Operation Sealords: A Front In A Frontless War, An Analysis Of The Brown-Water Navy In Vietnam
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This thesis breaks down the SEALORDS campaign into three areas of study. First, the study examines the barrier interdiction portion of the campaign designed to stem the flow of enemy infiltration of men and material from Cambodia into the Mekong Delta. Second, this study analyzes the Denial of Sanctuary Operations and Pacification portion of the SEALORDS operations. Last, the Accelerated Turnover to the Vietnamese Program (ACTOV) is examined to determine its effectiveness.
The findings of this study suggest that by concentrating naval forces athwart the major infiltration routes along the Cambodian border, SEALORDS effectively cut enemy lines of communication into South Vietnam and severely restricted enemy attempts at infiltration. Additionally, the findings suggest that SEALORDS contributed significantly to pacification efforts in the southern part of III Corps and all of the IV Corps Tactical Zone. Finally, the ACTOV Program is evaluated as successful and put the Navy out ahead of the other services with respect to Vietnamization of the war effort.
LCDR William C. McQuilkin USN
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Operation Sealords - LCDR William C. McQuilkin USN
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Text originally published in 1997 under the same title.
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OPERATION SEALORDS: A FRONT IN A FRONTLESS WAR, AN ANALYSIS OF THE BROWN-WATER NAVY IN VIETNAM
By
LCDR William C. McQuilkin, USN.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
ABSTRACT 5
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 6
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 7
CHAPTER I — INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 8
Introduction 8
Primary’ and Subordinate Research Questions 8
Significance of the Study 9
Methodology, Limitations, and Delimitations 9
Background 10
Market Time 11
Game Warden 13
Mobile Riverine Force 15
CHAPTER II — SEALORDS: OPERATIONAL CONCEPT AND PHASE ONE-BARRIER INTERDICTION 18
Interdiction Operations 21
Operation Search Tum 21
Operation Tran Hung Dao 23
Operation Giant Slingshot 25
Operation Barrier Reef 28
CHAPTER III — SEALORDS PHASE II-DENIAL OF SANCTUARY OPERATIONS AND PACIFICATION 30
Sea Float 30
Ready Deck 33
Rung Sat Operations 34
Breezy Cove 36
Pacification 37
CHAPTER IV — ACCELERATED TURNOVER TO THE VIETNAMESE 40
CHAPTER V — ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS 49
Barrier Interdiction 49
Denial of Sanctuary Operations and Pacification 51
ACTOV 53
Conclusions 54
APPENDIX 55
REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 60
BIBLIOGRAPHY 61
Books 61
Government Documents, Papers, and Reports 62
Periodicals and Articles 63
Oral Histories 63
Interviews by Author 64
ABSTRACT
This study examines Operation SEALORDS, the capstone campaign conducted by the brown-water Navy in Vietnam. Specifically, this paper addresses the primary question: Was the SEALORDS campaign successful, and if so, what lessons can be learned from SEALORDS and how might the Navy employ brown-water forces in the future?
This thesis breaks down the SEALORDS campaign into three areas of study. First, the study examines the barrier interdiction portion of the campaign designed to stem the flow of enemy infiltration of men and material from Cambodia into the Mekong Delta. Second, this study analyzes the Denial of Sanctuary Operations and Pacification portion of the SEALORDS operations. Last, the Accelerated Turnover to the Vietnamese Program (ACTOV) is examined to determine its effectiveness.
The findings of this study suggest that by concentrating naval forces athwart the major infiltration routes along the Cambodian border, SEALORDS effectively cut enemy lines of communication into South Vietnam and severely restricted enemy attempts at infiltration. Additionally, the findings suggest that SEALORDS contributed significantly to pacification efforts in the southern part of III Corps and all of the IV Corps Tactical Zone. Finally, the ACTOV Program is evaluated as successful and put the Navy out ahead of the other services with respect to Vietnamization of the war effort.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ACTOV—Accelerated Turnover to the Vietnamese
AMMI PONTOON—Multi-purpose barge, 28 feet by 90 feet
AO—Area of Operations
APC—Armored Personnel Carrier
ARVN—Army of the Republic of Vietnam
ATSB—Advanced Tactical Support Base
ATC—Armored Troop Carrier
CIA—Central Intelligence Agency
CIDG—Civilian Irregular Defense Groups
CNO—Chief of Naval Operations
COMNAVFORV—Commander Naval Forces Vietnam
COMUSMACV—Commander U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam
CTF—Commander Task Force
CTG—Commander Task Group
CTZ—Corps Tactical Zone
ENIFF—Enemy Initiated Firefight
FRIFF—Friendly Initiated Firefight
GVN—Government of Vietnam
HAL—Helicopter Attack Light Squadron
HES—Hamlet Evaluation System
KIA—Killed in Action
LSD—Landing Ship, Dock
LST—Landing Ship, Tank
MRF—Mobile Riverine Force
NAVFORV—Naval Forces Vietnam
NVA—North Vietnamese Army
OPLAN—Operation Plan
PBR—Patrol Boat, River
PCF—Patrol Craft, Fast (Swift Boat)
PF—Popular (Provisional) Force
RAC—River Assault Craft
RAG—River Assault Group (VNN)
RAID—Riverine Assault Interdiction Division (VNN)
RF—Regional Force
RIVDIV—Riverine Division (USN)
RSSZ—Rung Sat Special Zone
SEAL—USN Special Forces
SEALORDS—Southeast Asia Lake. Ocean, River, and Delta Strategy
SEAWOLF—UH-IB Helo, heavily armed, USN operated
TF—Task Force
USN—United States Navy
VC—Vietcong
VNMC—Vietnamese Marine Corps
VNN—Vietnamese Navy
WBGP—Waterborne Guard Post
ZIPPO—Flame thrower equipped ATC or Monitor
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1.—The Mekong Delta
2.—Enemy Infiltration Routes into the Mekong Delta
3.—SEALORDS Operations
4.—Sea Float/Breezy Cove
5.—Ready Deck
CHAPTER I — INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Introduction
During the Vietnam War the Mekong River Delta was a crucial battleground. Extending south and west from Saigon to the Gulf of Thailand and the Cambodian border, the delta is a rich rice producing area that was home to one-half of South Vietnam’s population. Control of this area was essential if the war against the Vietcong (the name for communists in South Vietnam, acronym VC) and the North Vietnamese was going to succeed.
Crisscrossed by rivers and canals, the delta was an area where people and goods moved primarily by water. To provide security against communist forces and interdict communist supply shipments, control of these waterways was necessary. It was this situation that led the United States to establish a riverine (brown-water) naval force in South Vietnam. As part of the American military assistance to the South Vietnamese government, the United States Navy (USN) undertook the mission of winning back and holding this strategic region.
This paper examines Operation SEALORDS, the capstone campaign conducted by the brown-water Navy in Vietnam. Operation SEALORDS (Southeast Asia Lake Ocean River Delta Strategy) began on 5 November 1968 and lasted until 1 July 1970. The broad mission of SEALORDS was to interdict enemy supply lines of communication and to conduct offensive operations with the intent to regain control and pacify designated areas in the southern part of III Corps and all of IV Corps’ Tactical Zone, an area that corresponded roughly to the delta. SEALORDS represented the maturation of riverine warfare in Vietnam. By this time, riverine forces had evolved from a rather ad hoc, hastily put together force in early 1965, into an integrated fighting force.
This paper is divided into five chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction and background. In order to correctly analyze SEALORDS, it is necessary to put the operation into some historical context. Chapter one examines some of the evolutionary changes in riverine warfare and addresses early measures taken to counter communist infiltration into what would become the SEALORDS area of operations (AOR). Chapter two examines the operational concept of SEALORDS as well as the Cambodian border interdiction campaign. This discussion shows what was different and significant about SEALORDS. Chapter three discusses various denial-of-sanctuary operations and pacification campaigns as they pertain to Operation SEALORDS. Chapter four examines the Accelerated Turnover Program to the Vietnamese (ACTOV), the U.S. Navy’s Vietnamization plan. ACTOV was instituted concurrently with SEALORDS. The final chapter provides an analysis and conclusions.
Primary’ and Subordinate Research Questions
This study assesses qualitatively the effectiveness of the SEALORDS campaign by analyzing critical components of the operation. Specifically, this paper addresses the primary question: Was the SEALORDS campaign successful, and if so, what lessons can be learned from SEALORDS and how might the Navy employ brown-water forces in the future? In order to provide an answer to this question, three subordinate questions are addressed.
First, was the border interdiction portion of