Editing David Hackworth (section)

===Vietnam ===
When President [[John F. Kennedy]] announced that a large advisory team was being sent to [[South Vietnam]], Hackworth immediately volunteered for service. His request was denied, on the grounds that he had too much frontline experience, and that others who had seen less fighting (or none) should have an opportunity to acquire experience in combat.<ref>David Hackworth, [https://books.google.com/books?id=H2ofpCdu4boC&dq=david+hackworth+%22too+much+combat+experience%2C+the+guys+at+Personnel+said.%22&pg=PA416 ''About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior''], 1990, p. 416</ref>

In 1965, he deployed to Vietnam at the rank of [[Major (United States)|Major]], serving as an [[Operations (military staff)|operations officer]] and battalion commander in the [[101st Airborne Division]]. In November 1965, Hackworth founded a platoon-sized unit designated as [[Tiger Force]] to "out guerrilla the guerrillas".<ref>Sallah and Weiss, ''Tiger Force'', 13–14, 23, 224.</ref> <!-- Tiger Force (Recon) --> The unit carried out [[long-range reconnaissance patrol]] duties, suffering heavy casualties; it was eventually awarded the [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]].<ref>Mahr, "[http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/SRTIGERFORCE/40328015 Unit's founder] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107233127/http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F99999999%2FSRTIGERFORCE%2F40328015 |date=January 7, 2010 }}"</ref> However, after Hackworth was promoted out of Vietnam, the unit committed a series of [[United States war crimes|war crimes]], with U.S. Army investigative records estimating that Tiger Force soldiers killed hundreds of noncombatants. Hackworth later stated in an interview with the ''[[The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)|Toledo Blade]]'' that he was unaware of the war crimes the unit carried out and refused to speculate on why they occurred.<ref name="toledoblade.com">{{Cite web|first=Joe|last=Mahr|title=Unit's founder says he didn't know of atrocities|url=https://www.toledoblade.com/special-tiger-force/2004/03/28/Unit-s-founder-says-he-didn-t-know-of-atrocities.html|publisher=[[The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)|Toledo Blade]]|date=March 28, 2004|access-date=January 6, 2023}}</ref>

Hackworth quickly developed a reputation as an eccentric but effective soldier, becoming a public figure in several books authored by General [[S. L. A. Marshall|S. L. A. "Slam" Marshall]]. Following a stateside tour at [[the Pentagon]] and promotion to [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]], Hackworth co-wrote ''The Vietnam Primer'' with Marshall after returning to Vietnam in the winter of 1966–67 on an Army-sponsored tour with the famous historian and commentator. The book advised [[counter-insurgency]] fighters to adopt some of the guerrilla tactics used by [[Mao Zedong]], [[Che Guevara]], and [[Ho Chi Minh]]. Hackworth described the strategy as "out-G-ing the G." His personal and professional relationship with Marshall soured as Hackworth became suspicious of his methods and motivation.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite book |first1=Julie |last1=Sherman |date=April 15, 1990 |title=About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior |publisher=Touchstone |location=California |isbn=0671695347}}</ref>

However, both his assignment with "Slam" Marshall and his time on staff duty at the Pentagon soured Hackworth on the [[Vietnam War]]. One aspect of the latter required him to publicly defend the U.S. position on the war in a speaking tour. Even with his reservations concerning the conflict, he refused to resign, feeling it was his duty as a field grade officer to wage the campaign as best he could.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

[[File:Fire Support Base Danger March 1969.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Fire Support Base Danger, Dinh Tuong Province, March 1969: This fire support base was the 4-39th Infantry Battalion headquarters when Hackworth took command of that unit.]]
Hackworth was assigned to a training battalion at [[Fort Lewis (Washington)|Fort Lewis]], Washington, and then returned to Vietnam to lead elements of the [[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Division]], turning his theories about guerrilla warfare and how to counter it into practice with the 4th Battalion, [[39th Infantry Regiment (United States)|39th Infantry Regiment]] (4-39 Infantry) in the [[Mekong Delta]], an underperforming unit made up largely of conscripts which Hackworth transformed into the counter-insurgent "Hardcore" Battalion (Recondo) from January to late May 1969.

Hackworth next served as a senior military adviser to the [[ARVN]], the South Vietnamese army. His view that the U.S. Army was not learning from its mistakes, and that ARVN officers were essentially corrupt and ineffective, created friction with Army leadership.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

In early 1971, Hackworth was promoted to the rank of [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] and received orders to attend the [[United States Army War College|Army War College]], an indication that he was being groomed for the general officer ranks. He had declined a previous opportunity to go to the War College, and turned down this one, as well, indicating his lack of interest in becoming a general and demonstrating his discontent with the war and the Army's leaders.<ref name=autogenerated1 />