Tunnel Rats

          Early in the Vietnam war, the Vietcong had used the Cu Chi tunnels to great effect because the US had been unaware of their existence and the tunnels had run right under their Head Quarters. The tunnel rats came onto the scene after the US discovered the tunnels' existence. The term "tunnel rats" was a specialty for volunteer combat engineers and infantrymen. Their job was to go into tunnel system to kill or capture the inhabitants, gather intelligence on the tunnels, and destroy the tunnels.


          However that was much easier said than done. The tunnel system was so elaborate, it included hospitals, training areas, storage facilities, barracks, head quarters, and a very advanced ventilation system that could direct steam to come out half a mile away from its actual source allowed the Vietcong to remain hidden in them for months at a time. And the tunnels were not so welcoming to the tunnel rats. Firstly, not all the tunnels were solidly constructed and they could collapse on the tunnel rats. Then there was the fact that the tunnels had often been booby trapped with hand grenades, anti-personnel mines, poison gas, and punji sticks. The Vietcong also used more natural booby traps such as venomous snakes, scorpions, bats, rats, spiders, ants, and U-bends that flooded quickly to drown tunnel rats. If none of the booby traps finished off the tunnel rats, the Vietcong could wait around bends and stab them when they weren't ready.


         So, naturally, the tunnel rats needed some specialized equipment to combat the special conditions. These included flashlights, pistols (usually with a silencer because the sound in the confined space could lead to deafness and attract attention), a bayonet, and explosives, though sometimes also a gas mask due to the poison gas sometimes released. Furthermore, to maneuver in the tunnels, the tunnel rats were typically of smaller stature at about  5'6" or shorter.