Berger with RnG Tactics is returning as a sponsor again this year. Scott built his company from the ground up, focused on Run N Gun Competitions in particular. Be sure to check them out at https://rngtactics.com/ 
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RT Diamondback will also be honored as a part of this match. All of these are heartbreaking, but these guys just reached their pickup zone after completing their mission - they were almost home. Then the NVA launched an ambush and killed SSG James M. Hall, SP4 Wayne L. Hawes, and SSG Michael J. McKibban in the initial assault. Supporting indig personnel scattered and were recovered later. See https://www.macvsog.cc/1969.htmfor more details. 
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Reminder: At Cedar Creek Precision we will be running with BOTH COLD PISTOLS AND COLD RIFLES. This means no magazine inserted and the chamber empty. The bolt can be forward to help keep mud out of the action. If you are found with a hot weapon of any kind (except while shooting, of course!) you will get a Match DQ and will not be allowed to finish the course. On some stages you will be allowed to load before the buzzer goes off - on some stages you must load on the clock. You will be given all instructions during each stage brief. You can also get a Match DQ if you muzzle someone with a loaded weapon, or have a Negligent Discharge (there is no such thing as an "accidental discharge"). Penalties will be assigned for failing to finish assigned tasks on each stage, failing to neutralize all targets, or hitting non-combatant targets. Your total score will be 50% net run time, and 50% overall shoot score. A significant run-time bonus will be available if you correctly complete the intel challenge (our hardest yet). Any questions? |
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Estimated hit count is as follows. As always, this is how I plan to shoot it, and there are many different options/choices so your round count could vary off this a LOT. And this is a HIT count, so it'd be a safe bet to bring double this for all the missing you will undoubtedly do. I personally will carry 225 rds of pistol and 200 rds of rifle ammo for the 10k - and I know exactly what is coming. 5k: (5 stages) 50 Pistol 61 Rifle 10k: (9 stages) 100 Pistol 107 Rifle This also assumes a 9mm pistol, which will take 5 hits (C Zone or Better) to neutralize any paper target. If you run a .45ACP you will only need 3 hits to neutralize the same target.  |
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I am pleased to announce Bachstein Consulting is returning as a major sponsor again this year. Not only do they design, build, and tests weapon systems and accessories for military, law enforcement, and civilian markets, partnering with major entities like the US Army and NATO - they come and compete themselves to get real-world experience and use our match as a test bed for their theories and designs and to talk with others who use gear to its fullest. All that, and they help get other companies they work with to sponsor as well, and make cool toys like remote paintball guns for us! Kyle has been a good friend to Legion for many years now, and I'm happy to have him back again! If you know anyone with firearms engineering needs, be sure to point them to https://bachsteinconsulting.com/ |
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I am pleased to announce FN America is not only returning as a sponsor with a generous donation to SFA38, but their Senior Director of Military Program is running the race himself! Fabrique National provides high quality weapons to our military in many different formats, and I'm thrilled that they're here supporting our warfighters. Be sure to check them out at https://fnamerica.com/ |
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I just gave away all the remaining slots I was holding for military to civilians on the waitlist. For the record - only 5k slots were left open, so if you're on the 5k waitlist check your email and spam folders for both the automated approval email and a different email with payment instructions. I am thrilled to share that we have FORTY active and retired Special Forces soldiers participating this year, which is a new record for us! Also - the deadline to receive any refund is tomorrow at midnight. As long as you withdraw before midnight you can still receive a 50% refund (or you can donate that to SFA too, of course!). Please do withdraw on Practiscore if you can't come through - we have LOTS of people still on the waitlist that would love your slot. |