Rise and Fall of the Brown Water Navy

<p>The US is currently involved in a counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq and similar to the counterinsurgency campaign conducted almost thirty years ago in Vietnam riverine warfare is an important part. Current riverine forces include the Navy's Special Boat Team Twenty-Two and the Marine Corps' Small Craft Company. Both however are merely a shadow in comparison to their Vietnam predecessors and for one their days are numbered. The US Navy did not possess any inland patrol forces prior to the Vietnam War and had only a handful of coastal patrol boats despite the lessons of her past and of her contemporaries. France in her ill-fated campaign to maintain the Indo-china colonies used the rivers of Southeast Asia extensively. Special units called Dinassauts transported and supported infantry via the inland waterways of Vietnam. The South Vietnamese River Assault Groups continued this practice. American advisors noted their operations and several studies were conducted. Yet prior to 1965 the US Navy applied very few resources to the problem of riverine warfare. By 1968 however three naval task forces comprised of over 600 vessels were operating on the waterways and coasts of Vietnam. Despite their success the Navy quickly discarded them after the war.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>