Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO- 46 … UNCOUPLED … but first…
Good Morning: Day FORTY-SIX of a long look back to Operation Rolling Thunder…”the air war”….
17 APRIL 1966…FIFTY YEARS AGO… ON THE HOMEFRONT…New York Times… A fair day in the Big Apple and lot’s of news, or as the Times says, “All the news that is fit to print.” Page 1: “Accord Reported For A Vote Aug 15 in South Vietnam.” Ky and civilian groups are said to have reached agreement on tentative timetable, but doubts are persistent. Buddhist marchers in Danang celebrate the retreat of Ky… Also page 1: “Peace With China Foreseen by Rusk”… Rusk: “We look forward–and confidently–to a time in the future when the government of the mainland of China will permit the restoration of the historic ties of friendship between the people of mainland China and ourselves.” The State Department policy with China boils down to one of “firmness and good will” that might lure China out of isolation and into an era of good relations…Page 6: “AF Fighter-Bombers Blast Vietcong Camp 10 Miles West of Saigon,” in what was called a retaliation raid on the Vietcong guerrillas who executed the raid on the Saigon barracks that killed 8 U.S. officers and injured 122. The all day raids on the camp, said to accommodate 1,200 VC, employed Mk-81 and 82 bombs and 20mm strafing as the weapons of choice for the Air Force strikes…In the air war the Air Force F-105s reported destroying 42 trucks in three truck parks 52 miles north of the DMZ, and another 20 trucks backed up at the north entry to the Mugia Pass. Navy pilots executed Rolling Thunder ops in the panhandle (route packs 2&3) hitting bridges, storage buildings, cargo junks, army barracks, barges and warehouses. The Buffs dropped on targets south of Hue… Page 8: headline: “Napalm Foes Petition for Vote to Bar Factory in Coast City.” Redwood City has been identified for construction of a plant to manufacture napalm bombs. A spokesperson for the petitioners said: “Redwood City will become known as the place where flaming death is manufactured. You are committing thousands of people to death. I don’t know how you sleep at night.” The napalm mixture was described as 50% polystyrene and 25% each of benzene and gasoline… Page 10: The issue of bomb shortages is still in the news with the disclosure that bombs sold to allies for $1.70 each are being bought back at the price of $21. The allies bought the bombs for the nitrate to use as fertilizer…
17 APRIL 1966… ROLLING THUNDER… A tough day for U.S. air and especially USS Kitty Hawk… A B-57C of the 8thTBS at Danang was shot down 25 miles north of the DMZ while strafing a target on the border with Laos. Both crew ejected and were rescued by Air Force helicopter. CAPT LARRY J. HORACEK and CAPTAIN D.N. HARNAGE were flying the C model Canberra with dual controls and this aircraft was the only C model lost in the war. This was the second B-57 ejection and rescue for CAPTAIN HORACEK…A Ticonderoga A-4C from VA-56 piloted by LCDR GARY HOUGH was shot down by AAA while searching for a reported active SAM site. The aircraft caught fire but was flown clear of the area before LCDR HOUGH ejected and was rescued by an Air Force helicopter. The third loss of the day was an A-6A off Kitty Hawk flown by LCDR D.L. SAYERS AND LCDR C.J. HAWKINS of VA-85. The aircraft was on a costal recce when hit by 37mm. The aircraft was flyable but uncontrollable below 250 knots so the crew ejected about 35 miles northeast of Hue and the crew was picked up by Air Force HU-16 Albatross… Kitty Hawk lost a second aircraft conducting coastal recce near Vinh. LTJG WILLIAM LESLIE TROMP of VA-115 was leading a section of A-1H aircraft and made an attack on a target in the mouth of the Song Ca River and reported a SAM fired at his aircraft. He told his wingman to abort his run and both aircraft turned toward the east. Shortly thereafter LTJG TROMP reported an emergency. There was no further contact. No trace of him was ever found. In 1973 divers located the aircraft but no sign of LTJG TROMP, Killed in Action… 17 April 2016 marks the fiftieth year since he died in the service of his country. Gone, but not forgotten.
THE TOUGH DAY ON KITTY HAWK…ended on a brighter note… The fifth aircraft lost on 17 April 1966 was a Kitty Hawk A-4C from VA-113 that failed to fly off the catapult and crashed ahead of the ship FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY…. The pilot was rescued… THE REST OF THE STORY: Straight from Arne (Bud) Johnson, the VA-113 Stinger who lived to fight another day (and another cruise)… He calls it the “swimming lesson as I remember it today…” (15 April 2016)…
“Even today a 75 year-old memory of the 10 second event is vivid. Everything seemed to be normal prior to the launch (from bow CAT #1). On the CAT officer’s signal, I applied full power on the throttle with my left hand, saluted and positioned my right hand for a ‘hands off’ cat shot. The CAT officer indicated the launch, and as the sequence developed, I realized that the stick had not moved back into my right hand as it normally did. As I reached the end of the CAT stroke, I reached and pulled the stick full aft, but as the plane released from the CAT, it pitched nose down to give me an unexpected view of the water. At that time, instinct kicked in, and I initiated an ejection with my left hand. My sense of the ejection was that once I was free of the seat, I could see I was on a head first trajectory toward the water, and I can remember feeling the parachute deploying. Just as I thought I was going to hit the water face-first, the parachute canopy blossomed, I was flipped around and my feet hit the water. Once in the water, I disconnected from the parachute lines, inflated the vest and started shooting pencil flares as the carrier was making an emergency turn to avoid me. The plane guard destroyer started to head toward me, but was waved off by the arrival of a helicopter, Big Mother 69, who subsequently picked me up and returned me to the carrier.” Bud… thanks for sharing… Bear
What happened? The aircraft elevator trim failed and the elevator went to the full nose down position as the aircraft reached flying speed in a shallow dive off the bow of the ship. At that point the aircraft was beyond saving and destined to impact the water ahead of the carrier. Bud Johnson’s 17 April 1966 “flight” lasted less than five seconds and his parachute time was probably less than that. Fellow VA-113 “Stinger” squadron mate Gerry Greenamyer contributed this: “I remember sitting in the ready room and glancing up at the Plat screen (TV) and seeing an A-4 disappear below the deck level at the end of the cat stroke. A spit second later, a brief flash ( ejection seat rocket firing) then a large splash (aircraft impacting the water) followed by the ship shuddering as the Officer of the Deck tried to slew the bow away from the aircraft. I don’t think Bud was in the water for more than 5-minutes or so before the helicopter plucked him out and deposited him on deck.” Another “Stinger,” Tom Scott, also watched the event on TV and recalls that Bud Johnson rendered his new Breitling wrist watch useless in the ordeal, leading him to submit a suggestion that Navy air crews be provided the military issue watches that were standard issue to troops in country. Bud Johnson still has his non-functioning and water logged Breitling watch and is awaiting a replacement. IS THERE A BREITLING REP OUT THERE WHO WANTS TO MAKE SOMETHING RIGHT????
RIPPLE SALVO 46… DISCONNECT… In our democratic republic civilian control of the military is a given. The law. And, it is true that “war is too important to be left to the generals.” But it is equally true, as written by Sun Tzu, that the wise emperor knows when to, and when not to, interfere with his generals. For success both the emperor and his generals must be on the same page. Unity of Command. Tragically for our beloved country I suspect that few if any of our civilian masters in recent decades have given any thought to the wisdom of Sun Tzu. Or can discuss the Principles of War. And below the senior levels amid the tens of thousands of staffers, who support our elected officials and man the branches and departments of our government, I venture the level of ignorance in military matters is legion. The lessons of the Vietnam War have been ignored or forgotten. The disconnect between national policy and national security and strategy gets more severe every year. Our military leaders appear to have been collared and leashed. Muzzled? Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full, sir. The divide that widens with the years has its roots in the Vietnam War and Operation Rolling Thunder.
In 1969 General William Momyer, 7th Air Force Commander, wrote a letter to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force that could have been written by any one of dozens of senior military officers involved in the conduct of the Vietnam war and the Rolling Thunder ops of 1965-1968. General Momyer wrote:
“It has been a privilege to serve as a member of your team. My regret is we didn’t win the war. We had the force, skill, and intelligence, but our civilian betters wouldn’t turn us loose. Surely our Air Force has lived up to all expectations within the restraints that have been put on it. If there is one lesson to come out of this war, it must be the reaffirmation of the axiom — don’t get in a fight unless you are prepared to do whatever is necessary to win. This axiom is as old as military force, and I don’t see that modern weapons have changed it. I suppose a military man will always be in the dilemma of supporting policy even though he knows it surely restricts the capacity of military forces to produce desired effect. One has no alternative but to support the policy and take the knocks that inevitably follow when military forces don’t produce the desired effects within the constraints of policy,” (Mark Clodfelter: “The Limits of Air Power,” page 145)
Over the last fifty years the disconnect between the military and the office holders who oversee our nation has grown as we moved to an all-volunteer military and reduced our uniformed manning to levels not seen since before World War II. As a consequence, we are increasingly vulnerable to threats to our national security from every quarter. Witness the silent and obedient reaction of our Joint Chiefs of Staff to marching orders and Executive Orders they have been tasked to implement in recent years.
The fix? Your Humble Host, having recognized and identified the problem, is never without a recommended solution. Our nation invests billions in military education. We have academies, war colleges, libraries and research facilities and ROTC programs across the country. These facilities are staffed with great instructors and attended by officers who are educated, experienced and promotable to flag rank. These facilities are operating at less than capacity (manning levels and operational tempos preclude filling the seats with officers needed to lead troops). In short, opportunity knocks to fix the problem of disconnects between our military leaders and our civilian masters. Send the civilian masters and civilian master wannabes to school where they can fill their heads and hearts with the stuff that military commanders are made of. Require every candidate for congress, senior congressional committee staff position, high level position in the State, Defense, National Security, and Homeland Security Departments, and every candidate for President AND Commander-in-Chief, or Vice President, to have completed a demanding Masters level course in National Defense, either by correspondence with an on campus military advisor, or as a resident. A life of study should be required of the fortunate few, civilian and military, who are chosen to lead our great country. Ignorance of Sun Tzu, The Principles of War, military history, and national strategy should be disqualifiers for any of the positions I noted in this suggestion. Without a fix to a growing disconnect between our leaders–military on one side and civilian on the other– our country is doomed. In time of peace prepare for war, was Washington’s advice. It was good advice in 1780 and it’s good advice in 2016. Connecting and coupling civilian leadership of the military with military leaders is paramount to success in peace and war. Conversely, uncoupled leadership is a vulnerability for exploitation by our enemies.
Lest we forget…. Bear ………………… –30– …………………
