Combined Action Program: Reaping the Rewards of New Hope, Dignity. By MGy. Sgt. C. F. X. Houts A CAP MARINE'S PRAYER Hear my prayer, O Lord, for as a Marine in the Combined Action Program, I seek but to serve the cause of freedom in Vietnam. Be my shield and my shepherd so that I too may protect and lead others. When I am frightened, strengthen me; when I waiver, guide me; when I see suffering, make me compassionate. Since I shall pass through this world but once, O Lord, let me do my best and let me do it now, by Thy Grace. DA NANG Streamlined and sophisticated, a time-tested tactic (that is, working with the local populace) first developed by the United States Marine Corps during the "Banana Wars" in Latin America, is being employed with amazing success by the Leathernecks against Communists in South Vietnam. In Haiti, it was the Gendarmerie (later Garde) D'Haiti. In Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, it was called Guardia Nacional. During World War II, in Samoa, it became the Fita Fita Guard. In Vietnam, the Marines call it the Combined Action Program. No matter what the designation, the main idea is for Marines to team up with local troops (in Vietnam they're called Popular Forces, or PFs) to help them pacify and protect their own villages or hamlets Basically, the Combined Acton Program unit (and Marines now have well of 100 of them in I Corps, the northernmost five provinces of South Vietnam) consists of a 13-man Marine rifle squad augmented by and M-79 grenadier and a Navy hospital corpsman completely integrated within a PF platoon of 35 men. This composite unit is called a Combined Action Platoon-CAP. This is the ideal strength picture however, and not all CAPs have that many men. "We've come a long way since the first CAP was activated up around Phu Bai back in August of 1965. Not only have we grown in strength but we have extended our areas of responsibility." Commented Col. Edward F. Danowitz, former III Marine Amphibious Force assistant chief of staff for the Combined Action Program. One Marine squad leader put it this way: "I stay with the program because I believe what we're doing is right. If we can win just one person away from the Viet Cong, we have him on our side for good. To me, this is what I'm her for- to help the Vietnamese fight for themselves- we're just here to advise them and help them if they need help." The CAP School is located at the Headquarters of the 2nd Combined Action Group in Da Nang and is basically a refresher course and an Orientation course for the CAP style of operations in the field and among the people. During the school, the newly arrived CAP volunteer (and they're all volunteers) will find himself splitting his time between classroom work and field problems. He'll study such things as personal response (or how to get along with the Vietnamese), Vietnamese language, the CAP mission, and its organization and operations. He'll learn the VC infrastructure system; how it's organized and how it works. He'll have to recall all he's ever learned about map reading, terrain features, the compass, and intersection and resection in order to pass the mapping course. Weapons training-no matter whether the Marine is an expert in a specific weapon-includes the M-60 machine gun, the M-16 rifle, claymore mines. And, because so many of the PFs are still armed with the carbine, M-1 and the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle), he'll have to study weapons no longer used in the Marine Corps-and an arsenal of other weapons. Before long-and the CAP Marine is champing at the bit-the Marine returns to his own Combines Action Group for assignment to a CAP and eventually, perhaps he'll take over the wheel. For instance, in a war-torn corner of South Vietnam, 22-year-old Cpl. Gene A. Beck of Pryor, Okla. has been the squad leader of Mobile CAP 2-5-3 since February. A combat experienced Marine, he's been with the Combined Action Program since August of 1967. "Our hamlets, located in the vicinity of Hoa Vang, have seen some heavy fighting," the young Leatherneck said, his eyes going to some of the battered houses in the hamlet of Lo Gaung. "But we're progressing." "The VC infrastructure has suffered a heavy blow and the people are learning that they can take care of them-selves. Our Popular Force troops are willing and able, and just last February we stopped a large sized ground probe by North Vietnamese Army troops and VC. We had to call in artillery and air strikes, but we stopped them," Beck said. The CAP pitched in to enlarge a small pond, but the Vietnamese did most of the work and now have it stocked with fingering fish. "I don't know what these fish are called," Cpl. Beck admitted, "but this is an initial effort and the way they've been maturing, we're planning more ponds for other hamlets." The Vietnamese in this area grow a variety of tobacco but don't seem too successful at curing it, according to Cpl. Beck. So, another project is a tobacco curing shed- with experts from North and South Carolina to say how the leaf should be hung and cured. "These folks can grow the leaf but don't have the facilities or the know-how to cure it properly for commercial use," the corporal said, and added: "We feel that if this project goes well enough, the people will have better tobacco; enough for their own use and maybe some left over for the market." A CAP "First" Capt. John O. Niotis, CO of CAC 2-5 and the district chief of Hoa Vang, Vietnamese Army Maj. Mai Xuan Hau, have achieved shat they believe may very well be a first in the history of the Combined Action Program. Together, they have produced a combined operations order, written in both Vietnamese and English, for CAPs in the district. "The idea is that this order overcomes any language barrier by putting everything into the languages of the Marine and the Vietnamese and so minimizing the possibility of misunderstanding," he explained. About 30 miles south of Hoa Vang, Sgt. Hurlyn J. Yaw 23, of Tempo, Ariz., commands a Mobile CAP in the Viet Cong-targeted hamlet of Thanh Taxy. During his 44 months in Vietnam, he has been wounded six times. "The way I look at it"- the tall, good-looking Marine has a combat-experienced way of continuously sweeping the countryside with his eyes, even while talking- "the only way we're going to destroy the VCI (Viet Cong infrastructure) in this area is to get the people to help. In Thanh Taxy, some of the folks are flipping a coin- which will it be: the government of Vietnam or the VC- and Charlie is trying to use a two-faced coin. "Our job is to help the people make up their minds- by destroying the BC and the threat of reprisals. The Mobile CAP is probably the best way to accomplish this," the sergeant explained. The Marines' training of the PF platoon is done on the run, very often at night, and usually in a combat environment. When the VC infrastructure is destroyed and the PFs can protect their own homes and hamlets, it's time for the Marines to move on. So far, 50 CAPs have been relocated after living up to their motto: "Work Yourself Out Of A Job." It is interesting to note that in no instance have the VC been able to reclaim a CAAP-pacified village. There are five platoons in Sgt. Yaw's CACO (Combined Action Company). Only one, that commanded by 20-year-old Cpl. Earl R. Rennie of Detroit, is a Compound CAP. "We're called a Compound CAP," Rennie explained, "because we follow the concept of setting up a compound in or near a hamlet or village and operation from that point. "Here at Phuoc Trach, I have an unusual situation. I have 500 Vietnamese living in my compound inside their own hamlet. At night that figure goes up to maybe 700. That's because people want protection from the NVA or the VC. The VC are pretty strong in this area and a lot of the people are too intimidated and afraid of reprisals to do anything but go along with their demands for money, food and other support. " Denial" is the key word in the CAPs effort to destroy the VCI. By providing a 24-hour security, by almost constant patrols and ambushes, the CAP denies the VC access to the hamlet. This means they can't get the essentials to carry on the fight and without these essentials the Viet Cong influence dwindles. Maj. James C. Click of Lovelady, Texas, the Combined Action Program operations officer, said that the program is tasked with six major missions, each of equal importance. The over-all mission includes destroying the VC infrastructure within the hamlet or village areas of responsibility where the CAPs are deployed; providing public safety and helping maintain law and order; protecting the friendly infrastructure; protecting bases and lines of communication within the villages and hamlets; participating with Free World military assistance forces, Vietnamese Army Forces, Reaction Forces, and Popular Forces in their area of activity. "Back in 1966," the major points out and he has charts to prove his point- "our CAPs conducted 14,693 patrols; 8,500 ambushes; and killed 154 enemy troops while capturing 193. "Each year since then, these figures have swelled proportionately. For example, during January and February of 1969, with more than 100 CAPs operation in I Corps, more than 12,500 patrols have been made; 8,500 ambushes have been conducted; and 460 enemy kills have been logged. We've captured 193 individual and crew-served weapons and have accounted for 138 prisoners. The hub of the program is at the Camp Horn, DA Nang, Headquarters of the III Marine Amphibious Force, where the assistant chief of staff for the Combined Action Program is located. Four Combined Action Groups (CAGs) are located throughout I Corps, with headquarters at Chu Lai, DA Nang, Phu Bai, and Quang Tri. The 2nd CAG, headquartered at Da Nang, is the largest group with eight CACOs (Combined Action Companies) operating throughout Quang Nam Province. The CACOs are further broken down into platoons, or CAPs. These platoons may be regular (Mobile) CAPs Compound CAPs, or one of the Mobile Training Teams (MTT). "The MTT is the CAG's way of bringing training to the PFs operating in this area but not connected with a CAP," Sgt. Wilford H. Oxley of Mt. Ephraim, N. J., said. Oxley, until recently, was a member of a 2nd CAG Mobile Training Team. "We train the PFs two different ways. Usually we go to a PF platoon and stay with it, living in the hamlet for two weeks. That's how long the training period lasts. "W give them instructions in everything from hand-to-hand fighting, personal hygiene and field sanitation, to first aid and weapons training. Field tactics, map reading, military language training-just about everything we could jam into a two-week period. "Each member of the team is especially trained to instruct in two or three different military subjects," the sergeant said. "The other way we have is to have the PFs come to our MTT compound as a platoon. If "denial" is the key word in the CAP's effort to destroy the Viet Cong infrastructure, then "empathy" must be the word to describe the feeling of togetherness that exists between the Vietnamese and the Marines all up and down the CAP line. At the highest level are the Commanding General, III Marine Amphibious Force, and the Commanding General, I Corps Tactical Zone. That's at Corps level. Then there are Province Chief and the Commander of a CAG. Next there is the Combined Action Company Commander-District Chief level. Because of the close teamwork required here, CACO Headquarters are located at District Headquarters. At the CAP level, the Marine and the PF leaders command by joint coordination. In the final analysis, it is the CAP- that completes integration of Marines and Popular Force troops- that is getting the job done. The PF trooper is fighting for his wife and family, his home, his dignity, and the right of self-determination. The Marine is in there slugging, trying to "work his way out of a job." (This article was reprinted from the May 2, 1969 issue of the 'Sea Tiger' the III MAF Publication. The photographs below are from that article.) _______________________________________________________________________________ |
Cpl. Thomas T. Archer (Mobile, Ala.) and his scout dog, King, point up a Mobile CAP 2-4-3 patrol through Thanh Taxy hamlet. |
Cpl. John E. White (Victorville, Calif.) show a PF soldier how to load and operate a Browning Automatic Rifle. Both are CAP 2-5-4 members. |
Pvt. Gary Hutchinson (Easton, Kan.) helps Vietnamese harvest their rice crop under the watchful eye of Cpl. David P. Shiftlet (Oklahoma City, Okla.). CAP 2-5-3 Marines help protect the rice crops of Lo Guang hamlet from the VC. |
Pfc. John McClancy (Maspeth, N.Y.) and Pvt. Gary Hutchinson (Easton, Kans.) stop for some food and gossip with a friendly Vietnamese in Lo Guang hamlet. Mobile CAP 2-5-3 spends each night in a different location in the village of Hoa Doa. |
Marines, PF's and Civilians combine to build a road from Hoa Vang to Tung Lam. Pvt. Gary Hutchinson, 2-5-3, waters down fresh concrete. |
LCpl. Charles A. Smith (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) 2-4-3, cleans his equipment as a fellow Marine keeps a lookout form enemy troops at Thanh |
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