SOG members in South East Asia

But these were no ordinary grunts. They were volunteers - several times over. They were top of the line, state of the art, trained to the max, no holds barred, professional soldiers. They were not subordinate to high command in Vietnam, but answered directly to the Pentagon. With the Green Berets playing a starring role, SOG's numbers included elements from all the US military's elite forces -- Army Special Forces, Navy Seals and Air Force Air Commandos. These were men called upon to do specialized jobs that virtually no other soldier was equipped, or inclined, to do: - reconnaissance deep in enemy territory, seemingly hopeless rescue missions, psy-ops of singular cunning. They weren't in it for the glory, and they sure weren't in it for the pay. Their reasons for joining "Group" were disparate and unique. And this program will reflect that. In fact, SECRET ARMY... will be as different a Vietnam documentary as these SOG soldiers were from ordinary "grunts."

Written by John L. Plaster

John L. Plaster, is eminently qualified to take us through this history -- both as author of the exhaustively researched book, "SOG", and as a participant who served three tours in Southeast Asia as a SOG team leader. Eloquent and articulate, he embodies the spirit of this special breed of soldier. The history of SOG will unfold via Plaster and his colleagues -- seen through their eyes and told in their own words. Their operations took place in utter secrecy, and the viewer will learn why - and how. On a purely visceral level, the program will offer a sense of what it felt like to conduct missions so clandestine that, in effect, they didn't exist; so dangerous, that by 1968 the casualty rate for some missions hovered near 100%. And, the viewer will be privy to military secrets only recently declassified. These personal accounts will be both gripping and poignant, as the people who served tell how the SOG experience affected them, then...and now.

"We want to memorialize the guys who were lost," Plaster explains. "And we want to tell a story that has never been told before."

This documentary will go beyond reliance on traditional newsreel stock footage, and with John Plaster's assistance, draw on the home movies shot by soldiers in the field, much of it never seen before. Plaster will also make available his personal collection of over 1000 still photographs. This collection includes many images that few journalists, at the time could obtain -- many shot in the midst of crisis situations. Dramatic audio tape recordings of two actual SOG missions, one in which Plaster himself can be heard attempting to rescue a comrade, will be included in the program.

John Plaster went on to open a new chapter in the SOG saga when he called to task the CNN story on an alleged massacre by the group's operatives in Vietnam. The so-called "Tailwind" investigation was originally broadcast on June 7, 1998, and was called to task by Plaster in a New York Times Op-Ed piece a few days later. The resulting controversy rocked the venerable cable news organization, and eventually resulted in the dismissal of the producer, April Oliver, and the long-time CNN chief correspondent, Peter Arnett.

In January of 1999, PBS president Pat Mitchell, then president of CNN Productions, called a meeting in New York, inviting John Plaster, Jimmie Dean (President of the Special Forces Association, a veterans group), along with Joel Sucher and Steven. Ms. Mitchell offered CNN's cooperation in producing a stand-alone documentary about the true history of the organization. Stephanie Silber, who had worked on a previous piece about unconventional warfare, produced by Pacific Street Films, was hired to direct, and with initial funding from CNN, several days of shooting commenced. CNN, citing legal entanglements, withdrew from the project, but turned over all materials to Pacific Street Films.

Since October 1998, Pacific Street Films has filmed a variety of events related to SOG, including a reunion of SOG veterans in Las Vegas; the arrival, in Corpus Christi, of the newly commissioned USNS Sisler, named after SOG's medal of honor winner, Lieut. George Ken Sisler (Sisler's widow and family attended the event); the awarding, at West Point, of an "upgrade," from Bronze Star to Silver Star to SOG veteran Chuck Pfeiffer (now an actor/producer); a reunion of the original members of a SOG parachute team at Fort Bragg - they recreated the same High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) jump performed for the first time in combat in Vietnam.

Lt. George Ken Sisler with Montagnard child

With a rich arsenal of resources, and the support of scores of veterans, many of whom have sent us personal materials, SECRET ARMY will be a tribute to all SOG veterans who demonstrated unwavering courage and determination under the harshest of conditions.

Perhaps the most poignant image was sent to us by the widow of 1st Lt. George Ken Sisler, medal of honor recipient and SOG member. Sisler sits with a young Montagnard child wearing his beret. The caption penned in by Lt. Sisler's widow reads, "Christmas 1966 - Leper Colony near Kontum. Parents of child are lepers. Ken and others jumped with 2 bags of goodies for the children. He really took this child to heart and made friends with her -- though no words spoken, were understandable to each other. To me, the father he was comes out in this picture. "Shortly after the picture was taken, Lt. Sisler was killed in action.