0 - The Black Vault

THE 3DM CORPORATION
INSIGHTS
Contingency Planning 0 Operation plats prepared by component
commands in the Pacific Theater and their
principa, subordinate commands failed to
appreciate and assess the true nature of the
threat existing in Vietnam before 1955.
0 OPLAN 32 was never implemented, altheugh it
did provide a handy "rule of thumo" concerning
the US logistic3l buildup in Vietnam.
Onrn major reason for not implementing contingency
plans as written was the wide variance
between the anticipated conflict (as viewed
by planners in the 1950s and early 1960s) and
the insurgency-type conflict that trie United
States actually found. Another major reason
was emphasis by the president to play down
the scale of US involvement in Indochina
during the 1961-1965 time period.
* Each situation rrcuiring a contingency plan
is unique ind different from others which
appear at first glance to te similar,
LESSONS
Clear and definitive national security policy
guidance is essential for strategic planniro
Once established, national security policy
with regard to any one region should be
frequently subjected to scrutiny and debate
to assure that policy goals are consistent
with actual external conditions and with
domestic political realities,
Contingency plans should not be shaped by -he
"last war" but by the realities of the threat
and US objectives in the area of the proposed
contingency.
Those who prepare contingency plans should be
aware of possible domestic planning con-
"straints and even the predispositions of top
policy makers.
EX-5