1. NATURE & CHARACTER OF WAR
   1. US
      1. Looking at COIN operations but some had doubts
      2. Question is how to fight a main force enemy & insurgency at the same time
      3. Pacification - anything used to eliminate organised VC activity CORDS - Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support
         1. CORDS was believed to have worked where other Pacification programs had not
      4. MAJGEN Walt (USMC) didn't have a clear understanding of the nature of the war this was probably the case for a lot of military leaders in Vietnam
      5. Combined Action Program (CAP) put individual Marines into villages to aid and advise
      6. This was full spectrum warfare and each area was particular in how it needed to be fought
   2. NVA
      1. Conventional main force operations
   3. VC
      1. insurgency operations in the South
   4. NAVAL war was predominantly riverine operations
   5. Western World Population
      1. Massive uproar about the need for the US or Australia to be in this war
      2. Why are our troops being killed for someone else's war
2. THE POLITICAL OBJECTIVE
   1. US
      1. Changes throughout the war
      2. The building up of armed forces with US aid and assistance
      3. defeat of the Viet Cong
      4. implementation of reforms and corrections to power imbalances in the heirarchy
      5. US statement of not going north of the DMZ caused issues This allowed the NVA to come across and retreat whenever they felt necessary withdrawing to a safe haven
      6. Whole US full scale involvement was kicked off by the Gulf of Tonkin incidents
   2. North Vietnamese
      1. nationalism or communism
   3. South Vietnamese
      1. Diem is killed in 1963 - some say this is when the war was lost
      2. South Vietnamese lack strategy
      3. This was due to many government changes after the Coup / Diem killing
3. UNITY OF EFFORT
   1. Westmoreland
      1. didn't have command of the South Vietnamese forces
4. STRATEGIC & MILITARY CULTURE
   1. Statement to not send US forces north of the DMZ meant that the NVA had freedom to withdraw to a sanctuary if required
   2. NVA / VC
      1. BG Bernard Rodgers (DCG 1DEV 1967) "with respect to the enemy contacted during the two operations, we found most of them dedicated well disciplined, persistent, tenacious and courageous, often displaying more 'guts' than sense."
5. RESOURCING & SUSTAINING WAR
   1. US were aware of the impact of a blockade might have on China and Russia There was some fear of escalation
   2. USN primarily provide seaborne air power
   3. The VC were conducting resupply missions through Cambodia and the Mekong Delta
6. LEARNING & ADAPTATION
   1. 25 Div was able to achieve good results against the VC when they had good tactical intelligence
7. GEOGRAPHY & OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
   1. USN would look after outside of 40nm SV and USN forces looking after inshore between them
8. LEADERSHIP & COMMAND
   1. Westmoreland's deputy (4*) was given direct lines to the President
   2. President
      1. Kennedy - 63
      2. Johnson - 69
      3. Nixon - 74
   3. Australian Prime Minister
      1. Menzies 49-66
      2. Holt 66-67
      3. McEwan 67-68
      4. Gorton 68-71 started bringing troops out (70)
      5. McMahon 71-72
      6. Whitlam 72-75 claims to have brought the troops out but this was the last of the troops (73)
9. JOINT OPERATIONAL PLANNING