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The Effects of Leadership on Carrier Air Wing Sixteen's THE EFFECTS OF LEADERSHIP ON CARRIER AIR WING SIXTEEN’S LOSS RATES DURING OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER, 1965-1968 A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE Military History by PETER FEY, LCDR, USN B.A., University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 1995 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 2006 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Name of Candidate: Lieutenant Commander Peter R. Fey Thesis Title: The Effects of Leadership on Carrier Air Wing Sixteen’s Loss Rates During Operation Rolling Thunder, 1965-1968 Approved by: , Thesis Committee Chair Jerold E. Brown, Ph.D. , Member Wilburn E. Meador, M.A. , Member John T. Kuehn, M.S.S.E. Accepted this 16th day of June 2006 by: , Director, Graduate Degree Programs Robert F. Baumann, Ph.D. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student author and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to this study should include the foregoing statement.) ii ABSTRACT THE EFFECTS OF LEADERSHIP ON CARRIER AIR WING SIXTEEN’S LOSS RATE DURING OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER, 1965-1968, by LCDR Peter R. Fey, 150 pages. During Operation Rolling Thunder, Carrier Air Wing 16 suffered the highest loss rates of any unit in naval aviation during the Vietnam conflict. During three separate cruises on the USS Oriskany (CVA-34), the air wing was continually plagued with high losses. The worst losses were taken during the June 1967 through January 1968 deployment. During 122 days of combat the USS Oriskany lost one-half the airplanes assigned to her and one- third of her pilots. Twenty aviators were killed or missing in action, seven taken prisoner of war, and thirty-nine aircraft lost. This thesis will examine the factors that led to Carrier Air Wing 16’s extreme loss rates. It will first provide a background of the Rolling Thunder campaign. This thesis will then discuss the divide between America’s strategic goals and the operational level goals, and the resulting affects on the United States Navy. Next it will examine the underlying reasons for attrition at the tactical level. The thesis will then examine the leadership in the air wing and analyze what role, if any, it played in the losses. This study will conclude with the resultant morale issues arising from these experiences and implications for a professional military dependant on volunteers. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE THESIS APPROVAL PAGE ............. ii ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... iii ACRONYMS..................................................................................................................... vi ILLUSTRATIONS .......................................................................................................... viii TABLES ............................................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1 Operation Rolling Thunder......................................................................................4 Rules of Engagement .............................................................................................14 CHAPTER 2 THE NUMBERS GAME ............................................................................21 War on the Cheap...................................................................................................22 The Strategic Divide ..............................................................................................29 The Stennis Hearings .............................................................................................32 CHAPTER 3 TACTICAL FACTORS AFFECTING ATTRITION .................................40 North Vietnamese Defenses...................................................................................40 The Weather...........................................................................................................46 The Gulf of Tonkin ................................................................................................47 Rules of Engagement .............................................................................................49 Naval Aviation tactics............................................................................................50 Alpha Strikes..........................................................................................................53 Armed Reconnaissance..........................................................................................56 Iron Hand Missions................................................................................................58 Flak Suppression....................................................................................................61 Fighter Missions.....................................................................................................62 Project Shoehorn....................................................................................................62 CHAPTER 4 THE CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP FACTORS....................................69 The Culture of Naval Aviation ..............................................................................69 Carrier Air Wing-16 Leadership............................................................................74 The Leadership Factor in CVW-16’s losses ..........................................................84 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION............................................................................................95 iv Strategic Leadership Failures.................................................................................98 Lessons learned, relearned and mislearned..........................................................100 GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................................105 APPENDIX A 1965 WESTPAC .....................................................................................109 APPENDIX B 1966 WESTPAC .....................................................................................114 APPENDIX C 1967-1968 WESTPAC ............................................................................120 APPENDIX D CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF ROLLING THUNDER ...............129 APPENDIX E HANGAR DECK FIRE 26 OCTOBER 1966.........................................134 APPENDIX F AIRCRAFT OF CVW-16........................................................................137 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................142 INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST ....................................................................................148 CERTIFICATION FOR MMAS DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT ...............................150 v ACRONYMS AAA Anti-Aircraft Artillery AGM Air-to-Ground Missile AI Aviation Intelligence Officer BARCAP Barrier Combat Air Patrol CAG Commander Air Group CAP Combat Air Patrol CARGRU Carrier Battle Group staff CINCPAC Commander in Chief Pacific CINCPACFLT Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet CNO Chief of Naval Operations CO Commanding Officer COMNAVAIRPAC Commander Naval Air Forces Pacific CTF Carrier Task Force CVW Carrier Air Wing ECM Electronic countermeasures GCI Ground Controlled Intercept JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff MACV Military Assistance Command Vietnam PACAF Pacific Air Force POL Petroleum-oil-lubricants RESCAP Rescue Combat Air Patrol ROE Rules of Engagement SAM Surface-to-air missile vi SAR Search and Rescue SEVENTHFLT US Navy’s Seventh fleet TACAN Tactical Air Navigation system TARCAP Target Combat Air Patrol VPAF Vietnamese Peoples Air Force WESTPAC Western Pacific XO Executive Officer vii ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Route Packages ...................................................................................................9 Figure 2. Prohibited and Restricted Areas.........................................................................10 Figure 3. Political Cartoon from The Denver Post, 20 April 1966, Spoofing McNamara’s Response That Reports of a Bomb Shortage Were Baloney. ......27 Figure 4. 1966 and 1967 Alpha Strike Formations ...........................................................56 Figure 5. Ling-Temco-Vought F-8 Crusader (VMF-212 Lancers, VF-111 Sundowners, VF-162 Hunters)...............................................................................................137 Figure 6. Douglas A-4 Skyhawk (VA-163 Saints, VA-164 Ghostriders) .......................138 Figure 7. Douglas A-1 Skyraider (VA-152 Wild Aces)....................................................138 Figure 8. Douglas A-3B Skywarrior (VAH-4 Detachment G Fourrunners)...................139 Figure 9. Ling-Temco-Vought RF-8A Photo Crusader (VFP-63 Detachment G Eyes of the Fleet) ...........................................................................................................139 Figure 10. Grumman E-1B Tracer (VAW-11 Detachment G)...........................................140 Figure 11. Kaman UH-2 Seasprite (HU-1 Detachment G) ................................................140 viii TABLES Page Table 1. Mission Planning Variables ...............................................................................54
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