Harvard R.O.T.C. Begins Program To Teach Counter-Guerrilla Tactics

Harvard's Army R.O.T.C has instituted a voluntary program concerned primarily with the development of skills employed in counter-guerrilla warfare, Captain Frederic L. Shean, assistant professor of Military Science, announced yesterday.

Captain Shean, who will direct the program, said that the unit -- which will be called a "Ranger" unit -- will deal with techniques directly applicable to the kind of war currently being waged in Vietnam by U.S. troops.

Ranger cadets will study preventative measures for ambush, defensive tactics for units under ambush, and operations in difficult terrain. They will deal essentially with the "leadership and tactics of small patrol units within larger combat battalions," Shean explained. The platoon will learn techniques of first aid, communications, water survival, land navigation, and demolitions, he said.

Fifteen R.O.T.C. cadets have already joined the unit, and Shean expects the membership to increase to about 20, or nearly one-fourth o Harvard's total Army R.O.T.C. enrollment.

Shean said that each U.S. Army company in Vietnam is authorized to have a Ranger-trained officer. He thinks that some Harvard Ranger officers may eventually be sent to Vietnam during their two years of active commission.

Advanced Cadets to Conduct Training

Captain Shean believes some members of the current Ranger platoon will continue next year as leaders of the unit. These advanced R.O.T.C. cadets will conduct some of the platoon's training activities.

The Ranger program, already in operation at many colleges includes classroom instruction in theory and field training exercises for practical application.