The Path to War: U.S. Marine Corps Operations in Southeast Asia 1961 to 1965 - Response to Communist Aggression, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse-tung, Advisors to Major Forces

Nonfiction, History, Military, Vietnam War, Asian, United States
Cover of the book The Path to War: U.S. Marine Corps Operations in Southeast Asia 1961 to 1965 - Response to Communist Aggression, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse-tung, Advisors to Major Forces by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781310430121
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: February 24, 2015
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781310430121
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: February 24, 2015
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

This narrative chronicles the activities of the U.S. Marine Corps in Southeast Asia from January 1961 to March 1965. The period witnesses increasing Marine Corps involvement in the region as our nation's leaders responded to Communist aggression and sought to protect the United States' national interests. Individual Marines saw duty as early as 1954 when a Marine lieutenant colonel was assigned to the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Saigon, South Vietnam. The first involvement of a Marine Corps operational unit came in March 1961 with the deployment to Udorn, Thailand, of approximately 300 Marines from Marine Air Base Squadron 16 (MABS-16). The squadron's mission was to provide aircraft maintenance and flight-line support operations for Air America, a U.S. company flying missions in support of the pro-Western forces in Laos. MABS-16 remained in northeast Thailand for seven months, not returning to its home base at Futema, Okinawa, until Air America had become self-supporting in October 1961.

The situation in Laos continued to deteriorate, and in early 1962 Communist aggression was threatening to spill over into neighboring Thailand. President John F. Kennedy's administration, determined to protect this vitally important Asian ally and Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) member, ordered the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3d MEB) to deploy to Thailand in May 1962 as a "show of force" and as a demonstration of American resolve to halt the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. As the situation in Laos stabilized, the 3d MEB, which in fact was reduced in size and actually deployed as a Marine expeditionary unit, began an incremental withdrawal with all Marines departing Thailand by the end of July 1962.

Earlier, individual Marines had been posted to South Vietnam, where they served in a variety of roles. Prior to the signing of the 1954 Geneva Agreement that partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel, a Marine guard detachment had been assigned to provide embassy security. In addition, several Marines were assigned to the MAAG staff" and, when it was established, to the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (USMACV).

When the South Vietnamese Marine Corps (VNMC) was established on 13 October 1954, U.S. Marine advisors— both officers and enlisted men—were assigned to provide training, operational, and logistic support. As the VNMC expanded over time, the number of U.S. Marine advisors assigned also grew. In 1961, the commanding general of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPac), initiated an On-the-Job Training (OJT) Program that assigned 3d Marine Division (3d MarDiv) and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW) junior officers and staff noncommissioned officers to Republic of Vietnam (RVN) military units for 30 days to observe combat operations. In response to increasing Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) operations in South Vietnam and to providing the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) with much-needed tactical mobility, a Marine medium helicopter squadron with supporting elements was ordered to South Vietnam and arrived on 15 April 1962. In the closing months of 1964, the Marine Corps began assigning officers and enlisted Marines as advisors to the ARVN divisions operating in South Vietnam's I Corps Tactical Zone (I Corps).

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This narrative chronicles the activities of the U.S. Marine Corps in Southeast Asia from January 1961 to March 1965. The period witnesses increasing Marine Corps involvement in the region as our nation's leaders responded to Communist aggression and sought to protect the United States' national interests. Individual Marines saw duty as early as 1954 when a Marine lieutenant colonel was assigned to the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Saigon, South Vietnam. The first involvement of a Marine Corps operational unit came in March 1961 with the deployment to Udorn, Thailand, of approximately 300 Marines from Marine Air Base Squadron 16 (MABS-16). The squadron's mission was to provide aircraft maintenance and flight-line support operations for Air America, a U.S. company flying missions in support of the pro-Western forces in Laos. MABS-16 remained in northeast Thailand for seven months, not returning to its home base at Futema, Okinawa, until Air America had become self-supporting in October 1961.

The situation in Laos continued to deteriorate, and in early 1962 Communist aggression was threatening to spill over into neighboring Thailand. President John F. Kennedy's administration, determined to protect this vitally important Asian ally and Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) member, ordered the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3d MEB) to deploy to Thailand in May 1962 as a "show of force" and as a demonstration of American resolve to halt the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. As the situation in Laos stabilized, the 3d MEB, which in fact was reduced in size and actually deployed as a Marine expeditionary unit, began an incremental withdrawal with all Marines departing Thailand by the end of July 1962.

Earlier, individual Marines had been posted to South Vietnam, where they served in a variety of roles. Prior to the signing of the 1954 Geneva Agreement that partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel, a Marine guard detachment had been assigned to provide embassy security. In addition, several Marines were assigned to the MAAG staff" and, when it was established, to the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (USMACV).

When the South Vietnamese Marine Corps (VNMC) was established on 13 October 1954, U.S. Marine advisors— both officers and enlisted men—were assigned to provide training, operational, and logistic support. As the VNMC expanded over time, the number of U.S. Marine advisors assigned also grew. In 1961, the commanding general of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPac), initiated an On-the-Job Training (OJT) Program that assigned 3d Marine Division (3d MarDiv) and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW) junior officers and staff noncommissioned officers to Republic of Vietnam (RVN) military units for 30 days to observe combat operations. In response to increasing Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) operations in South Vietnam and to providing the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) with much-needed tactical mobility, a Marine medium helicopter squadron with supporting elements was ordered to South Vietnam and arrived on 15 April 1962. In the closing months of 1964, the Marine Corps began assigning officers and enlisted Marines as advisors to the ARVN divisions operating in South Vietnam's I Corps Tactical Zone (I Corps).

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book The Quest for Relevant Air Power: Continental European Responses to the Air Power Challenges of the Post-Cold War Era - Allied Air Power and Air Forces, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Air Force System Safety Handbook: Costs, Objectives, Policy and Process, Risk Assessment, Flight Mishaps, Analysis Techniques, Contractors, Nuclear and Explosive Hazards, Biomedical Safety by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Cyber Operations and the Warfighting Functions - USCYBERCOM, Cyber Attacks and Cyber War, Distributed Denial of Service attack (DDoS), SCADA, Russian and Georgian Conflict, Hacktivism by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) Papers - U.S. Military Forces and Police Assistance in Stability Operations: The Least-Worst Option to Fill the U.S. Capacity Gap by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Documents: Air Force U-2 Aircraft - Operations Procedures, Aircrew Evaluation Criteria, Aircrew Training Flying Operations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 2013 National Gang Report: Street, Prison, Outlaw Motorcycle, Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime, Weapons, Explosives, Eme, Mexican Mafia, Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, OMG, BCF, Los Zetas, Pagans by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Drill and Ceremonies Manual - Part Two, Parades, Funerals, Memorial Services, Customs and Courtesies, Mess Night Traditions by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Essential Guide to Interrogation and Torture: CIA KUBARK Counterintelligence Interrogation Manual, Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual, Art and Science of Interrogation by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: Air Defense Artillery Brigade Operations Field Manual - FM 3-01.7 (Value-Added Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: Ministry in Combat Marine Corps Field Manual (Value-Added Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Cyberspace Operations: What Senior Leaders Need to Know About Cyberspace - EMP, Catastrophic Events, Carrington Event, plus Resilient Military Systems and the Advanced Cyber Threat by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century FEMA Study Course: Fundamentals of Emergency Management (IS-230.a) - Integrated EMS, Incident Management, Case Studies, Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recovery, Mitigation by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Documents: Guide to Services Contingency Planning: Mortuary Affairs, Search And Recovery (S&R) - Air Force Handbook 10-247, Volume 4 - Aircraft Crashes by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Revolutionary War (War of American Independence): Timeline of the American Revolution, Featuring the Content of Original Documents by George Washington, Continental Congress, Thomas Paine, Others by Progressive Management
Cover of the book "All the Missiles Work": Technological Dislocations and Military Innovation - Case Study in U.S. Air Force Air-to-Air Armament, Post-World War II through Rolling Thunder - Vietnam, Guns on Planes by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy