Accession Number:

ADA566589

Title:

General Creighton Abrams' Conduct of Design in Operational Art during the Vietnam War

Descriptive Note:

Monograph

Corporate Author:

ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES

Personal Author(s):

• Poole, Kevin A.

Report Date:

2012-05-17

Pagination or Media Count:

53.0

Abstract:

General Creighton Abrams presents a sound historical example of the practical application of operational art as viewed through the lens of Army Design Methodology. When General Abrams assumed command of Military Assistance Command Vietnam MACV in 1968, he was able to frame his environment in a way that enabled him to equip and train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam ARVN while simultaneously focusing on population-centric efforts in counterinsurgency. This would ultimately eliminate the need for a U.S. presence in Vietnam. Under his authority, American forces were broken up into small units that lived with and trained South Vietnamese civilians to defend their villages from guerrilla attacks and conventional Northern incursions with heavy weapons. General Abrams successfully reframed the problem in 1970 in accordance with the Nixon administrations announcement of a rapid withdrawal of forces from Vietnam. These efforts proved successful, as evidenced by the ability of ARVN forces to repel a full-scale North Vietnamese Army Easter Offensive in 1972 with U.S. aerial support. This study validates the Army Design Methodology as a framework for the assessment of operational art.

Descriptors:

• *ARMY TRAINING
• *COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• *COUNTERINSURGENCY
• *MILITARY COMMANDERS
• *MILITARY HISTORY
• *VIETNAM WAR
• CIVILIAN POPULATION
• GUERRILLA WARFARE
• MILITARY FORCES(FOREIGN)
• MILITARY FORCES(UNITED STATES)
• PROBLEM SOLVING
• SOUTH VIETNAM
• VILLAGES

Subject Categories:

• Sociology and Law
• Humanities and History
• Military Forces and Organizations
• Unconventional Warfare

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE