VIETNAM: Spooky and Civil Affairs

Download or read book VIETNAM: Spooky and Civil Affairs written by Larry M. Wooster and published by Dorrance Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Retired Air Force Major Larry Wooster takes us behind the scenes and into the past in this memoir of his tour of duty in Vietnam from 1966-70. This little-told piece of U.S. history gives the reader a detailed look at the work of Wooster's civil affairs team of volunteers in the hamlets of Ong Huong, Cong Thanh, and Thien Tan Village. Another little-known component of the Vietnam War was "Spooky," the science-fiction-worthy hovering gunship that he navigated by night. While his official job stationed him in the airways, his personal mission was his civil affairs team project, which culminated in successful progress in the Cong-Thanh District in 1969, affecting about 15,000 people. His forthright character and level-headedness helped him gain the people of the hamlets¿ trust, as their support of the Viet Cong declined. Broken down into snippets of his experiences with the people of the Cong-Thanh District and of his nighttime aviation duties, Vietnam: Spooky and Civil Affairs really pulls the reader in and challenges him to ask pertinent questions about the limitations of combat, not only in past wars, but in those of the present and future; he proposes that we consider how civil affairs counterinsurgency strategies could have won that war, and how they can be applied to modern-day efforts like Iraq and Afghanistan. With his contrasting duties of Spooky navigator¿which he received the most recognition for¿and volunteer civil affairs officer, he demonstrates how the human factor really does make a difference in wartime conflict, and how respectful and honest dealings can be the most powerful tool to winning the support of the people.