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Administration

• DoDMERB Physical Check with SSgt Sutton • Thursdays – See SSgt Sutton until you sign

Form 16 saying you have an approved physical…GOT IT!!!

• CHECK DET EMAIL TWICE A DAY!

• Form 35 Civil Involvement Process

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SAMPLES OF BEHAVIOR

• # 3. Describe how airpower was used in Southeast Asia to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail (N. Vietnamese supply routes into S. Vietnam)

• #4. Describe Rolling Thunder, Linebacker I & II (strategic bombing campaigns against N. Vietnam)

• #5. Describe the uses and effectiveness of the B-52 in the Vietnam conflict.

• #6. Describe and give an example of the tactical airlift mission flown during Vietnam conflict

• #8. Describe the US Air Force’s Search and Recovery mission in Vietnam

• #9. Identify the lessons learned from the Vietnam conflict.

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Uses of AirpowerBackground

• Vietnam conflict was primarily a land war • Most air power was used in conjunction with

ground ops• North stayed above DMZ, so air superiority over the

South was never a concern• In-country operations centered around

• Interdiction• Close Air Support (CAS)• Airlift• Reconnaissance• Search and Rescue (SAR)• Air-to-Air Refueling

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• After Gulf of Tonkin, air units built up rapidly• USAF occupied 10 major air bases

• All were built and defended by the Air Force• Huge logistical effort

• USAF also flew from 6 bases in Thailand• Navy flew from carriers in Gulf of Tonkin• B-52s flew from Guam; at times even from the US

In-Country Air Operations1964-73

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Uses of Airpower during Vietnamization

Train the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF)

Support the South Vietnamese Army

Forestall suspected enemy attacks against withdrawing American units

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Uses of Air Power Interdiction

• A major mission during SEA war• Aircraft used: F-4 Phantom, F-100 Super Sabre, F-

105 Thunderchief (Thud), AC-130 Gunships• B-52 was the best known interdiction aircraft: a

nuclear bomber modified to carry conventional weapons• Arc Light - Name for B-52 interdiction missions

F-100 Supersabre

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Uses of Air PowerClose Air Support (CAS)

• Missions to support forces of the ground• Aircraft used: A-4 Skyhawk, F-4, F-100, A-37

Dragonfly, A-1 Skyraider, and AC-47 Gunships (Puff the Magic Dragon)

• Gunships (cargo aircraft armed with rapid-fire machine guns) were very effective

• Forward Air Controllers (FACs) were used to locate the enemy and mark targets for faster flying jets

A-4 Skyhawk A-1 Skyraider

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Uses of Air PowerClose Air Support (con’t)

B-52 Arc Light aircraft were occasionally used for close air support

• Used extensively in close air support at Khe Sanh• Flew 2,548 sorties • Dropped bombs within 300 yards of of US Marine

perimeter

• Credited with saving Khe Sanh and repelling the Tet and Easter Offensives

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• Vital to successful US operations because of poor security on roads

• Aircraft used: UH-1 Hueys, C-7 Caribous, • C-123 Providers, C-130 Hercules• Missions often flown while under attack• Supplies often air-dropped because of enemy fire and

poor landing facilities• A major factor in keeping Khe Sanh alive

C-123 Provider C-7 Caribou

Uses of Air PowerTactical Airlift

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Uses of Air PowerReconnaissance

• Aircraft used: RF-4C, RB-57 Canberra, and RB-66 Destroyers

• Aircraft were equipped with variety of cameras and sensing devices

• Missions: locating lucrative targets and assessing battle damage

• A valuable part of repelling Tet and protecting Khe Sanh

RB 66 DestroyerRB 57 Canberra

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• An extremely important part of the air support mission throughout Southeast Asia

• Buttressed aircrew morale; fliers knew every effort would be made to save them if shot down

• Aircraft used: HH-3 Jolly Green Giants and HH-53 Super Jolly Greens

• By 1973, USAF had rescued 3,883 Americans

Uses of Air PowerSearch and Rescue (SAR)

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• Indispensable - extended the range of combat aircraft and enabled many aircraft to return safely

• C-130s refueled helicopters, KC-135s refueled fixed wing aircraft

• SAC tankers flew 195,000 sorties, unloaded 9 billion pounds of fuel, and took part in 814,000 individual refuelings

C-130 Refueling KC-135 Tanker

Uses of Air Power Air-to-Air Refueling

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Major CampaignsRolling Thunder

• Officially began 2 March 1965• Objectives

• Interdict the flow of supplies from the North• Force the North to stop supporting the

Vietcong and quit the war• Raise South Vietnamese morale

RF 4 Phantom

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• Strategic bombing and interdiction campaign• Strategic because it was aimed at the North’s will to wage

war• Interdiction because the North had few large industries and

got most of their material from China and the Soviet Union

• Employed mostly tactical aircraft: F-105, F-4, and F-111. In 1966, B-52s were used in the Southern part of North Vietnam

F-111 F-105

Major CampaignsRolling Thunder (con't)

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Johnson administration controlled campaign tightly

Targets declared off limits by civilians included:• Targets in Hanoi, Haiphong, China

border area• MIG bases and non-firing SAM sites • Dams, dikes, hydroelectric plants

White House selected targets, weapons and flying routes with little military input

Major Campaigns Rolling Thunder Restrictions

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Graduated increases in bombing intensity worked to advantage of North Vietnamese• Gave them time to recover from damage• Enabled them to establish the world’s most intense

antiaircraft defense system• Provided them the will to fight on and a sense they

could survive

By 1965, it was clear

that Rolling Thunder didn’t work

Major Campaigns Rolling Thunder: Effect of Restrictions

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Impacts• South’s morale improved as the North suffered under

the bombing• North used frequent halts and restrictions to repair

damage and resupply forces in South• Criticism grew at home and internationally

Johnson ended Rolling Thunder prior to 1968 elections

Rolling Thunder campaign, America’s longest, was a failure

Major Campaigns Rolling Thunder: Conclusions

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Major CampaignsLinebacker I

• Easter Offensive (Mar 1972) made it apparent the North was not willing to negotiate

• Objectives of Linebacker I • Initially a close air support effort to aid retreating

South Vietnamese forces• Later, changed to an interdiction campaign against

North Vietnam• A systematic campaign

with little civilian control, unlike Rolling Thunder

B 52 Stratofortress

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• Civilian casualties a consideration but didn’t determine how missions were flown

• Haiphong harbor mined for the first time to restrict delivery of supplies to the North

• Strikes flown over Hanoi and Haiphong

• B-52 strikes on Haiphong began April 1972

• “Smart bombs” used extensively

Major CampaignsLinebacker I (con’t)

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• Linebacker I was the most successful US bombing campaign of the war

• Had more impact on the North Vietnam in 9 months than Rolling Thunder did in 4 years

• Successful largely because Easter Offensive was a conventional, mechanized attack

• Peace Talks resumed in July 1972 • Nixon restricted Linebacker I attacks to below the 20th

parallel

Major CampaignsLinebacker I Successes

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• Peace Talks stalled again in Dec 1972

• Nixon ordered Linebacker II to run concurrently with Linebacker I

• Purpose of Linebacker II was to force the North Vietnamese to negotiate and sign a peace treaty

• Ran from 18 Dec to 30 Dec 1972 - referred to as the “Christmas Campaign”

Major CampaignsLinebacker II

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• Very intense and logistically complex

• Specific targets in Hanoi and Haiphong

• B-52s used for the first time over Hanoi

• By the end of Linebacker II, North Vietnam was defenseless

• 1,200 SAMs were fired

• 80% of the North’s electrical systems and 25% of their POL facilities were destroyed

Major CampaignsLinebacker II (con’t)

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• North Vietnam returned to the bargaining table on 30 Dec 1972

• All bombing ceased on 15 Jan 1973• Peace treaty was signed on 27 Jan 1973• Linebacker II was a success• Some believe that if Rolling Thunder had

been conducted like Linebacker II, the war would have ended in 1965 - unlikely

http://www.davka.org/what/theleft/peoplespeacetreatyvietnam.html

Major CampaignsLinebacker II Results

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• Uses of Airpower• Rolling Thunder• Linebacker I• Linebacker II

Vietnam Service Medal

Interim Summary

PostVietnam

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• US reluctance to enter military conflicts that don’t directly threaten national interests

• Congressional restriction on President’s ability to commit US military forces

• Lowered public opinion of the government and the military

• The all-volunteer military force • Increased emphasis on military resources,

training, and weapons

Vietnam Conflict Results

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Results for Southeast Asia

• North Vietnam and South Vietnam joined into one country dominated by the North Vietnamese communists

• Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City• Exodus of boat people, many to America• Hundreds of thousands of US supporters sent to

"reeducation" camps• Over 6.5 million displaced Vietnamese war refugees• Expected postwar blood bath never materialized.

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US can’t win a counterinsurgency war in another country; only the people of that country can

Force and technology of limited value in a “people’s war”

Realistic assessments by national leaders required before forces are committed

“Know your enemy and know yourself” “Graduated Response” is an ineffective way to

employ air power

The Vietnam ConflictLessons Learned

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The Vietnam WarLessons Learned (con’t)

In a democracy, congressional and public support are critical and difficult to get

Modern war is open to public scrutiny

Let those who understand war conduct it

We need revolutionary technology, not evolutionary

We need precision munitions

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Questions?

Next Week: Chapters 16 & 17

Reminder: Memos are Due!

Next Week