# Bow and Arrow used by Green Berets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760 "2013-05-08T01:52:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lasershot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/919ad9/32.png) [@Lasershot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasershot)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760/62 "2017-05-19T13:02:42Z")
One of the videos linked to near the beginning of this thread included something everyone seems to have missed: one of the videos was of SF soldiers in Taiwan. To clarify: Yes, the early 1960s video showed American guys training in Utah, using bows. That was true then, but was later phased out of regular training (beyond perhaps brief mentions in other areas like “improvised weapons”). It is no longer part of routine long-term training. SF guys, however, are extensively trained in the use of all weapons used by modern soldiers in all of the armies that they might be expected to be in the field against. They learn to strip, re-assemble, load and shoot all the weapons commonly used by the Russians, Chinese, Iraqis, etc… (Of course, ANY kind of weapon can show up in Afghanistan, where everything they can get their hands on, from muzzle-loaders to UZIs, is manually copied --mostly in Darra Adam Khel, in neighboring Pakistan’s NWF Provinces.). The SF guys learn all these weapon systems so that, if necessary, they can take a weapon off of an enemy soldier (dead or alive) and immediately use it against the enemy, without having to fiddle around to find where the safety is, etc… --by which time they would probably have been shot. The Taiwanese forces shown using bows are a very special case. They come from mountain tribes from the rugged mountain region of East-Central Taiwan who largely still live the way their ancestors have for centuries. If you watch films of them, or have the opportunity to spend time with them, you find they resemble with almost uncanny similarity many of the Native American (“Indian”) tribes in the ways that they live. They wear clothing made from fronds and bark, and even wear beadwork and feathers on their heads. They also use bows in hunting. They grow up using bows, and are usually excellent shots. They also understand how to move silently in the wild, and hunt game while remaining undetected. In a sense, they are like the Bushmen of the forests. The Taiwanese Army makes use of these skill sets (that these tribesmen already possess) in specialised SF roles --after additional military training, of course. Seeing THOSE troops using bows is not surprising. It would be more surprising to see their skills being left un-utilized. But even in Taiwan, the regular (non-tribal) SF guys are NOT expected to carry or use bows and arrows; that is reserved for the special tribal unit. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760/63 "2017-05-19T13:46:32Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Or just sharpen a stick. You can kill with a sharpened stick. Suppose 'e’s got a bunch? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760/64 "2017-05-19T20:49:34Z")
No, sticks don’t come in bunches. Bananas, now… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760/65 "2017-05-19T21:00:52Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Suppose 'e’s got a bunch? \*Shut up! \* ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760/66 "2017-05-21T10:25:02Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Linkey no workey. > > And I’m especially interested in a cite about hunting game. I think there are very few places on earth at the present where hunting game with arrows is easy enough that anyone doing it for sustenance would have any time left over for soldiering, especially if one is worried about being detected by hostile forces. Certainly if you’re trying to get anywhere, it’s faster to just carry a huge pack full of rations and walk slowly than it is to spend most of your day chasing game. That open access link to the article is no longer there, unfortunately. Here’s a link to a paywall site, with citation and first page: [The Crossbow and Bow in Modern Warfare](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/174161210X12652009773492?journalCode=yaaa20) As previously mentioned, that Arms and Armour 2010 article is full of cases of crossbow (and bow) usage by the U.S., GB, Aus etc. armed forces in the 20th century - in WW II, Vietnam etc. One specific incidence of using an expedient survival bow for procuring food took place in the Falklands War, when a British spec op was stranded in an uninhabited area. He fashioned a bow and shot a bird of prey with it to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Boxcar\_165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Boxcar\_165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boxcar_165)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760/67 "2017-10-31T15:21:11Z")
While in Vietnam in 1967 I read an article in the stars and stripes which talked about two archers in Vietnam. One of which was from Michigan and I believe the Second one was from Kansas. The article talked about these gentlemen skill at 40 yards and under and their ability for a center chest shot on officers only. Also included what is their ability and camouflage and escape any vacation. I would certainly love to find that article again. I personally picked up one of these gentlemen in my helicopter And returned him to C and returned him to July hi Lai. The only weapon he had in his possession was a takedown bow and arrows. He may have been carrying a handgun but I didn’t see it. If someone can find that stars and stripes from 67 you would see the article I’m talking about. Oh yes and I’m not crazy. It happened! ---
**Author:** ![Boxcar\_165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Boxcar\_165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boxcar_165)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760/68 "2017-10-31T15:26:35Z")
Hat should have said Chu Lai. Hate talk to text but when you’re as slow as me it helps. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760/69 "2017-11-01T19:35:05Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > If you are all walking in 5he same direction (like soldiers do) or sitting around a fire and someone takes an arrow in the back its not hard to figure where it came from. You assume that soldiers in the field are just walking willy nilly. Um, believe it or not, soldiers are not marching in ranks 24/7. Especially during small-unit actions in rural areas, where SF guys mostly work, solo sentrys are common. A guy steps into the brush to take a leak. One member of a patrol gets a little too far ahead or behind. Especially if they are in what they think is a safe area, and especially if they are the kind of third-world irregular troops SF types usually end up fighting, yeah soldiers sometimes do end up walking around willy nilly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bow-and-arrow-used-by-green-berets/657760.md?page=3)