Project SIGMA

Project SIGMA was one of the several Reconnaissance Projects, which were special reconnaissance (SR) units named with a Greek letter. The Reconnaissance Projects were formed by the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) during the Vietnam War to collect operational intelligence in remote areas of South Vietnam.

Just like the first recon project, Project DELTA Sigma was basically serving as just another project Delta, with much of it being the same layout and missions as Delta. It was originally supposed to also have an attached ARVN battalion, but it was shut down by advisors, most likely due to the poor record the South Vietnamese held with advisors. Sigma was located at camp Ho Ngoc Tao, which is near Tu Duc. Sigma was under detachment B-56 of the Green Berets.

Mission

Sigma's mission was much like project Delta and Project GAMMA, that of which was strategic reconnaissance into Viet Cong areas, but they also had a Nùng people security company. Recon included standard 6 man recon teams, but also special teams like roadrunner teams. One thing SIGMA did was also rescue POWs by tapping the lines of PAVN communications. Their main source of information came from their Recon teams and their Roadrunner teams, while the security company assisted MIKE FORCE or Civilian Irregular Defense Group program units in need, and also general security for the main base, and sometimes searching for MIA Recon teams. (Roadrunners didn't go in with an RTO, so they had a whole separate communication system.)

Organization

Project SIGMA consisted of the following areas:

A Recon section, with 8 RTs.
3 Commando (Reaction) Companies
A 168 Man Nung or Cambodian security company. (Which likely came furnished with a personal BDA platoon.)
A Roadrunner platoon that would disguise themselves as the NVA and infiltrate them to gather information. (It was later transferred over to Project GAMMA in 1967.)

Project SIGMA

Mission

Organization

See Also