Equipment For Operation Iraqi Freedom And Operation Enduring Freedom

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

In the fictional novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien vividly explains the fear and trauma the soldiers encountered during the Vietnam War. Many of these soldiers are very young and inexperienced. They begin to witness their acquaintances’ tragic demise, and kill other innocent lives on their own. Many people have a background knowledge on the basis of what soldiers face each day, but they don’t have a clear understanding of what goes through these individual’s minds when they’re at war. O’Brien gives descriptive details on the soldiers’ true character by appealing to emotions, using antithesis and imagery.

The United States army values soldiers that are responsibility for their actions and equipment. Being responsibility means being

In 1961 President Kennedy sent a group who’s mission was to report on conditions in the South and assess if the United States should continue to deploy troops to Vietnam -Brigham, 1. In 1962 there was a massive increase of United States troops in Vietnam –MacDonald, 626. The numbers grew so large that they almost tripled. This led for the South Vietnamese to be instructed by advisors, who were attachments in the field -MacDonald, 627. Army recruits in the Special Forces were brought in to train the tribesman in the highlands. They also assisted the South Vietnamese in some of the more remote regions of the country -MacDonald, 627. The Civilian Irregular Defense Groups accompanied the Special Forces advisors, and they were able to disrupt the flow of the North Vietnamese from the country of Laos into South Vietnam -MacDonald, 627. These men were in charge of most parts of the operation, in a country where leadership had never been encouraged -MacDonald, 628. The United States troops also had many problems directing the civilians because of the language barrier. At the same time the Special Force troops were frustrated in directing their tactics -MacDonald, 628.

(INTRODUCTION) In August 1964, Vietnamese DRV torpedo boats attacked two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. President London B. Johnson ordered the retaliatory bombing of military targets in North Vietnam. Shortly after the incident, U.S. congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson war-making powers, and U.S. planes began regular bombing raids (Reference http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history ). In Vietnam, the US enjoyed virtual air supremacy. Nevertheless, Air Defense Artillery (ADA) units were able to distinguish themselves and prove their versatility by providing fire support to ground forces. ADA earned more than 450 medals for valor, receiving more than 1000 Purple Hearts, and one Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to SGT Mitchell Stout (Reference http://www.usc.edu/dept-00/dept/armyrotc/branches/air_defense.html ). Despite there being no confirmed aerial engagements, Air Defense Artillery played a vital role in the Vietnam War, and were at times crucial to battle success, proving their versatility, adaptability, flexibility.

Weapons in WW1 could decide who would win and who would lose. Newer weapons were brought into the War constantly as they were the most efficient in destroying and making other weapons useless. Making them more powerful for this reason making the death count rise double- time, however, not for long…

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 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,

     While the onset of war led to a hugely inflated military production capacity, American industry never completed reversion back to the pre-war focus on purely civilian items. In fact, the value of military production facilities increased by 3300% between 1939 and 1944, and less than a third of all plants created during the war were converted to civilian production (Walton 551). Paul Koistinen writes,

No longer would guns be emplaced and laid in one general direction to support maneuver along the “front line”, Vietnam would become known as a “6,400 mil environment” for the field artillery. At any given time, gun crews would need to be able to shift fires rapidly in any direction to support maneuver forces operating within their operational area (Major General Ott, 1995).

The weapons used in World War II drastically changed from the weapons used in World War I. Assault rifles changed from bolt action which were used later back in the late 1800’s to semi and fully automatic weapons that were made at the beginning of World War II and to be used throughout the rest of the war. The tanks also were upgraded putting bigger and better lightweight machine guns at the top to keep enemies down while infantry advanced (Crowl and Love 163). The advancement in the aviation department increased heavily, by time the war approached the Pacific, the Americans had several different type of aircrafts for certain duties. They had medium bombers, heavy bombers, fighter bombers, and fighters (Crowl and Love 158).

Over the years, America has been involved in numerous conflicts. One of the most controversial has been the Vietnam War. Even though the United States Military failed in its efforts in the war against Vietnam, the military has learned valuable lessons about our forces during the conflict. Anti-Aircraft weapons were used during the Vietnam War, and their capabilities have increased over time to become what is now called Air Defense. Air Defense’s equipment, units, and personnel played a critical role especially during the ambush on Route 9 of the Vietnam War.

The US Central Command’s planning for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) was not the all-inclusive plan that joint operations require. Joint operations are no longer limited to major combat operations, but encompass a wide range of actions. Planning for joint operations requires input from many sources to produce a successful campaign plan to meet the desired end state. Operational design provides a concept and a construction framework that underpins a campaign and its execution. (JP GL13). Evaluating the planning process by using the operational design identifies some of CENTCOM’s shortfalls. US military planners’ lack of understanding of the operational environment led to an inadequately defined problem that resulted in a faulty operational approach. CENTCOM’s approach did not have the right assessment to gauge the effectiveness of the plan such as alerting planners when and if the plan needed modification. Current joint planning policy incorporates several of CENTCOM’s shortfalls in an attempt to provide a better planning process for future joint operations.

As the Vietnam War progressed, People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) generals led by General Giap reassessed and adapted their strategy to fit the circumstances. This enabled the VC revolutionaries, supported by North Vietnamese regular forces, to achieve success without ever defeating US forces on the battlefield. For instance, the Tet Offensive in 1968 represented an operational failure in Stage Three of the Dau Tranh strategy but was considered a success for the North since it weakened American public support for the war. As a result the defeat on the battlefield, Giap adapted Dau Tranh to avoid concentration of forces and the effects of superior US firepower by transitioning back to Stage Two. The return to guerilla operations ensured sustained US casualties and the continued erosion of public support between 1968 and 1971. At the same time, main force units that were decimated during Tet could withdrawal and reconstitute. (Pike, 229)

As seen through today’s prism of operational art and design, the U.S. military’s campaign planning for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF) was not successful. This failure resulted from flaws in the planning process itself, and the conclusions that flowed from that process. The lack of adequate advance planning for Phase IV stability or transition operations proved especially problematic. This contributed directly to rising levels of violence in Iraq, and indirectly to increased public scrutiny of the war at home. Throughout 2006, the U.S. public, pundits and military planners debated the way forward in Iraq. The plan that emerged from this period, known as the surge, successfully overcame the deficiencies in the initial planning and execution