`Recondo` Program Is Headed by Columbian

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Recondo School
i he war he won his parand glider badges at Ft.
Ga., and became Chief
of the 82nd Airborne DiFt. Bragg.
August, 1950 to July 1952,
cd as instructor in variUUry schools. He then
n c mmand of the 187th AirRegimental Combat team
a. becoming s brigadier
at 38,
1 < it noreland served on the
general staff at the Penta,ere he bacame a major
1 at 43. He took over the
\irborne in April, 1958.
hobbies are golf, squash
ater skiing.
decorations include three
s of merit, the bronze star,
r medal, a presidential unit
n and French and Korean
>ns.
is married to the former
rine Van Deusen and they
three children, Katherine
as. Margaret Childers and
s Ripley.
Super-Rugged Paratroopers Are Given
^Tough
New Commando - Type Training
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- . •
'Recondo' Program Is
Headed by Columbian
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The Recondo specialty—descending vertical cliff.
JAMKS NKV1N MIU.BR
FT CAMPBE3X. KY.
r*VER HEAR OF the word,
JL "Recondo?" It's brand new
in the U.o. Army's training pro
gram. And It's coined from the
words, 'Reconnaissance" and
"Commando."
Certainly the word exactly fit*
the super-rugged young soldier^
who attends the Army's newest*
type of Commando-Ranger School
new being conducted at mis well
known Army camp.
Recondo involves a two week
course of instruction in vigorous
patrolling, cliff-climbing, stream-*
crossing and parachute-jumping:
Its aim is to develop the highest
doughboy skills in preparation for
combat with a cruel, cunning and
ingenious enemy.
If a)«o aim*; to build confidence
for soldiers. Specifically those who
might, without a moment's notice,
be called upon for expert reconnftiasanre against the enemy DO
matter *h.M type of battlefield
he chooses: in a mountainous
area, a forest, across a raffias;
stream, or on a fluid, atonic
battlefield.
____
Today the Recondo School, now
a permanent Army framing unit,
is a little less than a year old,
having been organized on May
14, 1959. Then, as now, the famed
Ranger School at Fort Benrring,
Ga., was offering the "toughest
men in the Army" this same basic
type of rugged training. But tt
was a 8-week course. Army bras*
wanted a shorter term in order
to develop the "very best emer
gency-type soldier".
C/oce Scrutiny
The new school, set up quietly
nd without fanfare, operate*
under the close personal scrutiny
of one of the Army's ablest and
most popular officers, Major Gen
eral William C. Westmoreland,
commanding general of the 101st
Airborne Division, headquartmd
at Fort Gsjtipbril.
Gen. Westmoreland
Major General William
Oiilds Westmoreland,
whose
unique Recondo
School it described by
Army "big brass" as "the
Army's greatest short-term
course for developing tough
combat troops", is one ol
today's most popular and
highly regarded military
leaden.
He was born in Spartanburg County March 36, 1914
and graduated from the
loc-al high school with the
dass of 1931. Alter attend
ing The Citadel for a
year he attended the U.S.
Military Academy at West
Point. N. Y., from which
he was graduated in 1936.
The general'* personnel
fife in the official Pentagon
record book consumes two
typewritten page*, singlespaced. Small wonder about
Pointer "who can do any Recondo
stunt without f)inching' ',! es
pecially proud of the school's
insignia, which he refers to as
a "brand". It's an Indian arrow
head, symbol of woorilon* and field
craft. The arrowhead points to the
ground to symbolize parachute
jumping. The brand is authorised
to be won on the right breast
fatigue and field jacket pocket
of all graduate* of the school
while serving in the Division.
To graduate * soldier must
achieve 620 points out of s possi
ble 1,000. The course includes:
200 hours of patrolling; eight
hours of river crowing inchtdfaf
the making of rope bridges; eight
hours of mountaineering including
climbing and descending 80-foot
cliffs; live hours of unarmed
hand-to-hand combat; five hours
of survival; and day and night
jumping from parachutes.
Physical conditioning, a fear
less attitude and strict obeying
of commands are the major re*:
»d s youth who tends I
that For the gracious Sou
therner with a smile that
delights everybody from the
learned lawmaker to the
private in the rear ranks,
has a military record that
IB a marvel of versatility.
He's probably the Na
tion's top-notch expert on
parachuting, and he is
highly trained in modern
methods of artillery and in*
fantry combat. In addition
he is an authority on roanpower utilization and mili
tary management, not only
through experience in the
Pentagon but as the ifSuH
of completing the advance
management program at
the Harvard Business
School.
He has received almost a
dozen medals, awards and
decorations for meritorious
service. General Westmore-
to "chicken" in the face of a dan
gerous assignment, is tossed out.
But this rarely has to be done
because only the most daring lads
are allowed to take the course.
Vital Phase
A vital pha*e of the training is
tbe "Aggressor" Campaign In
which soldiers invade the terri
tory of the "Aggressor", a mythi
cal enemy whose forces are
tricky, cunning and bloodthirsty
On one day of the training course
the entire Re<x>ndo school make*
a combat jump into Aggressor
territory to establish a patrol
base behind enemy lines. At least
a third of the course consists of
strenuous patrolling from a main
base to point" deep into enemy
lines,
A feature of the night training
program is a maw; jump from
an airplane as a combat mission
with the objective of destroying
all the Aggressor's weapons, forts
and ammunition. The final patrol
Usually include* a helicopter raid
Gen, Westmorland.
land and his wife, Mrs.
Katherine
Van
Deusen
Westmoreland, have two
daughters, Katherine and
Margaret, and one son,
James Ripley.
His parents, Col. and Mrs.
J. R. Westmorland, live at
120 S. Waccamaw.
General Westmoreland has
been serving as command
ing officer. 101st Airborne
Division, at Fort Camp
bell, Ky., since April 3,1958.
on the enemy area for the pur
pose of capturing an enemy offi
cer. In this connection students
are required to coordinate care
fully with mtejtiganre representa
tives, artillery support and aerial]
reconnaissance.
Many improvements and ad-1
diuons to the school have been
made as the schedule began to)
smooth out, and now ideas were
tried. For example, a number of
daring confidence tests were de
signed to be completed by every
student. One of these is the "death
slide" which consists of a 100foot swaying rope ladder attached
to a platform nestled hi a tall
tree; and a 500-foot cable reach
ing from the tree-top to a "tar
get" position in a creek. At the
"go" command each student must'
slide down the cable from the'
platform into the creek, without
a sign of flinching, and at break- j
neck speed.
Grand Finale
As we hinted earlier, the grand
finale of the course is a "prfoonec-vutch" from the enemy. This
involves a 30-mile invasion for
every member ol the student
body. First they are all organued
Into a patrol and with their lead
er, must carefully study and plan
every detail. The general com
manding the enemy, or Aggressor
force, is reported by intelligence
to be hiding in a village 30 miles
from the patrol base. The mission
of the students is to sneak into
the town held by the Aggressor
force and capture the enemy gen
eral.
Does this kind ol training pay
off? In the words of General
Weataooreland who proudly addrranca each graduating class of
Recondos: "The Recondo' brand
has become a symbol of skill and j
confidence. When I see a man j
wearing the familiar arrowhead, |
I know he has what it takes."
.,J* .
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Tftw Recondo instructor at Fort Campbell, shown balancing}
on a tall tree, has his ankles gripped tightly to small platform
suspended from tree.
__
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More* 13, I960
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It's tricky, negotiating hand-rope bridge, but students attending the Recondo School must, use the bridge for crossing the creek.