Spycraft - Melton [166]
A covert Document Copy Attaché Kit that contained a complete photographic reproduction system concealed inside a standard briefcase performed the function of a portable photocopier. Once assembled, it offered a one-position copy device for photographing documents up to nine by fourteen inches. The system employed a fixed-focus Pentax camera modified for silent operation. An agent or case officer could use the system to produce properly exposed negatives consistently with no prior training.20
Early in the Vietnam War, the need to carry adequate food rations posed a persistent problem for covert infiltration teams whose operations could last ninety days or more. Packed in cans with liquid, C-rations, the typical military fare, were bulky and inconvenient. They were heavy and their metal and paper packaging waste had to be carried out since any trash would leave evidence of the mission.
“When I first got to Vietnam I found that the ninety-day supply of food, clothing, ammo, and other equipment for one infiltration team took up about four pallets, with food rations taking up most of the space,” said Jameson. “We could airdrop the pallets into remote areas, but for the team to find it and unpack it without leaving a trail was nearly impossible. So I set out to reduce that bulk as much as I could.”
Working with one of America’s leading breakfast cereal companies, TSD engineers thought they found a solution with a product they called “CD rations.”21 Resembling today’s energy bars, the CD rations contained concentrated servings of protein and other nutrients that were rehydrated in water and cooked in the field to provide all the nutrition of C-rations without the bulk. “I had TSD’s Asia shop make special survival vests with a lot of pockets of the exact size to carry the new product,” remembered Jameson. “Then I found a patrol that was going out for several days and was willing to taste test our new rations. They would be gone for a week and subsist only on those rations. We needed to learn how they would be accepted by soldiers under the stress of combat.”
Jameson accompanied the patrol, which included U.S. Special Forces and eight Montagnards. “No one complained about the food, but the patrol hadn’t been out for more than a couple days when some members started getting sick and throwing up the rations,” said Jameson. “We didn’t have any backup food, because I hadn’t allowed us to take any. I knew that given a choice, they probably wouldn’t eat what they had left.”
The team found a village with an orange orchard and loaded up their backpacks. “Well, those oranges were extremely acidic,” Jameson explained. “We ate them like apples, just spitting out the rinds. So, by the time we got back to the base camp, the acid was eating the lining of our mouths and we were all bleeding. We were a sight. It’s safe to say future patrols didn’t request rations from me.”
Jameson filed a report on the debacle and the techs returned to the drawing board with the cereal people. “Eventually that work produced a much better bar,” said Jameson. “But I could never introduce it. Not after the riding I took from those Special Forces guys.”
Throughout the early part of the war, Stanley Lovell’s .22 caliber silenced Hi-Standard pistol was a favorite among CIA and Special Forces. 22 Compact, accurate at close ranges, and reliable, the World War II gun was marking its third decade of service as OTS engineers worked to improve and adapt the weapon to new missions. Among the first enhancements added was an attachable shoulder stock that essentially turned the pistol into a rifle for increased accuracy.
Parr, who headed the project, added features to make the pistol suitable for the skies as well as the jungles. “After we put the shoulder stock on it, we fitted it with a holster that would survive an enormous amount of G force, so it became