The airmobility concept is one of Army Aviation’s most prominent battlefield innovations, almost single handedly shaping the Vietnam War and in many ways, helping to influence how we fight wars today. In its essence, airmobility is a concept that utilizes Army aircraft in order to enhance the ground forces’ ability to perform the five fundamentals of combat: command and control, firepower, intelligence, mobility, and communications (Rottman, 2007). At the zenith of the airmobility concept is the airmobile assault or commonly known today as, the air assault. The airmobile assault was more than just moving troops from point A to point B; it involved intense planning and preparation. When implemented correctly, the airmobile assault provided light infantry greater mobility on the battlefield, along with the ability to seize the initiative and to synchronize attacks. If one had to choose a single event in history that had the greatest impact on airmobile assault, without question it would have to be Operation Chopper. On December 11, 1962, the United States aircraft carrier, USNS Card, docked in Saigon with 32 U.S. Army CH-21 helicopters and 400 men in support of Operation Chopper (Tolson, 1973). Approximately 12 days later, these same CH-21 helicopters airlifted over a 1,000 South Vietnamese paratroopers to a suspected Viet Cong …show more content…
LZs were often limited due to rough terrain such as swamps, dense jungle, and mountains. This gave the enemy an advantage because they could dedicate surveillance teams or set up ambushes in potential LZs. When time permitted, scout helicopters conducted aerial reconnaissance on potential LZs along with alternate LZs if the enemy or terrain made the primary LZ unusable (Tolson, 1973). Different INFIL and EXFIL routes were determined while scouting potential LZs. Scout helicopters were careful not to make too many turns in fear of burning the
In today’s world, the use of airplanes in wars or in everyday life has become a part of how we live as human beings. Removing the air forces of the world is like taking a step back in time when wars were only fought on land or sea. WWI began only eleven short years after the Wright brothers achieved powered flight in 19031 and yet aircrafts were being used for surveillance and eventually combat purposes. It is understood that these aircrafts were primitive, but they laid down the foundation for what we know today as fighter jets. The Fokker Eindecker “revolutionized air combat by successfully employing a synchronized forward -firing machine gun mounted on the engine cowling”2. Because this airplane became the first to successfully use a synchronized machine gun, it allowed its pilots to become the first aerial combat tactitions3.
The fight on Hamburger Hill took place during Operation Apache Snow, the second part of a three-phased campaign intended to annihilate North Vietnamese Army (NVA) bases in the treacherous A Shau Valley. Five infantry battalions were leading the attack under Major General Melvin Zais, Commander of the 101st Airborne Division. Three units were American (the 1/506th, 2/501st, and 3/187th Infantry) and two came from the 1st Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Division (the 2/1st and 4/1st ARVN). Colonel Joseph Conmy, Commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne, controlled and lead the main effort of the attack. His plan called for each of the five battalions to "air assault" into the valley by helicopter on 10 May 1969 and to search its assigned sector for enemy troops and...
Air Defense Artillery remains one of the most respected assets to the United States Army, ready to deploy its units and weapon systems at anytime and anywhere in support of freedom. Works Cited Brigade General Scales, Robert H. JR. Certain Victory. The U.S. Army in the Gulf War. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993.
Thesis. Air War College, 1987. http://www.airwar.edu//a>. Maxwell, Alabama: United States Air Force, 1987. DTIC Online -.
In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the readers follow the Alpha Company’s experiences during the Vietnam War through the telling’s of the main character and narrator, Tim. At the beginning of the story, Tim describes the things that each character carries, also revealing certain aspects of the characters as can be interpreted by the audience. The book delineates what kind of person each character is throughout the chapters. As the novel progresses, the characters’ personalities change due to certain events of the war. The novel shows that due to these experiences during the Vietnam War, there is always a turning point for each soldier, especially as shown with Bob “Rat” Kiley and Azar. With this turning point also comes the loss of innocence for these soldiers. O’Brien covers certain stages of grief and self-blame associated with these events in these stories as well in order to articulate just how those involved felt so that the reader can imagine what the effects of these events would be like for them had they been a part of it.
In this paper we will discuss the first documented use of helicopters for the primary purpose of Air Ambulances in World War II. During 1943, the United States, British Commonwealth and the Chinese faced the armies of Japan, Thailand and Indian National Army. The Burmese Independent Army started off on the Japanese side, but later switched sides fighting with the allied forces. Under the control of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States made a decision to support the Chinese during the war with aircraft.1 With Japan controlling much of the Chinese territory, the main supply route for the Chinese was thru the Burma Road. This supply route was essential to operations in the area shaped a restructure for the way supplies would be delivered to soldiers fighting and patients being able to get the urgent care they extremely needed. The only logical and expeditious way to do all of this would be through the use of aircraft flying a supply route known as “the Hump.”2
It is understandable that some Americans strongly opposed the United States getting involved in the Vietnam War. It had not been a long time since the end of World War II and simply put, most Americans were tired of fighting. Mark Atwood Lawrence is one of the people who opposed our involvement in the Vietnam War. In his essay, “Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance”, Lawrence argues that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and that it went against our democratic policies, but that there were a lot of things that influenced our involvement.
Lawson, Robert L., and Barrett Tillman. U.S. Navy Air Combat: 1939-1946. Osceola, WI: MBI Pub., 2000. Print.
In 1957, the army began developing a new fighting force based on the helicopter. ...
The United States of America has participated in over seven wars, and currently participating in three ongoing wars. Many of these wars have been fought overseas, one of the most widely protested wars, was that of the Vietnam war. During the Vietnam War, the United States military decided to not only fight from the ground but also in the clouds. With the Presidents command the United States Air Force created bombing campaigns over Southeast Asia hoping that it would help with defeating the guerilla fighters and cutting off supplies from those aiding them in the North. From what was the start and first appearance of the war for the United States, to those who made the decision, to the operations, and what they wanted to do to help in ending
The Vietnam War both demonstrated the excellence of air defenders, and helped America learn lessons in order to evolve into an era with even better air defense than ever thought possible. The American military did not shoot down a single aircraft with air defense weapons during the Vietnam War. There were many operations which air defenders made a difference in Vietnam. Several of these operations occurred on Route 9. The events on Route 9 proved very difficult and brutal, however Sergeant Stout and other air defenders demonstrated the excellence still expected of air defenders today. The success of the North Vietnamese forced the United States (U.S.) to become better equipped as well. During operation
In the early 1960s the U.S. began sending military advisors to South Vietnam beginning the Vietnam War, arguably the most controversial war in United States history. This incident followed Vietnam gaining its independence from the French Empire’s Indochina in 1954. The nation soon split, creating a communist North Vietnam, and a noncommunist South Vietnam. In fear of communism spreading the U.S. supported South Vietnam and sent troops. As the incident dragged on it caused a huge anti-war movement and a lot of political turmoil.The troops were withdrawn in 1973, the whole country fell to communism, and the U.S. failed. How did a superpower such as the U.S. take defeat from a small country like Vietnam? Many have wondered and continue to wonder
While the Korean War tends to be “forgotten” in military history, the conflict was rife with battles that changed history and defined future battle strategies. One of these battles, later referred to as the loss of Suwon Airfield, contained some of the first aerial “dogfights” and became an example for future pilots for aerial battle strategy. But the battle was not only fought in the air—upon closer study, it becomes obvious that the ground troops’ behavior is the main reason for the loss of the airfield’s control.
- - -, dir. “Tactical Air Control Party Specialist (TACP).” U.S. Air Force. U.S. Air Force, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. .
Tice, Brian P. (1991). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – The Force Multiplier of the 1990s. Airpower Journal.