@BMF6889

1 month ago

I attended TBS from June through November 1968 and arrived in Vietnam in December 1968 to serve a year as an infantry platoon commander. Hard year. I lost too many good Marines killed and wounded. I can verify that the training new officers get at TBS today is much better than it was in 1968. We didn't have nearly as much gear to train with: just a simple uniform, 782 gear from WW II or Korea, a small haversack with an E-Tool, and a military compass. We trained with the M-14 rifle but I was issued and M-16 in Vietnam which I had never used or disassembled before. Unfortunately, my NCOs had to show me how to disassemble it. There was no combat town in 1968 as you see now in the Video. I noticed in the 1970's vintage video there was a combat town, but the only thing we had in 1968 was a mock up of a small Vietnamese village used only for familiarization and not for training. The physical fitness tests in 1968 were more difficult. In 1968 it was called the Physical Readiness Test (PRT) (similar to the current Combat Readiness Test only with more events) which consisted of pullups, pushups, sit-ups, squat thrusts, fireman's carry, 100 year low crawl, and finally a 3 mile run. However this was all done in full combat equipment including rifle and two full canteens. In the summer it was brutal, especially the 3 mile run over hills with full combat equipment as the final PRT event. The M-14 was fairly heavy and awkward to carry while running. After I returned from Vietnam, I was a platoon instructor for two OCS classes and then later was assigned to TBS as an instructor for 3 years. By then the Marines had adopted the new Physical Fitness Test (PFT) which was different than the PFT in the video in that it included pullups, pushups, sit-ups, and 3 mile run in tee-shirt, shorts, and running shoes which was a heck of a lot easier than the PRT. In 1968, the physical fitness during TBS prepared me well for the mental and physical challenges in Vietnam, but virtually all of the training was conventional tactics which did not prepare us well for Vietnam. During my year in Vietnam I think we only had about five company size operations, one battalion size operation, and one regimental size operations. The rest was all platoon and squad patrols in a wide variety of terrains: mountains, coastal pines, rice paddies, jungle, and in dense elephant grass were visibility was no more than 10 feet in any direction. One thing that made Vietnam more difficult than TBS was that my platoon only had one and sometimes two radios. Towards the end of my tour there, my platoon had 3 and sometimes 4 radios. At one point we were issued "squad radios" that fit on the side of the helmet for squad leaders and my platoon guide had one, but they were worthless because you couldn't hear anything during a firefight and they were not on my platoon radio frequency which was dedicated to communicating with the company commander 24/7. Almost all of my commands to my squad leaders were with hand and arm signals in open areas, with a runner in more restricted terrain, and praying that my squad leaders knew what to do on their own in the elephant grass and jungle. I ended up serving 21 years in the Marine Corps commanding 5 platoons, 2 rifle companies, an H&S company, and served as a battalion S-4, and a Brigade G-4 Logistic Operations Officer. Later, I spent 2 years in Latin America supporting counter-insurgency operations with the host country's Army and Navy. My final tour was with US Special Operations Command where I spent most of my time again in Latin America. It was on Hell of a ride. I'd do it all again if I could, but at 77 I'm afraid I'm now permanently retired. Glad to see officer training today is so much better than in 1968. Once a Marine; always a Marine. Semper Fi

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