The 101st Recondo School curriculum during the pre-Vietnam era

included a POW compound exercise. Recondo students attending

classes prior to 1964 completed a short two day POW compound
training exercise where individuals were subject to training that
included water torture (water boarding), electrical shock, and confined
space burials. This portion of the course was conducted in the final
week of training and followed an escape and evasion exercise. The
POW compound training was discontinued following an IG investigation
in 1964. The entire 3-4 week course typically began with about 100
volunteers from different Army, Marine Corps and Air Force units and
graduated about 10 persons in each class who received the 101st
Recondo Brand (pocket patch) and a graduation number. Another
twenty persons typically completed the course but did not graduate
and received only a certificate of completion. Graduation required
completing the obstacle course, runs to and from the Recondo Rock
Quarry, mountaineering and stream crossing, demolition,
communications and FO procedures, navigation and patrolling
examinations. The hand to hand training was limited to throws and falls
but resulted in a few injuries and subsequent removal from the course
by those injured. The test score results of successfully passing two
written exams and three graded patrols were basic aspects of the
course and the primary means of ranking each student. Night
parachute insertions were a special graded patrol phase that was given
to jumpmaster qualified students only. Recondo graduates were
required to demonstrate the ability to prepare and give elaborate
warning and operations orders, mission rehearsals and provide patrol
leadership during the planning, movement and actions at the objective
phases. If that was not clearly demonstrated, a Recondo Brand was not
awarded. The course was conducted at Fort Campbell, Kentucky during
the winter months. The 101st Recondo cadre conducted other training
during the year, including instruction of the one week West Point
Recondo course conducted during the summer. A primary objective of
the 101st Recondo School was to prepare persons for the Ranger
course and the majority of the Ranger school quotas given to the 101st
Airborne Division were to enlisted personnel that had graduated from
the 101st Recondo School and demonstrated a commitment to bring
back the honor graduate trophy of each Ranger class . Some of the
101st Recondo training schedules and lesson plans have survived and
warrant archiving.

Note: Unlike other Recondo training courses conducted in Vietnam ,

the 101st Recondo Course differentiated between persons completing
the course and persons that were awarded the 101st Recondo Brand
and diploma…prior to the Vietnam war less than 20% of each 101st
Recondo class was awarded the 101st Recondo Brand and only
approximately 30% of the starting class completed the course.