Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report USAF Reconnaissance in Southeast Asia 1961 66 written by and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reconnaissance can be defined as the act of observing the enemy for the purpose of obtaining information about him and his activities. In the past, it has been called "the eyes of the commander," but it has become more than that. Reconnaissance now includes not only visual, but also photographic, infra-red, electronic, and communications intelligence, to name the major areas. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of reconnaissance in Southeast Asia is the flexibility and imagination shown by Americans, civilian and military, in developing new means of gaining intelligence. Some of these methods involved new equipment, but most were an adaptation of existing equipment to new environments. Thus, the Air Force has developed and is continuing to develop, in Southeast Asia, tactics for reconnaissance in counterinsurgency operations in an hostile environment of surface-to-air missiles. The prominence of imagination does not mean that more classic military virtues were ignored. In terms of professionalism, the reconnaissance pilots particularly, and support personnel in general, were probably the best educated and trained the United States has ever sent to war. In dedication, hard work and courage, they have continued the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force. Before the advent of the airplane, reconnaissance was accomplished by patrolling - the recon platoon or company, the cavalry troop or squadron. The advantages of mobility, speed, and the elevated viewing platform provided by aircraft, have been so great that, today, reconnaissance is almost synonymous with aerial reconnaissance. This study will deal only with aerial reconnaissance and, in the interest of brevity, only with U.S. Air Force reconnaissance. This is not to indicate that the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army, the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF), and the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) have not played a major role. It merely means this paper is limited to presenting a history of "USAF Reconnaissance in Southeast Asia."

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia USAF Reconnaissance in Southeast Asia 1961 66 written by and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Project CHECO was established in 1962 to document and analyze air operations in Southeast Asia. Over the years the meaning of the acronym changed several times to reflect the escalation of operations: Current Historical Evaluation of Counterinsurgency Operations, Contemporary Historical Evaluation of Combat Operations and Contemporary Historical Examination of Current Operations. Project CHECO and other U. S. Air Force Historical study programs provided the Air Force with timely and lasting corporate insights into operational, conceptual and doctrinal lessons from the war in SEA.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report USAF Tactical Reconnaissance in Southeast Asia July 69 June 71 written by and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning with a single C-47 Gooneybird in 1961, the USAF reconnaissance effort in Southeast Asia (SEA) has steadily expanded to keep pace with the increasing U.S. military role in the conflict. While the two previous CHECO reports on this subject examined USAF SEA tactical air reconnaissance from 1961 through June 1969, this report describes new equipment, technology, tactics, the relocation and deactivation of principal units, and the modernization of the VNAF aerial reconnaissance program. Although this report deals only with USAF efforts, the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine forces have been important elements of tactical reconnaissance in SEA.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report Reconnaissance in SEAsia Jul 1966 Jun 1969 written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The traditional interpretation of the tactical reconnaissance mission as a highly mobile, self-sufficient operation prepared to "know continuously the enemy's capabilities and location" has been reemphasized by the recent military experience in Southeast Asia. A premium has been placed by several factors on the element of surprise, on detection of an enemy able to conceal himself more effectively than ever before, and on the most rapid possible response to requirements established by ground and air forces. Many axioms guiding reconnaissance organization and operations in the past have been reexamined and questioned in the light of conditions encountered in Southeast Asia. The task of providing "needed intelligence information during all phases and for the full spectrum of conflict" has created special problems yet to be fully resolved. This report reviews the expansion and growth in sophistication of the tactical reconnaissance mission in Southeast Asia (SEA) conducted by the United States Air Force from June 1966 to June 1969, noting at the same time the salient problems involved. Tactical reconnaissance emphasizes flexibility in its organization and operation; it can be deployed in package units or through various combinations of reconnaissance aircraft, sensors, and other detection devices as required by the joint force. The Wing, therefore, constitutes the basic tactical unit, small enough to fulfill mobility requirements and still provide from its own resources all the services of a tactical reconnaissance system. The broad scope of the Wing's mission can be seen in a summary of the work of the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (TRW) at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB).

Download or read book USAF Reconnaissance in Southeast Asia 1961 66 written by Mark E. Smith and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Reconnaissance in Seasia Jul 1966 Jun 1969 written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Project CHECO was established in 1962 to document and analyze air operations in Southeast Asia. Over the years the meaning of the acronym changed several times to reflect the escalation of operations: Current Historical Evaluation of Counterinsurgency Operations, Contemporary Historical Evaluation of Combat Operations and Contemporary Historical Examination of Current Operations. Project CHECO and other U.S. Air Force Historical study programs provided the Air Force with timely and lasting corporate insights into operational, conceptual and doctrinal lessons from the war in SEA.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia USAF Tactical Reconnaissance in Southeast Asia written by and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Project CHECO was established in 1962 to document and analyze air operations in Southeast Asia. Over the years the meaning of the acronym changed several times to reflect the escalation of operations: Current Historical Evaluation of Counterinsurgency Operations, Contemporary Historical Evaluation of Combat Operations and Contemporary Historical Examination of Current Operations. Project CHECO and other U. S. Air Force Historical study programs provided the Air Force with timely and lasting corporate insights into operational, conceptual and doctrinal lessons from the war in SEA.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report USAF Support of Special Forces in SEA written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first Air Commando units arrived in Vietnam in November 1961, and since then the USAF has become an integral component in supplying Special Forces Camps with tactical airpower, airland/airdrop replenishment of supplies and instant guidance, as well as short reaction airpower to ground reconnaissance teams. In its special Seventh Air Force/5th Special Forces (SF) partnership, three primary roles of the U.S. Air Force are recounted. First, when vulnerable Special Forces Camps came under attack, it was USAF firepower that provided the heavy counterblows in their defense. More than one camp owes its continued existence to the quick and devastating reaction of the USAF. Second, Special Forces Camps have been almost entirely dependent upon airlift for their logistical support and this, too, has been a vital mission of the Air Force. Finally, in 1965, the U.S. Air Force began an association with Special Forces ground reconnaissance teams; it has produced some of the most efficient and effective ground missions of the war. The expanding role of Air Force Forward Air Controllers in Special Forces operations--an expansion strongly urged by SF commanders throughout the Republic of Vietnam--is addressed in Chapter V.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia USAF Search and Rescue November 1967 June 1969 written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Project CHECO was established in 1962 to document and analyze air operations in Southeast Asia. Over the years the meaning of the acronym changed several times to reflect the escalation of operations: Current Historical Evaluation of Counterinsurgency Operations, Contemporary Historical Evaluation of Combat Operations and Contemporary Historical Examination of Current Operations. Project CHECO and other U.S. Air Force Historical study programs provided the Air Force with timely and lasting corporate insights into operational, conceptual and doctrinal lessons from the war in SEA.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report Tactical Control Squadron Operations in SEAsia written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In late 1961, when the United States accelerated aid to South Vietnam and Thailand, communications and control facilities were primitive and limited. A rudimentary Air Traffic Control System existed, using high frequency (HF) radio for communications and low frequency beacons for navigational aids. This was sufficient to handle the commercial traffic and existing military traffic. Increased U.S. air involvement, made necessary by the rapidly growing Communist guerrilla activities in South Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand soon created a need for a comprehensive air request net and Tactical Air Control system (TACS) to control efficiently this increase in military traffic. On 1 October 1961, the 5th Communications and Control Group and the 1st Mobile Communications Squadron were reorganized. The two 5th Communications and Control Squadrons were deactivated and their personnel and equipment became absorbed in the 1st Mobile Communications Squadron, which was then redesignated the 1st Mobile Communications Group under the Air Force Communications Service. The 605th Tactical Control Squadron was deactivated, and the 5th Communications and Control Group became the 5th Tactical Control Group under the Thirteenth Air Force at Clark Air Base, Philippines. The USAF initially inserted TDY units into South Vietnam and Thailand in November 1961, with elements of the 5th and 507th (Shaw AFB, South Carolina) Tactical Control Groups and the 1st Mobile Communications Group (MCG), which had already acquired the sobriquet of "1st Mob." These mobile units consisted basically of navigational aids (navaids) and single channel high frequency radio systems to link the widely spread activities. As the tempo of operations increased and the extent of USAF participation grew to match the increase insurgency activity, these communications systems proved barely adequate for several reasons. The nucleus for a TACS in Southeast Asia had, however, been formed.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report USAF Search and Rescue November 1967 June 1969 written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When hostilities began in Southeast Asia, the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service was not fully prepared to enter into armed conflict. The assumption that wartime Search and Rescue (SAR) was an extension of peacetime SAR was in error. This was quickly recognized during the early days of the conflict. In 1964, the only rotary wing aircraft available to be deployed to SEA was the HH-43B assigned to the Local Base Rescue (LBR) units. The amphibious HU-16 and the HC-54 were the only fixed-wing aircraft available. Both these aircraft had a limited rescue and recovery capability. HC-54s, made available as command and control aircraft, were also limited in mission capability. The Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service was forced to take helicopter aircraft from other Air Force missions to provide a partially adequate SAR capability in SEA. Even then it took three years to fully develop and position the required forces. In October 1965, six CH-3C helicopters, modified for combat rescue service, were deployed to SEA. After deployment and additional modifications, they were redesignated the HH-3E (Jolly Green Giant), and became increasingly responsible for the out-country Aircrew Recovery (ACR) mission in Laos, North Vietnam, and the Gulf of Tonkin. Twelve HH-43F (Pedros) were also configured for combat recoveries to augment the HH-43B which had been performing the out-country ACR mission since deployment in October 1964. By January 1967, HH-43 out-country missions had ended. The HC-54s were replaced by the HC-130H/P, a far more suitable aircraft for command and control. Quick access to a downed aircrew member was a crucial element in a successful recovery, but significantly faster helicopters were years away in development. Therefore, longer endurance was vitally necessary to enable the rescue craft to loiter on orbit nearer the areas in which aircraft were likely to be lost.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report Visual Reconnaissance in I Corps written by and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the MACV Visual Aerial Surveillance Program in I Corps, emphasizing the areas of responsibility for the Air Force O-1 and O-2 aircraft, Army O-1s, and the Senior Corps Advisor, as well as support given the Marines. That Air Force Visual Reconnaissance was an invaluable part of the I Corps reconnaissance program is self-evident. Two major theses are discussed: First the Visual Reconnaissance (VR) program in I Corps was user-oriented. The MACV VR program in I Corps relied upon only O-1 and O-2 aircraft assigned to one tactical air support squadron and two reconnaissance airplane companies. The program, however, was implemented, not through these three aircraft units, but through the many Army, Marine, and ARVN ground units. No designated "VR Program" existed independently of the VR and FAC missions flown in support of U.S. and ARVN division users. Accordingly, the patterns of coverage adhered to those of unit areas of operation, and each user determined the nature of his VR program. Although Air Force FAC resources were dedicated to the FAC mission and only secondarily to the VR mission, they were used to accomplish significant Visual Reconnaissance. Since the O-1 and O-2 aircraft had other higher priority missions, no single manager of VR scheduling existed in I Corps. Second, the Visual Reconnaissance program in I Corps was scattered among a number of users, but no organization existed to analyze VR as a total, unified effort. Seventh Air Force and the I Corps Senior Advisor had collection systems to systematically compile data produced by VR flights, but no one made a thorough analysis of Visual Reconnaissance techniques and their effectiveness. This report provides comments on the completeness of VR coverage in I Corps.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report Operation HICKORY written by and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The scenario of Operation HICKORY called for a multipronged assault into the DMZ, with forces of the 3rd Marine Division and Vietnamese Army (ARVN) units striking north into the heart of the lowland area, and a Marine landing force sweeping in from the eastern coast. Air support for the Marine units, including the landing force (SLF Alpha), was to be provided by the Marine tactical air arm, while close support for ARVN forces was to be provided by the 7AF TACS. On the day prior to the operation, the TACS was to provide USAF aircraft for preparatory strikes immediately north of the DMZ, with the Marines conducting air strikes inside the zone. The TACS was to provide continuous suppression strikes north of the attacking forces throughout the course of the operation. Obviously, in a multi-force operation of this nature, joint planning and close coordination were key tactical prerequisities. In the early phases of Operation HICKORY, however, several situations arose which indicated an inadequacy in-joint planning. Breakdowns in the system of-coordination on air requirements, on at least two occasions, jeopardized friendly forces. Had airpower been applied under a system of centralized control, it is likely these breakdowns could have-been avoided.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia USAF Search and Rescue July 1966 November 1967 written by and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the last CHECO study, "USAF Search and Rescue in SEA" (1961 to June 1966), was distributed, significant changes have contributed to an increase in pilot rescue and recoveries. These techniques and equipment improvements are-discussed in "Search and Rescue" for the period July 1966 to November 1967. Special emphasis is placed on the urgent need for accelerated development of an aircraft which will satisfy the distinct combat aircrew recovery mission of the U.S. Air Force. Responsibility for supporting and maintaining operational control of the Search and Rescue organization rests with-Headquarters, 3d Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group located at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam. It provides coordination vital to the successful accomplishment of the Rescue mission, "That Others May Live."

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report Air Response to the Tet Offensive 30 January 29 February 1968 written by and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report traces the 1968 Communist Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Significant events which had an impact on airpower, and the application and responsiveness of air, are examined during this period of extremely heightened military activity. Air response ranged across the entire spectrum of air capability, from tactical airstrikes to the ground defense of air installations. Close support of ground troops in cities, air base defense, VNAF performance, emergency airlift, and civic responsiveness are all examined in this report.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report Short Rounds June 1968 May 1969 written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the parlance of artillerymen, a "Short Round" is a shell that falls short of the enemy and inflicts casualties on friendly troops. The expression is so starkly descriptive and brief that it has come to be used as a convenient label for most incidents wherein friendly ordnance causes friendly casualties. This report is concerned with air-delivered Short Rounds--specifically, those involving the fixed-wing aircraft under operational control of the Seventh Air Force Tactical Air Control Center (TACC). This third CHECO report On "Short Rounds" covers occurrences from June 1968 through May 1969. It emphasizes rates and trends, interesting corollaries, lessons learned, and recent attempts to eliminate Short Rounds. This study also examines several Short Round incidents to illustrate some of the problems encountered by ground commanders, forward air controllers (FACs), and strike aircraft commanders in their joint efforts to conduct close air support. Ground and air commanders at all levels are deeply concerned about the tragic results of Short Round incidents, and Strenuous efforts have been made to reduce the probability of such occurrences. To have achieved absolute immunity from Short Rounds, the ground forces would have had to sacrifice the benefits of air support whenever they were closely engaged with the enemy. These were hard choices to make, but nearly all of the situations dictated accepting the risk of Short Rounds to diminish the certain lethality of hostile fire.

Download or read book Project CHECO Southeast Asia Rolling Thunder July 1965 December 1966 written by and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Project CHECO was established in 1962 to document and analyze air operations in Southeast Asia. Over the years the meaning of the acronym changed several times to reflect the escalation of operations: Current Historical Evaluation of Counterinsurgency Operations, Contemporary Historical Evaluation of Combat Operations and Contemporary Historical Examination of Current Operations. Project CHECO and other U. S. Air Force Historical study programs provided the Air Force with timely and lasting corporate insights into operational, conceptual and doctrinal lessons from the war in SEA.