The Alternate Plans are approved…
Thursday, Oct 15th, 1970
…exactly 50 years ago today.

The TOC Log records that, as of today, the Green Berets began training on the three Alternate Plans that every Green Beret had to memorize:

Alternate Plan Blue (in case Blueboy Assault Group’s helicopter got shot down.)

Alternate Plan Green(in case Greenleaf Support Group’s helicopter got shot down.)

Alternate Plan Red (in case Redwine Security Group’s helicopter got shot down.)

Now Fast Forward to the night of the Raid:
0220 hrs, Saturday November 21st, 1970

When we were just about to land, I heard the chatter in my headset. The voice of Sgt 1st Class Howell came through. He was the RTO for LtCol Sydnor, the ground force commander for the raid:

“Alternate Plan GREEN!” “I repeat: Alternate Plan GREEN. Do you copy?”

[This was only the first of the bad news I would hear tonight.]
I responded, “SAY AGAIN?”
Sgt 1st Class Howell: “Alternate Plan GREEN! Alternate Plan GREEN. Over.”

I said back into my hand mic, “Roger. Alternate Plan Green. Over.”
I thought to myself, Holy crap. This can’t be real. I turned to Capt Dan and told him we were going to Alternate Plan Green. Capt Dan gave me that, “Oh S***” look and calmly told me to pass the announcement on to the others in Redwine.

Alternate Plan Green meant one thing to all of us on the Redwine chopper: We knew we had 22 fewer men. There would be a lot less fire power as we hit the ground. Whether Greenleaf Group had mechanical problems or had been shot down, we knew the mission, including the Alternate Plans. With or without the 22 men of Greenleaf Group, we were going to execute the mission and would now have to perform their role as well as ours.

Life Lesson 6: Don’t be “Indispensable.” Always be training a backup person for your job and always be learning to be a backup for your teammates. This applies to any job in life. The graveyards are full of “indispensable men.”

Read the rest of the Raiders’ first-hand stories in Who Will Go.

Click Here:  The book.