Was there an AIT with it? How long was the period of when a soldier joined or was drafted(?) were they trained and on the battle field? Any reliable sources for this... I'm doing a paper on MY Lai and am very interested in the poor military training for the unexpected guerilla warfare. Please if you have personal expierence let me know.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
what was basic training like in the 1960's for the vietnam war? How long was it?
- Thread starter tish
- Start date
Army Basic was 9 weeks, including zero week, we were all told we were going to Vietnam and possibly die there. Yes, we all went to AIT, too. The enlistees chose their AIT and us draftees were told what we were going to do.
Sorry I have no personal experience to share about Vietnam, but I never went because I was considered a sole survivor.
Sorry I have no personal experience to share about Vietnam, but I never went because I was considered a sole survivor.
Army Basic was 9 weeks, including zero week, we were all told we were going to Vietnam and possibly die there. Yes, we all went to AIT, too. The enlistees chose their AIT and us draftees were told what we were going to do.
Sorry I have no personal experience to share about Vietnam, but I never went because I was considered a sole survivor.
Sorry I have no personal experience to share about Vietnam, but I never went because I was considered a sole survivor.
There was generally a period of six months training, one year deployed, and then six months as a trainer for the incoming soldiers. The actual quality of those six months training gets back to us mostly as anecdotal evidence. Generally, the incoming troops received exceptionally poor training because the "trainers" would just sit around and tell them horror stories about how charlie was going to eat them alive. The syllabus for both officers and enlisted infantry was based on WWII and Korean War experiences and did not reflect the reality of guerilla warfare.
Here's a link to one of the early guys. The first waves went over in boats. Later, we arrived by commercial jet airliners. I do remember a friend that was in the very first wave of Marines. They stormed China Beach in landing craft just like at Normandy... and met not a single shot.
I want you to know, it was NOT bad training. The politicians running the military were in ignorance about the history of Viet Nam and in denial toting up the body counts as a measure of success. Body counts were so vital to the US politicians that the enemy changed tactics and removed their dead from combat zones.
Had the generals run the show, we might have had a different conclusion. But, you must remember the early 1960s was fear of Commies. The Republicans realized significant TV ratings putting on witch hunts.
I want you to know, it was NOT bad training. The politicians running the military were in ignorance about the history of Viet Nam and in denial toting up the body counts as a measure of success. Body counts were so vital to the US politicians that the enemy changed tactics and removed their dead from combat zones.
Had the generals run the show, we might have had a different conclusion. But, you must remember the early 1960s was fear of Commies. The Republicans realized significant TV ratings putting on witch hunts.