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1st Mobile Strike Force Tigerstripe Shirt

Front of a tigerstripe camouflage shirt with a ULRICSON name tape and a MIKE FORCE tape above the chest pockets, each topped by parachutist wings.

Back of the tigerstripe camouflage shirt laid flat.

Close-up of the machine-sewn ULRICSON name tape in lightweight tigerstripe material, with South Vietnamese silk woven jump wings on a black background above it.

Close-up of the machine-sewn MIKE FORCE tape in lightweight tigerstripe material, with hand-embroidered U.S. jump wings on lightweight tigerstripe above it.

Close-up of the inside collar of the late war lightweight tigerstripe shirt, showing a faint US-M size rubber stamp.

Group photograph of Special Forces soldiers in berets, standing and kneeling in two rows before a building signed Bo Chi Huy, Headquarters, Biet Kich Quan Tiep Ung, 1st Mobile Strike Force Command.

A column of soldiers walking across an airfield toward a large helicopter, with covered cargo pallets beside it.

Ulricson in tigerstripe camouflage seated in the jungle beside a smiling Montagnard soldier in a bush hat, with other soldiers resting nearby.

Ulricson in an open tigerstripe shirt and headband speaking into a radio handset in the jungle, with his young Montagnard radio operator behind him.

A small Montagnard boy in an oversized jacket and bush hat holding an M16 rifle, standing with Montagnard soldiers in tigerstripe camouflage.

A smiling Rhade soldier of the 1st Mobile Strike Force in a patrol cap, standing in the jungle.

Ulricson in tigerstripe camouflage carrying his rifle and gear across a sandy compound beside helmeted Montagnard soldiers, with trucks behind them.

Vietnam War, 1969–1970

Object Details

Late war lightweight tigerstripe camouflage shirt.
Size "US-M" rubber stamp inside the collar.
Machine-sewn, theater-made "ULRICSON" name tape and "MIKE FORCE" tape in matching late war lightweight tigerstripe material.
South Vietnamese silk woven jump wings above the name tape.
Hand-embroidered U.S. jump wings on late war lightweight tigerstripe above the Mike Force tape.
A folded OD handkerchief remains inside the pocket.

Service

Enlisted: PFC, Training Group, July 1967 – June 1968.
Spec 4, 6th Special Forces Group (Airborne), June 1968 – November 1968.
Spec 4 – SSG, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), December 1968 – March 1970, including six months with the Rhade of the 1st Mobile Strike Force.
Officer: ODA 31 Team Leader, 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Bad Tölz, West Germany, April 1985 – June 1987.
Project Officer, Training Exercises, SOCOM, Fort Bragg, 1987–1989.
S3, Training Group Support Battalion, 1993–1994. Retired August 1994.

In His Words

In 2009 Ulricson answered five written questions by hand, returning them with the note: "You owe me nothing! Just keeping the Mike Force alive is enough appreciation & happiness. Keep up the good work!" His answers are transcribed verbatim below.

What was your motivation to volunteer for Special Forces?

"What motivated me initially was the physical & mental challenge of being S.F. Also, being w/ the best trained soldiers in the Army. I spent 1yr. in Tng. Grp. & served w/ the most professional NCO's in the Army… dedicated, professional motivated, pride & never whining about duty to our country. They realized their risk & went the extra mile. Some of these men came home in body bags. There are some things worth dying for…"

What did you like/dislike about being on an A-Team?

"Again, serving w/ the BEST. Workg w/ our allies, e.g. DUTCH, CANADIAN, SAS & GERMANS. I liked the physical & mental challenge. The diversity in the mission… operations from living in snow caves, jumping out of MC-130s, living in the jungle w/ Rhade, rock climbing, wpns tng, meetg people, never bored, a sense of accomplishing the mission(s), and surviving all of this. I have approximately 2x dozen friends names carved on The Wall. Life is precious."

"Dog & pony shows for VIPs. Warm beer. Learning of a close friends KIA. The medic. Rats crawling on you at nite… leeches. Dumb people; that could get others killed. People that give up."

What did you like/dislike about being with a Mike Force?

"The Mike Force was the Montagnards. Totally loyal to our mission & to us. Did not run away from enemy contact. Love to party after contact operations. Watch cowboy shows. Play volleyball. They knew the "bush". Took care of me. The best fighters!"

"I liked & enjoyed my complete tour w/ the M.F. If not in the bush I spent my free time w/ the Rhade; socializing, training, eating, drinking, partying – understanding them, as well as, they understand me."

"I honestly cannot recall any time I would put in the "dislike" category. (I'm sure there were some)."

Any interesting stories you would care to share about training, camp life, patrols, operations, etc?

"My entire 6 mos w/ the Rhade I could write an action story/novel. Following is a list of stuff I remember & share w/ you.

– watching John Wayne movies – cowboy
– drinking & partying w/ them. I would buy gin at PX on sale
– playing volley ball… combat style
– lookg at TIME/LIFE magazines together & explaining U.S. customs, values, culture
– Chep "Rhade Co Cdr" – appropriatg a mattress for him.
– Being invited & participating in 3x black rock ceremony w/ village elders. And receiving a Montagnard bracelet.
– Crossing rivers & throwing in concussion grenades to get fish dinner that evening. Cut in two, stuffed in a canteen cup, heated w/ C-4 provides a yummy hot meal
– crossing bomb craters by walking single file over the crater on a fallen tree. The one that falls in is wet & we all get a good belly laugh at of it.
– Rhade had a great sense for enjoying life & realized "their" day w/ the Americans will end & probably not the way they want.

My time in the Mike Force & with the Rhade will be forever etched in my being for my lifetime."

Provenance

Acquired from another collector; unattributed at the time of purchase.
Images of the shirt were sent to Bruce Ulricson, who positively identified it as his.
Ulricson and the author corresponded by mail in 2009, including the written questionnaire above, returned March 9, 2009.
The 1969 photographs and their handwritten notes were provided to the author by Ulricson.