Title

The air war in South Vietnam gave birth to the Joint Close Air Support Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (JCAS TTP) in use today. For example, the command and control structure codified during the war mirrors the current Theater Air-Ground System (TAGS). Moreover, the current CAS Check-in, 9-line and situation update briefs are nearly identical to the ones used by Raven, Sidewinder, Misty and Stormy FACs. The tactics employed in Vietnam are still in use today: wheel tactics, racetrack patterns, mark placement, flareship, and gunship operations are familiar to the reader. Additionally, the present dilemma of a non-contiguous, non-linear battlespace plagued airspace and fire support planners in Vietnam. Their solution foreshadows current Kill Box procedures as well as the Strike, Coordination and Reconnaissance (SCAR) mission. Unfortunately, many of the air-ground operations lessons learned during the conflict were placed in the same category of much of the war itself: a memory best forgotten.