Kit Carson Scouts
Encyclopedia
The Kit Carson Scouts belonged to a special program initially created by the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War
involving the use of former Viet Cong combatants as intelligence scouts for American infantry units.
Johnson of 5th CIT (counterintelligence team) placed two former Viet Cong with the 7th Marine Regiment in Chu Lai on November 10, 1966, the Marine Corps birthday.
Most early Kit Carson Scouts had defected as Hồi Chánh Viên because they suffered either from malaria
or grave wounds beyond what could be medically treated with the rudimentary medical care available on the Viet Cong/NVA side.
These Chieu Hoi (Hồi Chánh Viên), some who would be chosen for training as Kit Carson Scouts, had during their service with the enemy little or no contact with anyone speaking English and lacked even minimal English language skills.
Almost all Hồi Chánh Viên had a distrust of Vietnamese soldiers and interpreters because of the degree to which friendly forces had been infiltrated by enemy agents, so early in the program a decision was made favoring placement of those Hồi Chánh Viên recruited and trained as Kit Carson Scouts with American handlers able to speak Vietnamese whenever this was possible. The two scouts in Chu Lai were paired with Marine Pvt. Allen Sells, newly arrived in country and language-trained in the first class graduated from the Marine Corps language school at Camp Del Mar in Camp Pendleton
.
The 7th Marine TAOR (tactical area of operational responsibility) included the coastal plain area where both of the two Kit Carson scouts had operated while with the Viet Cong. Vo van Tam had been an assistant platoon commander with the elite 409th Sapper Battalion, while Huynh ngoc Chanh had been an assistant cplatoon commander with the 38th Local Force Battalion. Both units historically operated in Quang Ngai and Quang Tin
provinces. The 409th Sapper Battalion, Tam's former unit, was a higher level unit that operated over a larger territory, and its military successes included slipping under the barbed wire and attacking the key airfield at the large Chu Lai base, an action that Tam had participated in before his defection.
During their years with the Viet Cong, both Kit Carson Scouts had also spent months on end in combat training and indoctrination, largely in the mountainous areas of Kontum Province in 1963 through 1965.
Upon arriving at the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines base camp on the southern bank of the Song Tra Bong River in Binh Son District of Quang Ngai Province, the two scouts and Pvt. Sells were joined by LCpl Ernest C. Jaramillo, an S-2 Scout already assigned to 1/7. Jaramillo, while not part of the team, played a useful role in early development of operational tactics through his knowledge of S-2 procedures. On November 11, 1966, Sells, Jaramillo, Tam and Chanh deployed for the first time with Delta Company, 1/7 on a company-size patrol on the Mui Nam Tram Peninsula, targeting the hamlets of Phouc Hoa and Tuyet Diem. This was part of the base area of the 38th Local Force Battalion and the 95th Local Force Company.
These tactics were developed over a month of operations in Binh Son District, including a battalion operation, Rio Blanco, which engaged elements of the 2nd Main Force Division in a joint effort combining U.S. Marine forces of 1/7 with Korean Marines and the 2nd ARVN Division, headquartered in Quang Ngai City. Sells and his two scouts operated for the first time in Quang Tin Province by participating in a sweep of Ky Xuan Island north of the large air base at Chu Lai to gain intelligence on enemy operations and interactions with the civilian populace in that area.
The third American recruited to the program in Chu Lai was Pfc Richard Gualano, who arrived in early December, 1966, and was also a graduate of the Marine's Del Mar Vietnamese language school and an earlier classmate of Sells. The arrival of Pfc Gualano allowed for the formation of two teams, one consisting of Sells and Tam, and the other consisting of Gualano and Chanh. Each team accompanied elements of the four rifle companies during patrols, sweeps and larger operations as part of the initial intelligence gathering activity for the Battalion. Gualano continued in this activity during his entire deployment in Viet Nam, while Sells later began work recruiting additional scouts from the Chieu Hoi Center in Quang Ngai City and traveling to DaNang to work with 5th CIT in recruiting scouts from the DaNang Chieu Hoi center.
General Westmoreland issued an order in September 1967 directing all infantry divisions in Vietnam, including U.S. Army units, to begin using Kit Carson Scouts in conjunction with friendly operations. He directed that a minimum of 100 scouts per division was necessary to ensure effectiveness. The 3rd Marine Division organized its own Chieu Hoi recruitment and training program for placing Kit Carson Scouts with units extending all the way north to the DMZ and was the first unit in Vietnam to reach General Westmoreland's targeted level when the fourth Kit Carson Scout class graduated from a school in Quang Tri City during December, 1967.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
involving the use of former Viet Cong combatants as intelligence scouts for American infantry units.
Origins of the Program
The Kit Carson Scout Program was started in October, 1966, when the first six Viet Cong defectors (Hồi Chánh Viên or Chiêu Hồi)were placed in the field with the 1st and 9th Marine Regiments as part of a trial program. The following month, in November, Staff SergeantStaff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
Johnson of 5th CIT (counterintelligence team) placed two former Viet Cong with the 7th Marine Regiment in Chu Lai on November 10, 1966, the Marine Corps birthday.
Most early Kit Carson Scouts had defected as Hồi Chánh Viên because they suffered either from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
or grave wounds beyond what could be medically treated with the rudimentary medical care available on the Viet Cong/NVA side.
These Chieu Hoi (Hồi Chánh Viên), some who would be chosen for training as Kit Carson Scouts, had during their service with the enemy little or no contact with anyone speaking English and lacked even minimal English language skills.
Almost all Hồi Chánh Viên had a distrust of Vietnamese soldiers and interpreters because of the degree to which friendly forces had been infiltrated by enemy agents, so early in the program a decision was made favoring placement of those Hồi Chánh Viên recruited and trained as Kit Carson Scouts with American handlers able to speak Vietnamese whenever this was possible. The two scouts in Chu Lai were paired with Marine Pvt. Allen Sells, newly arrived in country and language-trained in the first class graduated from the Marine Corps language school at Camp Del Mar in Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and serves as its prime amphibious training base...
.
The 7th Marine TAOR (tactical area of operational responsibility) included the coastal plain area where both of the two Kit Carson scouts had operated while with the Viet Cong. Vo van Tam had been an assistant platoon commander with the elite 409th Sapper Battalion, while Huynh ngoc Chanh had been an assistant cplatoon commander with the 38th Local Force Battalion. Both units historically operated in Quang Ngai and Quang Tin
Quang Tin
Quảng Tín was a province of South Vietnam. It was created from the part of Quang Nam province on the south side of the Que Son Valley on July 31, 1962. The capital was Tam Ky. During the Vietnam War it was the site of heavy fighting, including Operation Union I & II...
provinces. The 409th Sapper Battalion, Tam's former unit, was a higher level unit that operated over a larger territory, and its military successes included slipping under the barbed wire and attacking the key airfield at the large Chu Lai base, an action that Tam had participated in before his defection.
During their years with the Viet Cong, both Kit Carson Scouts had also spent months on end in combat training and indoctrination, largely in the mountainous areas of Kontum Province in 1963 through 1965.
Upon arriving at the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines base camp on the southern bank of the Song Tra Bong River in Binh Son District of Quang Ngai Province, the two scouts and Pvt. Sells were joined by LCpl Ernest C. Jaramillo, an S-2 Scout already assigned to 1/7. Jaramillo, while not part of the team, played a useful role in early development of operational tactics through his knowledge of S-2 procedures. On November 11, 1966, Sells, Jaramillo, Tam and Chanh deployed for the first time with Delta Company, 1/7 on a company-size patrol on the Mui Nam Tram Peninsula, targeting the hamlets of Phouc Hoa and Tuyet Diem. This was part of the base area of the 38th Local Force Battalion and the 95th Local Force Company.
Early days
Early tactics for the two scouts were the identification of Viet Cong guerrillas and cadre among the civilian populace and narrative descriptions of how the Viet Cong moved and interacted with civilians within the areas where Tam and Chanh had previously operated as enemy combatants. The scouts additionally proved adept at identifying booby traps, caves and tunnels and caches of enemy weapons. The two early Kit Carsons were also used and found invaluable in conducting tactical interrogations before newly-detained prisoners were sent to the rear from their point of capture.These tactics were developed over a month of operations in Binh Son District, including a battalion operation, Rio Blanco, which engaged elements of the 2nd Main Force Division in a joint effort combining U.S. Marine forces of 1/7 with Korean Marines and the 2nd ARVN Division, headquartered in Quang Ngai City. Sells and his two scouts operated for the first time in Quang Tin Province by participating in a sweep of Ky Xuan Island north of the large air base at Chu Lai to gain intelligence on enemy operations and interactions with the civilian populace in that area.
The third American recruited to the program in Chu Lai was Pfc Richard Gualano, who arrived in early December, 1966, and was also a graduate of the Marine's Del Mar Vietnamese language school and an earlier classmate of Sells. The arrival of Pfc Gualano allowed for the formation of two teams, one consisting of Sells and Tam, and the other consisting of Gualano and Chanh. Each team accompanied elements of the four rifle companies during patrols, sweeps and larger operations as part of the initial intelligence gathering activity for the Battalion. Gualano continued in this activity during his entire deployment in Viet Nam, while Sells later began work recruiting additional scouts from the Chieu Hoi Center in Quang Ngai City and traveling to DaNang to work with 5th CIT in recruiting scouts from the DaNang Chieu Hoi center.
Expansion
Early in the war and the life of the Kit Carson Scout Program, the most obvious barrier to expansion was that few Americans could speak the language, however the program developed despite this problem and quickly gained command level interest throughout the 1st Marine Division and the 3rd Marine Division. By midyear of 1967, the U.S. Army forces operating in I Corps had become aware of the program and soon after the Kit Carson Scout Program expanded to other American units throughout Viet Nam. As the program evolved, recruitment of non-military Viet Cong cadre and defecting North Vietnamese officers were added, and these Kit Carson Scouts also became valuable sources of intelligence in the conduct of the war.General Westmoreland issued an order in September 1967 directing all infantry divisions in Vietnam, including U.S. Army units, to begin using Kit Carson Scouts in conjunction with friendly operations. He directed that a minimum of 100 scouts per division was necessary to ensure effectiveness. The 3rd Marine Division organized its own Chieu Hoi recruitment and training program for placing Kit Carson Scouts with units extending all the way north to the DMZ and was the first unit in Vietnam to reach General Westmoreland's targeted level when the fourth Kit Carson Scout class graduated from a school in Quang Tri City during December, 1967.
Recruitment and Language Issues
External links
- From Foe to Friend, Armed Forces & SocietyArmed Forces & SocietyArmed Forces & Society is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes scholarly articles and book reviews on civil–military relations, military sociology, military institutions, conflict management, arms control, peacekeeping, conflict resolution, military contracting, terrorism, and...
, Vol. 33, No. 1, 78-93 (2006)