Stability and Support Operations in Vietnam

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.

“You could never tell who was the enemy was … therefore you treated everyone with suspicion”- Thomas Giltner, US Soldier “Contested Spaces”The foreign US soldiers had no knowledge of the geography of Vietnam (jungles, mountains, rainforests, and climate) but the VC did, and used it to their advantage. The US, by engaging in massive firepower, killing many non-combatants, destroyed the US credibility in the minds of the people. The VC sympathised with the people’s hardships and this was effective as they won the people over. The VC had extensive knowledge of guerrilla warfare, it was their war, and the US fought tractional conventional warfare which did have some effected, but eventually the US ran out of will. The military operations were

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 mission command system is expressed as the placement of individuals within a unit conducting operations with a specific set of procedures and principles in place to optimize the use of its equipment. What does it mean to recognize or comprehend the art of Command and the science of Control? There are six key principles of mission command in developing a cohesive team that support all aspects of a mission. The following essay will discuss these principles and examine examples of how the famous Operation Anaconda both endured victories and inadequacies.

The command structure in United States Military is vital to the success of missions carried out in or outside the country. The Department of Defense is responsible for overseeing the establishment of command hierarchies that work for specific units. The commands, guidelines, and orders are passed from the highest-ranking personnel to lowest ranking officers who must perform the directive or pass it to subordinates with the same instructions. The principles that establish the command structure in the military evaluates the performance of each command and the officers involved in the various missions. The key principles that affected the execution of Operation Anaconda resulting in mission deficiencies are organizational structure, decision-making, and collaboration.

Johnson appointed one of the army's most distinguished officers, Gen. William C. Westmoreland, as commander U.S. MACV. Westmoreland immediately asked for more men, and by the end of 1964 U.S. personnel in the South exceeded 23,000 (Anderson, 1999). Johnson and his administration remained persistent in their advances to stop the spread of communism. The war continued with ground and air attacks with many deaths from both sides. However, the Vietcong remained in power throughout many areas of South Vietnam. The war continued to be a stalemate with continued fighting and over 485,600 U.S. troops in Vietnam without much advancement (Anderson, 1999). Many other nations including Poland and Great Britain, offered proposals intended to facilitate negotiations (Anderson, 1999). These formulas typically called upon the United States and DRV to coordinate mutual reduction of their military activities in South Vietnam, both sides firmly resisted even interim compromises with the other (Anderson, 1999).

Candidate Lamb posted security prior to the beginning of his brief. Candidates Lamb's brief was delivered confidently, naturally, and not rehearsed. SNC was very comfortable delivery the 5 paragraph order. During his brief, SNC oriented his fire team and provided references to aid in the understanding of his order. Prior to execution, SNC developed an initial plan that included all the elements necessary to complete the mission. During execution, SNC was able to make decisions at points of friction. SNC was able to develop a sensible and comprehensive plan by gathering intelligence and taking suggestions. However, SNC did not rely solely on the suggestions of others to make informed decisions. At points of friction, SNC checked on the

The department of Defense was responsible for informing Vietnam troops of ROE’s implementations and changes. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara delegated to the Joint Chief of Staff to provide the commanders with the rules. Debates were held when changes to the ROE occurred and Secretary McNamara was often the mediator who settled those debates. Again, during these debates, military advise from experts was often

In any mission, the Commander is the most imperative participant. He or she guides the mission to the intended outcome. It is through the commander’s activities that the directed outcome is achieved. Through successful understanding, visualizing, describing, directing, leading and assessing the commanders of Soldiers are able to accomplish the directed mission and thus winning wars. Throughout the role of commander in the Battle of Hamburger Hill, Lieutenant Colonel Weldon Honeycutt attempted the complete these commander’s activities. (ADRP 5-0) The successes and failures of mission command he had, will be explained, giving a better understanding of the Battle of Hamburger Hill and the pivotal turning point in the Vietnam war.

Comparison of the Practices and Strategies Utilized in the Korean and Vietnam Wars Two of the greatest battles which were fought by similar foes were those of the Korean and Vietnamese wars. Both conflicts involved a "communist" and "capitalist" participant(s) which had their own ideals and reasons for why to include themselves into such conflicts. There are also other similarities other than the opponents in these wars, such as the military tactics and strategies which were effectuated during this time. In both cases, the U.S. intervened forcefully introducing large masses of militia and using a considerable amount of armament, yet on the other hand, their enemies were supported by their allies

This attitude, harkening back to America’s founders, was only confirmed when New York Times reporter Seymour M. Hersh exposed the existence of operation CHOAS in December 1974. The CIA domestic surveillance program ordered by the Johnson and Nixon Administrations cast a wide net to everyone from Vietnam War protestors and suspected Communists to civil rights activists including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and seemingly benign college student groups. It is at this point that the legislative branch of the U.S. government stepped into the arena with the Special Select Committee to Investigate Intelligence Activates, known less formally by the Church Committee named for by the chairman of the committee. Along with its counterpart the Pike Committee in the House of Representatives investigating the quality of intelligence gathered, the Church Committee was charged with examining abuses of power by the intelligence agencies. This committee would find damning evidence of gross overreach and blatant ignorance or even avoidance of the few restrictions placed in the original National Security Act and the Central Intelligence Agency’s charter as well as innumerable violations of American citizens’ civil liberties. While the American public as a whole is seemingly unconcerned with what our many intelligence

Candidate Hamm briefed his order with confidence and displayed an understanding of the OSMEAC orders process and its organization. He briefed a thorough enemy situation by applying DRAWD analysis. His coordinating instructions also included extra information including order of march, base unit, and consolidation instructions. However, SNC did not brief a scheme of maneuver in the order, forcing him to develop a plan after his brief had concluded. His succession of command was a repeat of the order of march instead of who would assume his billet. SNC was confident in his brief and it was apparent throughout execution that he was in control of the team. Even after friction caused the team to falter, SNC was quick to re-focus the team and maintain

The United States began its involvement in Vietnam as early as the year 1950. In spite of the U.S. economic and military aid, South Vietnamese government in general and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in particular did not show that they were capable of handling the Viet Cong. At the time when the U.S. had failed to stop communist expansion in Eastern Europe, China, Korea and lately Cuba, Vietnam immediately became another place of concern. In October 1961, after many successful Viet Cong’s attacks, U.S leader of defense recommended sending six divisions of the United States Army to Vietnam. On July 27, 1964 the United States sent an additional 5,000 military advisors to South Vietnam increasing the total American advisors in Vietnam to 21,000.

Instructional Lead-in: Ranger, when developing a mission, the higher headquarters develops through the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) a need for information to drive future operations, when operations are executed, the commander will designate priority information requirements to his subordinate units needed to understand the adversary or the environment. When you answer these questions it will allow greater success in the bigger picture for future operations.

There will be some ethical issues that not only Target, but also other multinational corporations have to face when operating in Vietnam such as criticism about poor working conditions and environmental responsibilities. Specifically, are the very poor Vietnamese workers being exploited because they can be employed at a much lower wages than they would be, compared to U.S. workers? Are the plants that are built in Vietnam as safe as U.S. plants? Does Target have the duty to meet the same health and safety standards for its workers in Vietnam as it applies to its U.S. workers, even if not legally required in Vietnam? Another ethical issue arise when Target is now operating in Vietnam, where environmental laws are less strict than the U.S., and