Download or read book The U S Marine Corps Combined Action Program CAP written by Curtis Williamson III and published by . This book was released on 2012-11-17 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Vietnam War was a war against an insurgency sustained by the resources drawn from the South Vietnamese peasant.The CAP offered a viable alternative to the strategy taken in Vietnam, challenging the sustaining infrastructure of the guerrilla, while providing security for the largely agrarian populace.Taking a lesson from Mao Tse-tung's insurgent rise to power in an agrarian setting, Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap implemented a guerrilla-based strategy to liberate and unify Vietnam. Placing heavy reliance on the populace of South Vietnam to provide both men and food for the NVA and VC, the village represented a center of gravity for the Communist movement.Incapable of viewing Vietnam as anything but a conventional battleground, General William C. Westmoreland applied the unsuccessful strategy of "search and destroy," and wholly ignored the insurgent underpinnings of his enemy and their grip on the populace. Possessing a belief that the war was among the people, the Marines spawned combined action, that of combining a Marine rifle squad with a platoon of South Vietnamese Popular Forces who cohabitated together within a particular village.Never growing beyond 2,500 men and 114 platoons, the program achieved unsurpassed success towards providing security for the populace, threatening the guerrilla infrastructure, empowering the local and regional leaders to govern, and killing the enemy. Additionally, all attempts by senior Marine leaders to convince General Westmoreland of the CAP's validity as a fitting strategy for all ground forces failed to overcome his conventional inclination towards the nature of the war.The strategy proposed contains three elements: (1) separating the guerrillas from the people through combined action, (2) fighting the guerrillas as guerrillas, and (3) limited pursuit of large NVA units with "fix and destroy" forces.Accepting that the war was among the people, this alternative strategy strives to achieve first pacification through combined action, then destruction of enemy forces.The application of American military power in Vietnam failed to acknowledge the critical vulnerabilities inherent to an indigenous guerrilla force. Through the CAP, the Marines provided a model that if taken throughout South Vietnam would have likely preserved its sovereignty. Given the American inclination to play down the volatility of small scale wars and in particular guerrilla affairs, the Marines' combined action experiences in Vietnam present a viable alternative to unconventional utilization of conventional forces for the future. This book lays out the CAP strategy.

Download or read book The U S Marine Corps Combined Action Program CAP A Proposed Alternative Strategy for the Vietnam War written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Vietnam War was a war against an insurgency sustained by the resources drawn from the South Vietnamese peasant. The CAP offered a viable alternative to the strategy taken in Vietnam, challenging the sustaining infrastructure of the guerrilla, while providing security for the largely agrarian populace. Discussion: Taking a lesson from Mao Tse-tung's insurgent rise to power in an agrarian setting, Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap implemented a guerrilla-based strategy to liberate and unify Vietnam. Placing heavy reliance on the populace of South Vietnam to provide both men and food for the NVA and VC, the village represented a center of gravity for the Communist movement. Incapable of viewing Vietnam as anything but a conventional battleground, General William C. Westmoreland applied the unsuccessful strategy of "search and destroy," and wholly ignored the insurgent underpinnings of his enemy and their grip on the populace. Possessing a belief that the war was among the people, the Marines spawned combined action, that of combining a Marine rifle squad with a platoon of South Vietnamese Popular Forces who cohabitated together within a particular village. Never growing beyond 2,500 men and 114 platoons, the program achieved unsurpassed% success towards providing security for the populace, threatening the guerrilla infrastructure, empowering the local and regional leaders to govern, and killing the enemy. Additionally, all attempts by senior Marine leaders to convince General Westmoreland of the CAP's validity as a fitting strategy for all ground forces failed to overcome his conventional inclination towards the nature of the war.

Download or read book The U S Marine Corps Combined Action Program CAP written by Curtis L. Williamson and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Vietnam War was a war against an insurgency sustained by the resources drawn from the South Vietnamese peasant. The CAP offered a viable alternative to the strategy taken in Vietnam, challenging the sustaining infrastructure of the guerrilla, while providing security for the largely agrarian populace.

Download or read book Combined Action Platoons In The Vietnam War written by Major Ian J. Townsend and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Vietnam, the III Marine Amphibious Force used Combined Action Platoons (CAPs) as one part of its operational level counterinsurgency campaign. These platoons provided security assistance to the South Vietnamese Popular Forces and civic action to the village based population. To measure the operational effectiveness and the current relevancy of this specific type of combined action their activities are evaluated against current Army counterinsurgency doctrine. This monograph demonstrates the value of the CAPs as one element in the context of a counterinsurgency campaign, and how this form of combined action may serve as a tool for Army commanders conducting operational art in future. Independent operations are not the future of American warfare in the 21st Century. Contemporary thought about the future of American warfare is that the “conventional forces of the United States Army will have an enduring requirement to build the security forces and security ministries of other countries.” Some form of combined action will be a required in American military operations for the foreseeable future. Given this truth, CAPs provide a practical historical example of a combined action technique that can serve as a tool for the future.

Download or read book U S Marines and Irregular Warfare 1898 2007 written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Product Description: Since the tragic events of 9/11 and the consequent advent of the Global War on Terrorism, there has been a remarkable surge of interest in counterinsurgency. This anthology presents 27 articles on counterinsurgency and irregular warfare, particularly highlighting and examining the U.S. Marine Corps' roles in conflicts from 1898 through 2007. It also includes an extensive bibliography of works on these conflicts. Continuing discussion and study of these subjects is of critical importance to the ongoing efforts of the United States and its allies in the Global War on Terrorism. The anthology is divided broadly into two halves: the first half presents historical examples of counterinsurgency involving the United States-from the Philippines and the "Banana Wars" up through Vietnam-while the second half addresses the nation's contemporary efforts in this regard. Articles cover the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa. The selected bibliography addresses a broad range of subjects: on higher-end operational/strategic level of war considerations, on geopolitical context, and on a varied array of related topics-political theory, historical case studies, failed states, cultural studies and analysis, and many others-that all provide context or play a role in conducting a counterinsurgency and achieving success in the realm of irregular warfare. Colonel Stephen S. Evans, USMCR, researched and compiled this work as a field historian with the Marine Corps History Division. He has experience at various operational levels, both joint and multinational, in CONUS and overseas, and has performed duty with all three MEFs, MARFORLANT, MARFOREUR, and U.S. forces in Korea. He has also held a range of positions in administrative and educational roles at Quantico and the Pentagon. Colonel Evans holds a doctorate in history from Temple University and has published two historical monographs.

Download or read book Vietnam s Forgotten Army written by Andrew Wiest and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2009-10 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: War.

Download or read book At War with Women written by Jennifer Greenburg and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2023-02-15 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At War with Women reveals how post-9/11 politics of gender and development have transformed US military power. In the mid-2000s, the US military used development as a weapon as it revived counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military assembled all-female teams to reach households and wage war through development projects in the battle for "hearts and minds." Despite women technically being banned from ground combat units, the all-female teams were drawn into combat nonetheless. Based on ethnographic fieldwork observing military trainings, this book challenges liberal feminist narratives that justified the Afghanistan War in the name of women's rights and celebrated women's integration into combat as a victory for gender equality. Jennifer Greenburg critically interrogates a new imperial feminism and its central role in securing US hegemony. Women's incorporation into combat through emotional labor has reinforced gender stereotypes, with counterinsurgency framing female soldiers as global ambassadors for women's rights. This book provides an analysis of US imperialism that keeps the present in tension with the past, clarifying where colonial ideologies of race, gender, and sexuality have resurfaced and how they are changing today.

Download or read book Defend and Befriend written by John Southard and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-07-11 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Defend and Befriend is the first comprehensive study of Americans assigned to Combined Action Platoons in Vietnam. Tracing the development as well as the implementation of the program, author John Southard intertwines the experiences of enlisted Marines and corpsmen with an examination of the colonels and generals in charge.

Download or read book Small Wars Big Data written by Eli Berman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-14 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How a new understanding of warfare can help the military fight today's conflicts more effectively. The way wars are fought has changed starkly over the past sixty years. International military campaigns used to play out between large armies at central fronts. Today's conflicts find major powers facing rebel insurgencies that deploy elusive methods, from improvised explosives to terrorist attacks. Small Wars, Big Data presents a transformative understanding of these contemporary confrontations and how they should be fought. The authors show that a revolution in the study of conflict--enabled by vast data, rich qualitative evidence, and modern methods--yields new insights into terrorism, civil wars, and foreign interventions. Modern warfare is not about struggles over territory but over people; civilians--and the information they might choose to provide--can turn the tide at critical junctures. The authors draw practical lessons from the past two decades of conflict in locations ranging from Latin America and the Middle East to Central and Southeast Asia. Building an information-centric understanding of insurgencies, the authors examine the relationships between rebels, the government, and civilians. This approach serves as a springboard for exploring other aspects of modern conflict, including the suppression of rebel activity, the role of mobile communications networks, the links between aid and violence, and why conventional military methods might provide short-term success but undermine lasting peace. Ultimately the authors show how the stronger side can almost always win the villages, but why that does not guarantee winning the war. Small Wars, Big Data provides groundbreaking perspectives for how small wars can be better strategized and favorably won to the benefit of the local population.

Download or read book The Combined Action Platoons written by Michael Peterson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1989-06-26 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first comprehensive history for the academic reader of the Combined Action Program (CAP) in Vietnam. Created as a response by the U.S. Marines to what was known as the other war in Vietnam, the CAP Program was comprised of platoons each combining a fourteen man marine rifle squad, a navy corpsman, and a platoon of South Vietnamese militia. These CAP units were unique to the war. Their function was to capture and hold rather than to search and destroy. While the main forces of the Army and Marines all too often waged war on the Vietnamese hamlets, the CAP marines waged war from the hamlets. Their intent was to keep the hamlet intact. The uniqueness of the CAP Program justifies this study not only from an historical and political perspective but also sociologically. The CAP Marines were among the few Americans who lived with the Vietnamese in their own setting for long periods of time, developing community projects and civic action programs. The 1980s has brought about a resurgence of valuable research, the declassification of official documentation, and most important, an emotional distance from the trauma of defeat. The author takes full advantage of these conditions to present a thorough and comprehensive history and civic program analysis. Many critics of the Vietnam War now agree that the tactics of the Combined Action Program were among the most promising of the war. The CAP Marines fought a deadly and personal war with the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. In this volume, the author achieves his twofold objective. He not only provides a valuable historical account of the Program, but also analyzes the civic action and community development projects undertaken by the CAP Marines. His study is done with an eye to the future as U.S. counterinsurgency has again found expression in other Third World conflicts.

Download or read book The Vietnam War written by DK and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-04-04 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive telling of one of the longest and most controversial wars in US history. Delve into the compelling history and impact of the Vietnam War in reverting detail. This authoritative visual guide unpacks accounts of struggle, sacrifice, and bravery, making this a perfect read for any military history enthusiast. Inside the pages of this retelling of America's bloodiest conflict, you'll discover: - A vivid, moving, and informative read written in an engaging style. - A clear and compelling account of the conflict, in short, self-contained events from the Battle of Ia Drang to the Tet Offensive and The Khmer Rouge. - Biography pages highlight major military and political figures such as Henry Kissinger, President Nixon, General Thieu, and Ho Chi Minh. - Features on everyday life in the war offering additional context. - Stunning image double page features display weapons, spy gear, and other equipment that defined the war. - Maps and feature boxes provide additional information on significant events during the conflict. Created in association with the Smithsonian Institution, this history book for adults is an authoritative history of both the first televised war and its lasting impact through the lenses of both sides of the conflict. The Vietnam War explores all aspects of the conflict and the wider political landscape using compelling text, maps, and archive photography of collections of weapons, aircraft, and armored vehicles. The military techniques and conduct employed against the inferior technologies of the Viet Cong remain controversial and intriguing to date. Eyewitness accounts and iconic photographs bring events to life - from the background of the conflict to the incidents that drew America into Vietnam, the chronological event

Download or read book Poetical Tracts of the 18th Century written by and published by . This book was released on 1702 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Combined Action Program Revisited written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Vietnam conflict, senior Marine Corps leadership recognized the need for a strategy oriented toward guerilla warfare. As the United States finds itself embroiled in the Global War on Terrorism, the Marine Corps should look to the past to find effective methods of combating the current enemy threat. The Combined Action Program (CAP) employed by the United States Marine Corps in Vietnam proved highly effective in combating unconventional threats similar to those now faced in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lt General Lewis Walt summarized the contribution of the CAP appropriately and offered a fitting prediction: "Of all our innovations in Vietnam none was as successful, as lasting in effect, or as useful for the future as the Combined Action Program." The results of the CAP were a commitment and trust fostered between the local populace and United States forces. In turn, this denied the insurgency the one thing that it needed to survive -- popular support. Current operating environments demand the same resolution.

Download or read book A Forgotten Lesson for Contemporary Counterinsurgency Operations The Combined Action Program written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This research identifies and analyzes the Marine Corps Combined Action Program in the Vietnam War, how it was initiated and employed in a counterinsurgency strategy, and whether this concept has any validity in today's counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq. As this program developed over time, it proved successful in disrupting multiple tenets of the Vietnam insurgency. This program started in 1965 throughout the Marine Corps area of operations but did not receive support from the operational commander and his staff, therefore a unified strategy to defeat the insurgency never materialized. Critical to success for the operational commander in irregular warfare is first having an understanding of its nature, assisted by historical analysis, and then applying the proper solution to the problem. The Combined Action Program alone cannot defeat the insurgency but a contemporary program will provide US military leaders a supporting strategy as they continue counterinsurgency operations in Iraq.

Download or read book U S Marines In Vietnam The Landing And The Buildup 1965 written by Dr. Jack Shulimson and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 666 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the second volume in a series of chronological histories prepared by the Marine Corps History and Museums Division to cover the entire span of Marine Corps involvement in the Vietnam War. This volume details the Marine activities during 1965, the year the war escalated and major American combat units were committed to the conflict. The narrative traces the landing of the nearly 5,000-man 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and its transformation into the ΙII Marine Amphibious Force, which by the end of the year contained over 38,000 Marines. During this period, the Marines established three enclaves in South Vietnam’s northernmost corps area, I Corps, and their mission expanded from defense of the Da Nang Airbase to a balanced strategy involving base defense, offensive operations, and pacification. This volume continues to treat the activities of Marine advisors to the South Vietnamese armed forces but in less detail than its predecessor volume, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1964; The Advisory and Combat Assistance Era.

Download or read book Operational Social Influence in the Vietnam War written by Thomas F. Pavlik and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortly after Marine forces landed in Vietnam in March, 1965, leaders in the field began experimenting with pacification/combined action. Although this concept went directly against the military strategy of the top leaders, which involved unlimited combat operations, four Combined Action Platoons were formed into a Combined Action Company in the summer of 1965. The Marine Corps Combined Action Program was viewed by many as one of the only successful pacification programs conducted in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The CAP concept in Vietnam combined a squad of Marines and a platoon of South Vietnamese Popular Forces to assist villages in resisting VC influence. By combining forces and living inside the villages, the Marines believed they could win the "hearts and minds" of the villagers. Although they may not have been aware that the science of social influence even existed, the Marines who were part of the CAP used several social influence tactics in their effort to gain the trust of the villagers and deny influence attempts from the VC. What they accomplished by chance should not be lost to history; it should be studied within the context of established social influence theory so future operations may benefit from their experience. This study views the Combined Action Program conducted by the U.S. Marines in South Vietnam through a lens of the science of social influence. A social influence analysis is conducted using cognitive Centers of Gravity and specific social influence tactics. The analysis results provide an insight into which social influence tactics can be applied during counterinsurgency operations.

Download or read book Foreign Internal Defense The Art of Counter Insurgency and the Combined Action Platoon Concept written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the Marine Corps' Combined Action Platoon (CAP) program in the Vietnam applicability to possible future counter-insurgency conflicts, as well as today's Foreign Internal Defense (FID) and Internal Defense and Development (IDAD) doctrine. The CAPs of I Corps were established in order to 'clear and hold' selected villages or hamlets, improve the capabilities of the Popular Forces (PFs), conduct civic action, and foster the pacification effort at the grass roots level. The Marines who participated in the CAP program fought the war in the hamlets, while front line Army and Marine units all too often waged war on the hamlets. In comparison to other American units operating in the populated areas of South Vietnam, CAPs killed and captured proportionately more of the enemy at less cost to themselves and were successfully employed as an economy of force asset. CAPs were also able to neutralize the village guerrilla and bring a certain amount of confidence to the villagers and local government officials. There will always be a need to study the lessons of the CAP program and other counter-insurgency efforts. Policy-makers and CINC planners will often find relevence in some of the concepts and methods employed in The past. The U.S. military should retain counter-insurgency expertise in support of FID strategies that will provide the training and readiness required should the U.S. once again become involved in a counter-insurgency conflict.