The Journey of Flight.pdf - Valkyrie Cadet

Chapter Chapter Chapter 5 5 5 - - - A AAviation:
A viation: F FFrom
FF
rom the the Cold Cold Cold W WWar
W ar to to Desert Desert Storm
Storm
Operation Operation Operation Operation Operation Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Thunder: Thunder: Thunder: Thunder: Thunder: 1965-1968
1965-1968
1965-1968
1965-1968
1965-1968
The “tit-for-tat” air strikes were intended to warn of heavier punishment to come if the communists
continued with the war. Unfortunately, President Johnson did not trust his military advisors so he and
his Secretary of Defense, personally ran the Vietnam conflict. Unlike World War II where the objective
was unconditional surrender of Germany, Italy and Japan, the objective of the Vietnam conflict was
not so clear. In World War II, the military experts developed a strategy, ran it by the President for his
approval and then conducted the war. In Vietnam, President Johnson called all the shots. He even
picked out targets for the air strikes.
President Johnson’s objective was to raise the morale of the nearly defeated South Vietnamese
Army, and to demonstrate to North Vietnam that if they did not start negotiations for peace, the
bombings would continue. In
the background, there was also
another objective.
President Johnson did not want
either the Soviet Union, or the
Chinese to enter the conflict and
thus start a world war. This is why
Operation Rolling Thunder was
another gradual escalation of the
conflict. This is also why President
Johnson and Secretary of Defense
MacNamara ignored the advice of
their military experts, and
F-100F Wild Weasel Also Known as the Super Sabre
personally went through the maps of Vietnam and selected targets to be hit. This way they ensured the
targets that were sensitive to either the Soviet Union or the Chinese were not hit. For example, surfaceto-air
missile sites were not targeted because there might be Soviet advisors at the sites. These kinds of
rules made it seem like America was fighting with one hand tied behind its back.
The conduct of the war so frustrated the Army Chief of Staff, General Harold K. Johnson, that he
later said, “I remember the day I was ready to go over to the Oval Office and give my four stars to the
President and tell him, ‘You have refused to tell the country they cannot fight a war without mobilization;
you have required me to send men into battle with little hope of their ultimate victory; and you have
forced us in the military to violate almost every one of the principles of war in Vietnam. Therefore, I
resign and will hold a press conference after I walk out your door.’”
The war continued. Operation Rolling Thunder lasted for 3 years and is the longest operation of its
kind in history. It severely disrupted North Vietnam’s war effort and severely destroyed many ammunition
depots, oil storage facilities, power plants and railroad yards. But, it did not destroy North Vietnam’s
will to resist. The piecemeal attacks allowed the enemy to repair vital needs. Every time President
Johnson ordered a stop in the bombing to see if North Vietnam would negotiate, the communists
repaired and resupplied.
Success was hard to measure and it was being assessed every night during the five o’clock news.
Television was now an affordable luxury for almost every American family, and as a result, families
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