[Jack Moroney (RIP)]

Actually I think I would prefer the term, "establishing a close rapport and working relationship". It can be a problem and SF were warned about getting involved in the FULRO movement in SVN where the goal was the recognition of the Montagnards as a legitimate people with rights and governmental powers. While I cannot speak for others, it was pretty easy to do everything you could to look out for the yards and keep the LLDB under control to the point of threatening, in one of my more contentious times, to smoke their butts with some 20mm cannon from a couple of AIE skyraiders if they didn't come around. The best way to control "going native" was to put things in perspective and always remember everything you do was bound to have a long term effect. The idea was to ensure that whatever you did when you were no longer there that the "natives" could function on their own and not be tied to us for ever. I think the closest that my team every came to "going native" was to adopt yard dress, wear the necklaces and bracelets and participate in their various ceremonies. Of course, even good intentions can backfire. I can remember quite vividly, after we acquired a couple of 105 mm howitzers, trying to convince a village cheif to relocate his village within the range of the guns. I did all the right things, donned the loin cloth, put on the bangles, sat around a jug of rice wine and started to parley with him. The long and the short of it was he would move if I could demonstrate that I could bring out the "sun" in the night. They had never seen an illumination round out where they were located. I said I could, but if I did he would move the village and there would be no first born sacrifice as was the normal custom. Well, you got to remember I said we acquired those weapons so we where a couple of brain cells short of being fully trained on them. So to control things I sent my team sergeant and a medic the 11 clicks up the valley and waited until night fall. Took an azimuth to put the rounds just short of the village, set the elevation at 45 degrees for max range, had the timer set, and corked off the round. Well no one told us that there was a metal disc that pushed the illumination system out of the canister and come to find out I damn near took out a portion of the village chiefs hut with the disc and I think we killed one of the pigs. The team sergeant was right on top if it, had me shift the tube and the rest, as they say, is history. Village moved under the guns and no sacrifice. So the long and the short of it, there is a time and a place to "go native" but not completely.

Jack Moroney