How accurate was Apocalypse Now in its depiction of the lack of discipline and non-existent chain of command in remote...

How accurate was Apocalypse Now in its depiction of the lack of discipline and non-existent chain of command in remote areas during the Vietnam War?

not much since it was based on a 19th century novel set on the belgian Congo

So there was discipline and chain of command all over Vietnam?

FYI I don't know much about Vietnam.

Vietnam was a very small theatre of operations. As well, the Vietcong never could disrupt American lines of supply or communication.

It wasn't a free for all and no units were going rogue out on their own.

That said, command practices varied widely but not with enough latitude to allow much.

"fragging" was a thing

My father was a CAP marine (kind of like recon special warfare guys) with like 10 other dudes out in the field. They had an O1 sometimes, other times it was just a SGT. Discipline varied, he said some OIC were mean sons of bitches, and then others weren't really cut out for the job.

I didn't understand much of this. Sorry

Combined Action Platoons were marines that lived in Vietnamese villages full time, never had the comfort of a base. An O1 is a junior officer, generally unskilled. A Sergeant (SGT) is an enlisted guy with some experience. OIC is officer in charge, guy calling the shots.

Thanks. Some stories?

So outposts such as the one seen in the monsoon and the one protecting the bridge were exaggerations in how desperate the situation was for them?
Plus, did how much training was given to those enlisted on avergae?

Only one I really remember

>first day in the field
>no clue what's going on
>villagers he works with say the VC took some of their kids to a cave of some sort
>marines go to get them back
>VC shoots through the kids at the marines
>fight over
>kid body parts everywhere

Well, that's horrifying thing to witness.

By the end of the Vietnam era discipline and morale was so low the entire military was on the brink of collapse, only the marine corps kept it somewhat together. Somebody posted a link to a long article discussing this once on Veeky Forums but I don't have the link with me at the moment.

lil bit.

War is hell

Do you have a source? Genuinely interested.

few SOG troops survived 20 missions,Shriver had gotten through 40 before he was killed in April 1969..he got his nickname direct from Radio Hanoi,which granted him the ultimate accolade from an enemy:public denunciation for haing killed so many of their soldiers

"Mad Dog" Jerry Shriver was the only one who managed to go through about 40 missions, but those missions took heavy tolls on him, "he rarely spoke and walked around camp for days wearing the same clothes, when he sleps, he cradled a loaded rifle, and in the NCO club he'd buy a case of beer, open every can, then go alone to a corner and drink them all" Many of his comraders tried to talk him transfering to other jobs, Shriver actually did listen to those adviced and got a job in rear, but he came back to SOG team later, he told his friends he could no longer be used to a normal life, he knew if he kept doing those SOG operations, sooner or later his luck would run out, but he no long cared. There was an interesting episode, Shriver had a dog which he loved, one night this dog went to NCO club and took a shit on the floor, some green berets rudely kicked this dog out, Shriver arrived, he calmly put his pistol on the table, drop his pants and shited on the floor, then he said "if any of you want to rub my nose for this, come over", that night, the club was full with elite Green Berets soldiers, all tough guys, no one said a word.

Sounds like Martin Sheen. Kinda.

real original

>War is hell

I remember reading a memoir from a guy in the Rangers talking about how there were guys in regular infantry going out with ghetto blasters playing music and half the guys were drunk or smoking weed or on heroin. That was the main reason he went to Rangers training. He wanted an elite unit that had some discipline.

An older guy I worked with on a security gig was an MP in Hue. He said heroin was a big problem. It was cheap and readily available all over the country

Jesus, how did anything get done?

Another story my father told

>be at home village
>get drunk to forget how much life sucks
>too hungover to go out on patrol
>best friend volunteers to take your spot
>they get into a firefight
>he dies
>bullet wound shows he was shot from behind
>they were all high

They didn't. They lost the war remember?

It was bad compared to Iraq and Afghanistan but not that bad.

Obviously Mai Lai happened.

Now, CIA ops in Cambodia and Laos, that was some lawless shit.

aaaaghhhh horrid