4 - The Black Vault

S4
THE BDM CORPORATION
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was fairly well established as was a six-month command tour for officers.
General officers tended to serve similarly short tenures, though their tour
of duty was officially 18 months or more.
her respected book The Generals,
As Maureen Mylander observed in
In II Field Force, the most prestigious headquarters
with over one hundred maneuverable battalions at the
"peak of the buildup, generals' tenure averaged 7.6
months. 50/
And Douglas Kinnard notes that of the 183 generals who held command positions
in Vietnam, over half served there as generals for less than a year,
and a quarter for less than eight months,51/
this situation being aggravated
by promotions, new job requirements and, toward the end, a reduced
force structure.
Many reasons were advanced in support of the one-year tour. The
climatic conditions in Vietnam made
combat situation even more wearing.
by giving each man a reasonable goal,
tunnel.
Vietnam,
the already numerous burdens of the
The one-year tour helped boost morale
an individual light at the end of the
Shorter tours meant that more men could be rotated into Rnd out of
thus spreading the burden of combat and perhaps easing political
pressures on the administration.
This in turn might increase the staying
power of the US in a war that was not receiving total public support.
Additional reasons were advanced for the six-month command tour.
Rapid turnover allowed more men to obtain combat experience which,
it was
argued, helped produce bettjr staff officers and create a better militarywide
understanding of counterinsurgency warfare. Unfortunately the sixmonth
tour also happ•:;ed to extend the possibilities for ticket punching.
Worse, competitive young officers from platoon through brigade level were
replaced after six months
by equally competitive young officers, most
seeking to enhance their military careers through courageous combat leadership.
The tired enlisted personnel were left to )mplete their 12-month
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