9 Things Every FNG Did in His First 30 Days in Vietnam (That Nobody Taught Him)

He dove into the mud for his own artillery, carried everything on his first hump, lit a match on night guard and saluted the captain in the middle of a patrol. These are the mistakes almost every new guy made in his first month in Vietnam, why the old guys kept their distance, and what changed on day thirty-one. Sources: - Shelby L. Stanton, The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1965-1973 (Presidio Press, 1985) - Gordon L. Rottman, Vietnam Infantry Tactics (Osprey, 2011) - Alfred M. Allen, Skin Diseases in Vietnam, 1965-72 (Office of The Surgeon General, U.S. Army, 1977) - Accounts from Army and Marine veterans of the Vietnam War