Posted on Jun 25, 2016
Westmoreland given authority to commit U.S. forces - Jun 26, 1965 - HISTORY.com
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Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. military commander in Vietnam, is given formal authority to commit American troops to battle when he decides they are necessary “to strengthen the relative position of the GVN [Government of Vietnam] forces.” This authorization permitted Westmoreland to put his forces on the offensive. Heretofore, U.S. combat forces had been restricted to protecting U.S. airbases and other facilities.
The first major offensive by U.S. forces under this new directive was launched two days later by 3,000 troops of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, in conjunction with 800 Australian soldiers and a Vietnamese airborne unit. These forces assaulted a jungle area known as Viet Cong Zone D, 20 miles northeast of Saigon. The operation was called off after three days when it failed to make any major contact with the enemy. One American was killed, and nine Americans and four Australians were wounded.
@SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas , Capt Christopher Mueller , CPT (Join to see) , COL Mikel J. Burroughs , Sgt Joe LaBranche , SSgt (Join to see), TSgt Hunter Logan Capt Seid Waddell SrA Christopher Wright LTC Stephen F. PO2 Ed C. PO2 Mark Saffell MSG Tom Earley PVT James Strait Alan K. @po1 william "chip" PO1 William "Chip" Nagel @SGT John McConnell SGT John " Mac " McConnell
The first major offensive by U.S. forces under this new directive was launched two days later by 3,000 troops of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, in conjunction with 800 Australian soldiers and a Vietnamese airborne unit. These forces assaulted a jungle area known as Viet Cong Zone D, 20 miles northeast of Saigon. The operation was called off after three days when it failed to make any major contact with the enemy. One American was killed, and nine Americans and four Australians were wounded.
@SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas , Capt Christopher Mueller , CPT (Join to see) , COL Mikel J. Burroughs , Sgt Joe LaBranche , SSgt (Join to see), TSgt Hunter Logan Capt Seid Waddell SrA Christopher Wright LTC Stephen F. PO2 Ed C. PO2 Mark Saffell MSG Tom Earley PVT James Strait Alan K. @po1 william "chip" PO1 William "Chip" Nagel @SGT John McConnell SGT John " Mac " McConnell
Westmoreland given authority to commit U.S. forces - Jun 26, 1965 - HISTORY.com
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American History
Vietnam War
American History Vietnam War
Posted >1 y ago
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SP5 Mark Kuzinski I really like the way our civlilan leadership gives our Commanders permission to fight the fight and then they turn around and take it away based on political votes and public opinion. We see this happen time after time. Is WWII the only war we gave our Commanders the ability to win a war (and there were politics ivolved there with Patton, MacArhtur, and the list goes on). Does our system of Civilian Government work for us or again us when it comes to winning wars?
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SP5 Mark Kuzinski
Our Civilian Government seems to always start out with good intentions and then, as we have seen far to many times, politics get in the way (The rules change - and the changes are in favor of our enemy not us). Thanks for you comments COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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SP5 Mark Kuzinski awesome read and share, thanks for the historical look in This Day In History.
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Thanks for reminding us SP5 Mark Kuzinski that "Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. military commander in Vietnam," was "given formal authority to commit American troops to battle when he" decided they are necessary “to strengthen the relative position of the GVN [Government of Vietnam] forces.”
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