English

DTIC ADA208769: Air Force Support of Army Ground Operations Lessons Learned during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam

Current Joint Doctrine discusses direct air support of Army land operations in terms of close air support (CAS) and battlefield air interdiction (BAI). Both close air support and battlefield air interdiction have been cornerstone missions for the Air Force since World War II and have directly contributed to the successful termination of key campaigns and eventual victories not only in World War II, but also in Korea and Vietnam, and the Air Force plans to continue to support these missions for the Airland Battle of the 1990s. The purpose of this paper is to review U.S. Air Force support of U.S. Army ground operations during key campaigns in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam and to analyze lessons learned concerning the strategic and operational command, control, and coordination of Air Force employment of CAS and BAI missions in support of Army ground operations. Specifically, this paper looks at the North Africa, Italy, and Normandy campaigns in WW II, the Pusan defense in Korea, and the battle for Khe Sanh in Vietnam and then develops lessons learned.

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