Just the FACs please

"Pauli G" wrote in message
m...
I have a question about FAC operations in Vietnam. When a USMC got a
radio call for help, could he vector in aircraft from all services, or
were only USN/USMC aircraft at his disposal? Also, did Army ground
troops have the capability to contact any FAC in the sky regardless of
what service was flying them? ie. could Army soldiers call up a USMC
FAC? I'm just wondering how well-coordinated the ground/air was, or
if it was service-specific.

It depends on the date. It was very hard for anyone to get close air support
(CAS) from the USAF early in the war. The House Armed Services Committee
formed a Close Air Support Special Committee in October 1965 after the US
Army complained about the problem to Congress.
The US didn't go to a single USAF manager for all air assets until February
1968.
Before that there was more separation between USAF and USMC aircraft and the
Marine request would have gone to the 3rd Marine Air Wing, not the single
air manager.
Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) Directive 95-4, issued by General
William Westmoreland on 13 July 1965 tasked the USMC to supply aircraft to
the USAF 2nd Air Division (later the 7th Air Force) after it had completed
tasking support for the III MAF (3rd Marine Amphibious Force). It gave up
about 20% of its sorties. At that time, the USMC had the northern part of
Vietnam (I Corps) pretty much to itself. As more US Army units moved into I
Corps in 1967 and 1968, Westmoreland was upset because the Marines were
giving proportionately more sorties to help the Marines in I Corps than it
did the Army. So in February 1968, he placed all the aircraft in Vietnam
under a single commander.
If you are interested on a Marine point of view you can read "Single Air
Manager In Three Wars: The Integration Of Marine Air With The Joint
Environment" by Major Michael J. Manuche, USMC. To get it, go to
http://192.156.75.139/isyspeq.html, click on "IRP CSC 95" under "Search
database:" on the right, type in "single air manager" under "Enter the ISYS
Plain English query:" on the left and click on the Search button.
There was a lot more fighting over Marine air assets and much more USAF-US
Army infighting about close air support during and immediately after the
Korean War.
To read about USAF/USMC cooperation in Gulf War II go to:
http://www.afa.org/magazine/June2004/0604marine.asp

Joe




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