LRRP - LRP - LRS History
A BRIEF HISTORY
There is little knowledge of the US Army Europe (USAREUR) LRRP units from the late 1950’s to the late 1960’s, V Corps, VII Corps, 3rd Infantry Division, and the Southern European Task Force (SETAF) LRRP in Italy.
These units were the pre-cursor LRRP units, forming mission essential tasks, published doctrine, and tables of manning and equipment. Several of the early leaders of these USAREUR LRRP organizations went on to lead the Vietnam LRP and LRRP units, and a Signal officer actually had a strong influence in the eventual forming of the Vietnam LRP/LRRP companies and detachments.
VIETNAM ERA
In Vietnam in December, 1965, the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, formed a LRRP platoon. By April 1966, the 1st Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade had formed LRRP units as well. On July 8, 1966, General William Westmoreland authorized the formation of (LRRP) units using volunteers from divisional assets. Many volunteers were assigned to their parent units and attached to the provisional LRRP Units for operations. Most of these early units had no MTOE.
Initially, there were very few Ranger school graduates in these first units, training was mostly on-the-job training, with some LRRP Soldiers graduating from the U.S. Army MACV RECONDO School, operated by the 5th Special Forces Group School in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
There is little knowledge of the US Army Europe (USAREUR) LRRP units from the late 1950’s to the late 1960’s, V Corps, VII Corps, 3rd Infantry Division, and the Southern European Task Force (SETAF) LRRP in Italy.
These units were the pre-cursor LRRP units, forming mission essential tasks, published doctrine, and tables of manning and equipment. Several of the early leaders of these USAREUR LRRP organizations went on to lead the Vietnam LRP and LRRP units, and a Signal officer actually had a strong influence in the eventual forming of the Vietnam LRP/LRRP companies and detachments.
VIETNAM ERA
In Vietnam in December, 1965, the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, formed a LRRP platoon. By April 1966, the 1st Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade had formed LRRP units as well. On July 8, 1966, General William Westmoreland authorized the formation of (LRRP) units using volunteers from divisional assets. Many volunteers were assigned to their parent units and attached to the provisional LRRP Units for operations. Most of these early units had no MTOE.
Initially, there were very few Ranger school graduates in these first units, training was mostly on-the-job training, with some LRRP Soldiers graduating from the U.S. Army MACV RECONDO School, operated by the 5th Special Forces Group School in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
Company D (Ranger), 151st Infantry (Airborne) was a National Guard unit from Indiana which trained and deployed to Vietnam as a Unit operating with the 199th LIB. Company D (Ranger), 151st Infantry (Airborne) would become Company D, 75th Infantry (Ranger).
In February 1969, all US Army LRRP units became part of the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger), a predecessor of the 75th Ranger Regiment, and this was the first time since Korea that the Army had activated operational Ranger units.
LRRP/LRP/Ranger units served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1971.
COLD WAR / GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
Long Range Surveillance Detachments and Long Range Surveillance Companies were stood up during the post-Vietnam / pre- GWOT era and stood ready during that phase of the Cold War.
In 1984, Army Pamphlet 525-42, US Army Operational Concept for Long Range Surveillance Units, changed the term for these LRS units from reconnaissance to surveillance, and the newly formed units were tasked with conducting long-range intelligence collection through reconnaissance and surveillance, among other tasks
To meet the need for Long Range Reconnaissance capabilities, the Army activated the LRS Company (LRSC) at the Corps level and the LRS Detachment (LRSD) at the Division level. The 9th Infantry Division stood up a Test-Based unit developing doctrine and operating procedures based on lessons learned from the operations of Vietnam LRRP units.
In Germany, Echo and Fox Companies 51st Infantry were activated and based out of Wiesbaden and Darmstadt; and aligned with Military Intelligence Brigades in Frankfurt and Stuttgart, respectively. This basing in Germany came from a 1978 study on special organizations required in the Army as part of the transformation from Post-Vietnam force structures and requirements.
The Echo Company Commander was a former Special Forces A-Team Commander, and the Foxtrot Company Commander came from the 82nd Airborne Division. The 11B NCOs were RANGER Qualified and came from the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 82nd Airborne Division, or the RANGER Department. All the junior enlisted Soldiers were Airborne qualified.
The US Army recognized the need for institutional training and opened The Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course (LRSLC) in 1986 to fill a void that existed in Ranger training when Long-Range Surveillance Units (LRSUs) were reactivated that same year. The course was initially designed to emphasize tasks drawn from LRP lessons learned in Southeast Asia. LRSLC was placed under the Ranger Training Brigade, 4th Ranger Training Battalion located on Fort Benning, Georgia. To attend, you had to be a Sergeant (E-5) and both Ranger and Airborne qualified serving in either a LRS unit or in Special Forces. Waivers were granted to Specialists (E-4s) on a case by case basis but they had to meet the same criteria as an E-5.
In July 2002, the Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course was renamed the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course, and course duration was dropped from 33 days to 26 long, due to the Global War on Terror, operation tempo, and training focus shifted from a standing army doctrinal fight to information collection during counter insurgency (COIN) operations. Responding to guidance from the Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) the course transitioned from a pure COIN fight to a hybrid threat model and the course was lengthened to 29 days, and in June 2013, due to MCoE realignment, RSLC was transferred to the 316th Cavalry Brigade, for yet another chapter in our history, after 27 years, as part of the Ranger Training Brigade, and the Ranger legacy.
Between 2005 and 2009, the US Army inactivated or reflagged the LRSC and LRSD, and absorbed them into other units, such as Pathfinder Companies, Cavalry Squadron’s, and the Battlefield Surveillance Brigade’s (BfSB)
These LRS Companies and Detachments saw service and combat in Kosovo, Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti, Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and while the unit designation’s are gone, the LRS Soldiers have spread a great wealth of leadership, experience, and knowledge to the US Army.
The LRS Soldiers, Rangers, and Marine Reconnaissance units inherited the art of long-range patrolling and the skills and tactics of the Vietnam LRRPs, who in turn inherited tactics and techniques from the doctrine forming USAREUR LRRPs, setting the standard for today's reconnaissance and surveillance unit’s regardless of their unit designation, or the Guidon they fly.
As LRRP/LRP/LRS members have left the service, retired, or changed units, years of contact has brought about the need for an opportunity to reconnect. The 2014 LRRP/LRS/LRS Rally in Columbus, GA was the first time, reconnaissance team members from all eras, from the USAREUR LRRPSs, to Vietnam LRP/LRRP, to LRS had met in a social environment.
OUR LEGACY
In Vietnam over 500 LRRPs and LRPs fell in Combat, and there is one Missing In Action. Awards, to include the Medal Of Honor, have been awarded to Vietnam LRRPs and LRPs.
The LONG RANGE RECONNAISSANCE ASSOCIATION (LRRA) has taken on the mission to preserve the LRRP-LRP-LRS legacy by purchasing and placing memorials to recognize their service. Memorial Benches have been placed at the NATIONAL RANGER MEMORIAL at Ft. Benning, GA, the NATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM in Columbus, Ga., and at the Birthplace of the LRRA in Branson, MO. A paver honoring LRRP, LRP, and LRS Soldiers has been placed at the ARMY HISTORY MUSEUM being built near Ft. Belvoir, VA and most recently pavers have been placed at the National Infantry Museum, located next to Ft Benning GA, at the Global War on Terror monument.
In February 1969, all US Army LRRP units became part of the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger), a predecessor of the 75th Ranger Regiment, and this was the first time since Korea that the Army had activated operational Ranger units.
LRRP/LRP/Ranger units served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1971.
COLD WAR / GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
Long Range Surveillance Detachments and Long Range Surveillance Companies were stood up during the post-Vietnam / pre- GWOT era and stood ready during that phase of the Cold War.
In 1984, Army Pamphlet 525-42, US Army Operational Concept for Long Range Surveillance Units, changed the term for these LRS units from reconnaissance to surveillance, and the newly formed units were tasked with conducting long-range intelligence collection through reconnaissance and surveillance, among other tasks
To meet the need for Long Range Reconnaissance capabilities, the Army activated the LRS Company (LRSC) at the Corps level and the LRS Detachment (LRSD) at the Division level. The 9th Infantry Division stood up a Test-Based unit developing doctrine and operating procedures based on lessons learned from the operations of Vietnam LRRP units.
In Germany, Echo and Fox Companies 51st Infantry were activated and based out of Wiesbaden and Darmstadt; and aligned with Military Intelligence Brigades in Frankfurt and Stuttgart, respectively. This basing in Germany came from a 1978 study on special organizations required in the Army as part of the transformation from Post-Vietnam force structures and requirements.
The Echo Company Commander was a former Special Forces A-Team Commander, and the Foxtrot Company Commander came from the 82nd Airborne Division. The 11B NCOs were RANGER Qualified and came from the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 82nd Airborne Division, or the RANGER Department. All the junior enlisted Soldiers were Airborne qualified.
The US Army recognized the need for institutional training and opened The Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course (LRSLC) in 1986 to fill a void that existed in Ranger training when Long-Range Surveillance Units (LRSUs) were reactivated that same year. The course was initially designed to emphasize tasks drawn from LRP lessons learned in Southeast Asia. LRSLC was placed under the Ranger Training Brigade, 4th Ranger Training Battalion located on Fort Benning, Georgia. To attend, you had to be a Sergeant (E-5) and both Ranger and Airborne qualified serving in either a LRS unit or in Special Forces. Waivers were granted to Specialists (E-4s) on a case by case basis but they had to meet the same criteria as an E-5.
In July 2002, the Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course was renamed the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course, and course duration was dropped from 33 days to 26 long, due to the Global War on Terror, operation tempo, and training focus shifted from a standing army doctrinal fight to information collection during counter insurgency (COIN) operations. Responding to guidance from the Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) the course transitioned from a pure COIN fight to a hybrid threat model and the course was lengthened to 29 days, and in June 2013, due to MCoE realignment, RSLC was transferred to the 316th Cavalry Brigade, for yet another chapter in our history, after 27 years, as part of the Ranger Training Brigade, and the Ranger legacy.
Between 2005 and 2009, the US Army inactivated or reflagged the LRSC and LRSD, and absorbed them into other units, such as Pathfinder Companies, Cavalry Squadron’s, and the Battlefield Surveillance Brigade’s (BfSB)
These LRS Companies and Detachments saw service and combat in Kosovo, Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti, Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and while the unit designation’s are gone, the LRS Soldiers have spread a great wealth of leadership, experience, and knowledge to the US Army.
The LRS Soldiers, Rangers, and Marine Reconnaissance units inherited the art of long-range patrolling and the skills and tactics of the Vietnam LRRPs, who in turn inherited tactics and techniques from the doctrine forming USAREUR LRRPs, setting the standard for today's reconnaissance and surveillance unit’s regardless of their unit designation, or the Guidon they fly.
As LRRP/LRP/LRS members have left the service, retired, or changed units, years of contact has brought about the need for an opportunity to reconnect. The 2014 LRRP/LRS/LRS Rally in Columbus, GA was the first time, reconnaissance team members from all eras, from the USAREUR LRRPSs, to Vietnam LRP/LRRP, to LRS had met in a social environment.
OUR LEGACY
In Vietnam over 500 LRRPs and LRPs fell in Combat, and there is one Missing In Action. Awards, to include the Medal Of Honor, have been awarded to Vietnam LRRPs and LRPs.
The LONG RANGE RECONNAISSANCE ASSOCIATION (LRRA) has taken on the mission to preserve the LRRP-LRP-LRS legacy by purchasing and placing memorials to recognize their service. Memorial Benches have been placed at the NATIONAL RANGER MEMORIAL at Ft. Benning, GA, the NATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM in Columbus, Ga., and at the Birthplace of the LRRA in Branson, MO. A paver honoring LRRP, LRP, and LRS Soldiers has been placed at the ARMY HISTORY MUSEUM being built near Ft. Belvoir, VA and most recently pavers have been placed at the National Infantry Museum, located next to Ft Benning GA, at the Global War on Terror monument.
As LRS Units are deactivated, it becomes ever more important to document and preserve the LRRP-LRP-LRS stories. The best way to gather that history is for all former LRRP, LRP, and LRS Soldiers to join the Long Range Reconnaissance Association and not only tell the stories but record them for our future generations of Reconnaissance Soldiers.
L Co 75th (LRRP) Entrance Control Point
101st LRSD in Carentan during D-Day 60th Anniversary
Ranger Hall of Fame members Gary Linderer (L) and Ron "Mother" Rucker (R) with Carl Witkowski in Branson MO during the 2015 LRRA Rally
Gary & Ron served in L Co 75th (LRRP)
Carl served in 10th Mtn Div LRSD
We carefully validate all applications to ensure only those who have served honorably in LRRP, LRP, or LRS units are approved. Please be prepared to provide the Full Name and Membership Number of an LRRA Sponsor or
Verifiable Proof of Service in a LRRP, LRP, or LRS Unit.
Join the LRRA to reconnect with your LRRP, LRP, and LRS Brothers and support our efforts to
ensure the History and Legacy of our units, Mission, and Heritage are not lost or forgotten
Membership Application
Mailing Address:
LONG RANGE RECONNAISSANCE ASSOCIATION
9377 N 300 W Lake Village, IN 46349
Officer Email Contact Data
President
- Tim Speece;
President@lrra2015.org
Vice President - Matt Mackert;
Vicepresident@lrra2015.org
Quartermaster & Sergeant At Arms - Carl Witkowski;