Army Signal Corps

In the post-World War II era, the Army had been training for another sophisticated, force-on-force war, like that in Europe, by developing new techniques and weapons based on lessons learned fighting the Germans. However, there were tensions building in Vietnam over the spread of communism beginning in the mid-1950s, leading to a proxy war between the United States and Russia. In a conventional ground war, maneuver forces were usually dispersed along a “line” facing the enemy. Combat support activities, including the field artillery, were located in the rear where they were used to engage the enemy forward of this “front line”. Due to the unconventional nature of the conflict in Vietnam, it was clear that new field artillery techniques would need to be developed yet again due to insufficient numbers and lack of mobility. The field artillery would not be

I would like to be in the Marine Corps JROTC program because it will be able to help me learn the basic elements and the need for national security and my personal obligation as an American. The Marine Corps JROTC program will also help me strengthen initiative and individuality to establish natural gifts, to teach me self-control, progress personal character, responsibility and aspect of integrity, loyalty, and dedication. This program sparked my interest as I know that it is highly beneficial and can teach or promote positive, productive behaviors. With this program, I learned that the Marine Corps JROTC cadets arrive everyday, have higher participation in class, are role models for avoiding substance abuse, have higher self-respect, develop

For tactical signals, the introduction of a new combat radio, the FM model AN/PRC-25 gave the soldier increased communications capability. More powerful than previous sets, it provided voice communications on 920 channels and covered longer distances (about three to five miles) across a wider span of frequencies. The PRC-25 proved to be greatest impact on communications than any other item in the war. The corresponding vehicular and aircraft-mounted series of FM sets, the AN/VRC-12 and AN/ARC-54, respectively, also met with success. Together, their overlapping frequencies enabled the Infantry, Armor, and Artillery to communicate with one another. Because the walkie-talkie was too bulky for use in South Vietnam warfighters, the Corps attempted to replace it with a new FM squad-level radio consisting of a hand-held transmitter (AN/PRT-4) and a helmet-mounted receiver (AN/PRR-9). While the new device improved communications between squad leaders and their men, it failed to achieve widespread acceptance by the troops. Squad members were issued only the receivers and could not acknowledge messages. The speaker was often too loud for patrol duty, and the earphones were uncomfortable. Eventually, soldiers stowed the sets in footlockers and forgot them. The PRC-25 proved to be the radio of choice at all

It should be noted that North Korea’s communist ally and veto holder, the Soviet Union, was absent from this meeting in protest of the communist China’s exclusion from the Security Council. A United Nations defense force led by the United States, came to the of South Korea and in a rapid counter-offensive, they were able to push the North Koreans back past the 38th parallel close to Yalu River along the border with China. Warnings from Communist China that it would intervene should UN forces push past the 38th parallel were ignored by UN Commanders and true to their word, the Chinese Intervened on behalf of the North pushing UN and ROK forces back to the 38th parallel. In 1953, the war ended with an armistice that restored the border between the Koreas near the 38th Parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a 4 Km wide buffer zone between the two Koreas (Edwards 2005).

During the Vietnam War the M42 (Duster) tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) vehicle influenced the future versatility and capabilities of the Air Defense Artillery systems of today’s United States Army. This system put a lasting impression on the minds and confidence of the American Army Soldiers. These Soldiers actively participated in defending the South Vietnamese from the North Vietnamese and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong (or Vietnamese Communist). Not only did the M42 Duster (SPAAG) raise the moral and boost confidence with the American Soldiers, it instilled fear and discouraged the enemy from attacking positions that were fortified with versatile air defense systems. This

The U.S. Marine Corps’ is thought to be one of the five free standing military departments, but in all actuality there is only three departments. The U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy are the only branches of the military that are correctly recognized as their own departments. There are two other Branches of the military that are under the U.S. Navy, one is the United States Marine Corps’. They were created to protect, but now they need protecting from budget cuts and disbanding. In order to protect the Corps’, they need to become their own U.S. Department, with their own funding and supplies.

The United States of America, one of the most powerful nations in the world at the time, was completely unprepared for the war that it had joined in Vietnam. The terrain was unlike any we had ever fought in. From mountains to jungles to rice paddies, it was wet, hot, cold, and completely unforgiving. To say that the political situation was tenuous would be a drastic understatement. Not only could officials not make up their minds, neither could the general populace. The media had an influence in this war that was heretofore unseen. All of these factors were a great obstacle in and of themselves and then we put into play the greatest obstacle of all: the enemy. This was an enemy like we had never seen. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Vietcong (VC) were fast, agile, adaptable, and extremely unpredictable. The VC hid among the common populace and fought like demons. The NVA were well supplied, well organized, and did not restrict themselves the way many large armies do. This forced us to have to rapidly adapt and develop new tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) in order to counter all of these obstacles. Due to these needs and the rapidly advancing technology and versatility of helicopters, the Air Cavalry was born. The Air Cav was composed of several types of airframes including transport aircraft, attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft. The reconnaissance aircraft were also known as Aeroscouts and were known for their boldness, audacity,

The Colorado First Light Infantry was an anti-militia group in the U.S. that only consisted of three members. Although this homegrown terrorist group was small and short-lived, it served as a precursor to another larger organization that would be formed. The Colorado First Light Infantry was founded by Ronald David Cole after the events of the Waco siege in Texas in 1993. Cole was at the time a member of the Branch Davidians and ended up writing a pro-Branch Davidians book Sinister Twilight, where he declared that his task was to complete the mission David Koresh failed to fulfill. In 1994, he met with the notorious domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh prior to the Oklahoma City bombing (Brennan 1995). In

attacks, the American soldiers were trained for open battle. The Vietcongs had underground tunnels as well where the Vietcongs

Attacks stretched as far as the northern U.S. military installation, Chu Lai, down to the primary objective in the south, Saigon. The launch of such an intricate and fierce attack caught many U.S. commanders off guard because at the time, the potential of the Northern fighters was severely underestimated. In the years before, Saigon acted as a safe haven for many refugees trying to escape the horrors of war. The comfort of the city soon vanished when the North Vietnamese sent 35 battalions to seize six objectives in the capital. A few of these enemy fighters took over a government radio station with the intention of spreading pro-communist propaganda. The North Vietnamese believed that if they could control the transmitting tower, they could convince the citizens of the South to riot against the U.S. forces. Fortunately for the U.S. troops, this plan was stopped by a Lieutenant of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) who previously decided to cut all transmission to and from the government radio tower. As the Viet Cong were waiting for reinforcements, ARVN troops

The AN/PRC's (Army/Navy Portable Radio Communications) of the day made for a heavy pack and they had long antennas. Snipers would target the Comms guy. The radio person was glued to the platoon leader and the radio was the only contact with the world. Air strikes/air support, Dust Off, and supply requests all went through the radio guy, along with Intel on enemy size and movement.

In the summer of 1950, the Korean War erupted into an international conflict, aided by the Soviet Union (Millett). By the signing of the Armistice, “more than a million combat casualties were suffered on both sides” (Millett). Korea was observed as another Communist threat, so even before Eisenhower was in office, he promised to take “a personal trip to Korea” and “to bring the Korean war to an early and honorable end”–and so he did (Patterson 260). He spent three days in Korea after the election and signed a ceasefire on July 27, 1953

Would you quit working to obtain something you want if it was just “too hard”? If someone truly believes in a cause then they would give everything to achieve it right? Would you just like to blend in with the crowd or do you want to stick out? If one answered yes to any of the previous questions, then one wouldn’t have the characteristics of either a Navy SEAL or Marine. Answering no to all the questions may also not be enough to be either a SEAL or Marine. Not many people know this, but Navy SEALs undergo the most rigorous military training known to man. SEAL training is considered harder than any other nation’s special forces training. Likewise, the United States Marine Corps (USMC), the most revered branch of the military, also trains hard preparing future “Devil Dog’s” (motivational nickname for Marines) to defend our country starting with 12 strenuous weeks of boot camp. Both Marines and SEALs put their lives on the line to defend our way of life, but what makes them different? A better question might be what doesn’t make them different from each other. Many people may think that they both fight in combat, they both train for multiple months and they both are in the military, and each is trained to be a shooter first, so they must be similar. This is not the case. Both groups do have many similarities, but also plenty of differences in size, training, schooling, roots/history, requirements, uses in the past and strategies.

The field artillery found itself facing a unique challenger during the Vietnam War. It was one of the first conflicts were the artillery faced an insurgent force on terrain that greatly favored the enemy, and forced the drastic change in army doctrine to be successful against the enemy. These changes included battlefield placement, command of the units at the battery level, and the fire control center. (Ott, 1975)

Throughout the Vietnam War, there were many instances where PAVN was able to tap the Allied communication network. This does not came as a surprise as the South Vietnamese were lax about security. The 5 May 1964 edition of Saigon Post carried an interview with the South Vietnamese II Corps commander who revealed the existence of a radio link between a Viet Cong base and Hanoi and the transmitter was successfully located thanks to their "modern equipment" (Hanyok, 2002). In fact, the PAVN was so proficient when the Allied communications network that they were able to "by communicating on Allied radio nets, to call in Allied artillery or air strikes on American units" (Aftergood,