What do you think?
Rate this book
15 Months in SOG: A Warrior's Tour
"When we cross the no ID, and it's kiss yourself good-bye if Charlie gets ahold of you."
In Vietnam, the Military Assistance Command's Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) fielded small recon teams in areas infested with VC and NVA. Because SOG operations suffered extraordinary casualties, they required extraordinary soldiers. So when Capt. Thom Nicholson arrived at Command and Control North (CCN) in Da Nang, SOG's northernmost base camp, he knew he was going to be working with the cream of the crop.
As commander of Company B, CCN's Raider Company, Nicholson commanded four platoons, comprising nearly two hundred men, in some of the war's most deadly missions, including ready-reaction missions for patrols in contact with the enemy, patrol extractions under fire, and top-secret expeditions "over the fence" into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. Colonel Nicholson spares no one, including himself, as he provides a rare glimpse into the workings of one of the military's most carefully concealed reconnaissance campaigns.
In Vietnam, the Military Assistance Command's Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) fielded small recon teams in areas infested with VC and NVA. Because SOG operations suffered extraordinary casualties, they required extraordinary soldiers. So when Capt. Thom Nicholson arrived at Command and Control North (CCN) in Da Nang, SOG's northernmost base camp, he knew he was going to be working with the cream of the crop.
As commander of Company B, CCN's Raider Company, Nicholson commanded four platoons, comprising nearly two hundred men, in some of the war's most deadly missions, including ready-reaction missions for patrols in contact with the enemy, patrol extractions under fire, and top-secret expeditions "over the fence" into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. Colonel Nicholson spares no one, including himself, as he provides a rare glimpse into the workings of one of the military's most carefully concealed reconnaissance campaigns.
260 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 1999
120 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 28, 2019
No sugar coating here. An honest examination of the brutalities of guerrilla war. When the Viet Cong operatives who've been planting mines are trapped and killed, they turn out to be a local mother and her daughter. To avoid complications with the village, the bodies are secretly and unceremoniously dumped in the shark infested ocean. End of story.
No flag waving here, either, but a balanced appraisal of what the Americans were up against in Vietnam.
No flag waving here, either, but a balanced appraisal of what the Americans were up against in Vietnam.
October 16, 2020
Interesting description of combat in a very selective unit. Disappointed that pages 207-222 were missing from binding.
October 22, 2020
What it was like being a commander in Vietnam
This book let's you know how tough it was to be a leader in Vietnam. Thom tried to make good decisions for his men and his country still there was a lot of tragedy. A lot of his good men died. I don't think he ever really got over it. Some of him died over there. I wish him some happiness. He deserves it!
This book let's you know how tough it was to be a leader in Vietnam. Thom tried to make good decisions for his men and his country still there was a lot of tragedy. A lot of his good men died. I don't think he ever really got over it. Some of him died over there. I wish him some happiness. He deserves it!
December 6, 2024
As an enlisted veteran, I found it interesting to read that the captain's feelings paralleled those of many of us. We started out, thinking that we were going to save the world, only to find out how inept the leadership was. He describes the gritty reality very well. I can only hope and proy that he is well and able to put the garbage behind him, at least occasionally.
December 17, 2017
A fictional story.
Thom really should know that VC and NVA tracers are colored GREEN, not RED. Anyone that served in the American military during the Vietnam era should know that American forces use RED tracers!
Thom really should know that VC and NVA tracers are colored GREEN, not RED. Anyone that served in the American military during the Vietnam era should know that American forces use RED tracers!
March 11, 2019
This book was an enjoyable read but maybe a little lackluster at times. Its well written and candid, but descriptions of combat where a little lacking in detail. A good insight into an officers perspective of Special Forces life in the Vietnam conflict.
December 14, 2024
Excellent read !
No holds barred tell it like it was. Found it hard to put down. That is the way it was without all then BS !
No holds barred tell it like it was. Found it hard to put down. That is the way it was without all then BS !
February 28, 2025
Great book
Very detailed in every aspect of daily life in Vietnam...the author's writing style is simple, direct yet very descriptive and very natural.
Very detailed in every aspect of daily life in Vietnam...the author's writing style is simple, direct yet very descriptive and very natural.
February 8, 2022
great read
puts you in the middle of all the actions reaffirmed my hatred of the government pukes that put us in situations like these while they drink beer and bs each other
puts you in the middle of all the actions reaffirmed my hatred of the government pukes that put us in situations like these while they drink beer and bs each other
July 10, 2025
I don't want to belittle Nicholson's service in any way, which I am grateful for and represented the real deal in Vietnam. Some of the stories here are incredible - they spent five days in a "pie plate," a massive contraption they drop into the top of a giant tree in triple canopy jungle. They call it "Eagles Nest" and it's as wild a story as I've ever heard about Vietnam.
The book gets better as it goes, but this is not on the level of SOG books by John Plaster or Meyer, or Stephen Moore’s comprehensive history “Uncommon Valor.” Nicholson has a hail fellow well met, sort of corny style that won’t suit everyone, and there isn’t much reflection. No sooner doe he arrive at Command Control North in Da Nang then a Vietnam Cong night attack leads to the greatest one day loss of special forces soldiers in the war, but Nicholson provides no wider history than his personal experience. He even dimisses some likely casualties in a Marine barracks that gets hit by a rocket on the grounds it was only Marines! It can be read in a weekend, and for those who concentrate on Vietnam books this may have some interest. But it doesn’t offer much for a general reader and there are better SOG books.
The book gets better as it goes, but this is not on the level of SOG books by John Plaster or Meyer, or Stephen Moore’s comprehensive history “Uncommon Valor.” Nicholson has a hail fellow well met, sort of corny style that won’t suit everyone, and there isn’t much reflection. No sooner doe he arrive at Command Control North in Da Nang then a Vietnam Cong night attack leads to the greatest one day loss of special forces soldiers in the war, but Nicholson provides no wider history than his personal experience. He even dimisses some likely casualties in a Marine barracks that gets hit by a rocket on the grounds it was only Marines! It can be read in a weekend, and for those who concentrate on Vietnam books this may have some interest. But it doesn’t offer much for a general reader and there are better SOG books.
August 25, 2016
Riveting book and many stories about life in SOG in combat.
Story after story about his adventures behind enemy lines and only someone who was there can tell it. The author dropped the ball in not identifying the KIA's and their placement on the Vietnam Wall. He was too flippant about buddies disappearing after a firefight at the end of a chapter and that was that. No more to be heard from and that bothered me.
Story after story about his adventures behind enemy lines and only someone who was there can tell it. The author dropped the ball in not identifying the KIA's and their placement on the Vietnam Wall. He was too flippant about buddies disappearing after a firefight at the end of a chapter and that was that. No more to be heard from and that bothered me.
February 12, 2023
15 Months in SOG: A Warrior’s Tour
I understand my friends and family members who were there a little more from reading this book. It is as real as I’ve ever heard from people I know or knew who were there. My brother was SF and did three tours all over the fence in NV,Cambodia and Laos, it takes a special breed for SF!
I understand my friends and family members who were there a little more from reading this book. It is as real as I’ve ever heard from people I know or knew who were there. My brother was SF and did three tours all over the fence in NV,Cambodia and Laos, it takes a special breed for SF!
July 8, 2011
not that good... i was kind of expecting a different storyline though.
January 22, 2017
Good book
This book always held your interest while never knowing what was coming on the next page always kept you guessing
This book always held your interest while never knowing what was coming on the next page always kept you guessing
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews