Vietnam II: A War Novel Episode 3 (V2) Read Free

Operations Center
     
    The strategic airlift in Jungle Storm was the largest airlift since World War II. Airlifters moved combat forces half way around the world.  By New Years, airlift had moved over 482,000 passengers and 513,000 tons of cargo into the Vietnam AOR.  This would be the equivalent of moving a medium sized American city like St. Louis to include all of its population, vehicles, food and personal property to the other side of the world.
    Air Force C-5s and C-141s were the workhorses of Jungle Storm as they moved 72% of the air cargo and one-third of the personnel while commercial transportation accounted for the rest.  C-5s were 90% and C-141s 80% committed to Jungle Storm. 
    Operation Jungle Storm was also the first time in its 38 year history that the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) was activated.  On 18 August, the first stage of CRAF, 41 aircraft were put into service, 18 passenger and 23 cargo aircraft.  The second stage, planned for if and when fighting commenced, an additional 77 passenger and 40 additional cargo aircraft, would be activated.  CRAF commercial aircraft carried the majority of the troops to the Pacific AOR.
     
     
     
     

Lieutenant Lance Shepard
    F/A-18 Hornet Naval Aviator
    Yankee Station
     
    In the distance I saw the battleship USS Missouri taking a pounding.  That poor old ship would later become the last battleships to actively participate in a foreign war. 
    Of course we all were.
    The buildup of US Navy forces utilized the normal forward-deployed posture of the fleet.  On 2 August the ships of Joint Task Force Indochina were cruising for the Gulf of Tonkin.  For the Midway battle group, V2 was an extraordinary inconvenience as it was the last month of a in the last month of a scheduled six-month Mediterranean deployment.  The Kennedy battle grouped faired better in the mix.  They were in the early months of a scheduled Indian Ocean deployment.  Both battle groups moved toward the crisis area and by the next day they were on station and ready to conduct air strikes with Kennedy at Yankee Station and Midway at Dixie Station. 
    Thus, on C-day, 7 August--the day that the President committed U.S. forces to the recovery of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines lost in V1 the naval presence in the strike area consisted of two carrier battle groups with more than 100 fighter and attack aircraft plus a surface action group and command ship in the Gulf of Tonkin.  Later the two initial battlegroups were reinforced by four additional carrier battle groups. The Navy also deployed the command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), a 31 ship amphibious task force, plus various support ships, combatants and mine warfare ships in preparation for beach landings if things went that far.  In January we had no idea things would.
    The Navy forces requested by PACOM were initially geared toward defense of Saudi Arabia so there was a big about face as they geared up for the South Pacific.  The elements of those forces came from both Atlantic and Pacific Fleets and from units stationed ashore in CONUS.  The Navy sailed and was in position quickly due to their forward deployed posture and the Navy’s ability to be self-sustaining.
    More than 50 ships formed the Jungle Storm fleet, including USS Independence (CV 62), USS Midway (CV 41), USS Ranger (CV 61) and USS Missouri (BB 63) battle groups as well as approximately 20 more amphibious ships.  The ships and their crews were initially used to support the economic embargo set up against Vietnam.  If Vietnam failed to meet the January 15, 1991 deadline the ships would be in a position to commit forces to a first strike attack.
    With the storm as bad as it was that was all becoming unlikely.  It was January 14th and we found ourselves riding out the worst winter typhoon this part of the world had seen in recorded history.  We hadn’t been able to launch planes in twelve hours.
    I went up to see the CAG that evening and all you could