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Q. Were paratroopers used in Vietnam?A. There were indeed paratroopers in Vietnam, but not all units made a jump.How the use of helicopters changed warfare can (partly) be illustrated by the following figures:- The French conducted 245 parachute droppings in Vietnam (between '45 and '54).- While the Vietnam War saw only a few of such attacks.Units of the 173rd Airborne Brigade jumped in Operation Junction City in February 1967 about 75 miles northwest of Saigon. Junction City remained the largest American paratroop operation of the Vietnam War, but others followed.On 02 April 1967, 356 troops (including Montagnards) of 5th Special Forces Group (ABN), 1st Special Forces: Detachment A-503 Mike Force: Co's. 2 & 3 jumped into Bunard, Phouc Long "Happy Dragon" Province Vietnam as part of Operation Harvest Moon.At 0600 hrs on 13 May 1967, 486 troops of Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force), 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne): Detachment A-503, Co's. 3, 4 & 5; 4.2 Mortar platoon & Hdqts. group conducted a water jump at 700 ft. as part of Operation Blackjack in Seven Mountains (Near Chi Lang, 1km S of Nuai Yai), in the SW corner of Vietnam.And on 5 October 1967 a total of 250 troops (w/ARVN paras & Australians) of the 5th Special Forces Group (SFG), Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force), Co's 24 & 25, ll Corps Mike Force (Detachment B-20, B Co. 5th SFG) conducted Operation Blue Max in Bu Prang, Vietnam. A number of other much smaller operations were conducted by special forces detachments.Combat jumps in Vietnam War?III MSF ie III Corp "Mike Force" conducted 3 combat parachute jumps.Bunard SF Camp 2 Apr 67Nau Gai Mountains 13 May 677 Mountains Area 17 Nov 68II Mike ForceBu Prang SF Camp 5 Oct 67CCS did at least 1 S/L insert in Cambodia.ARVN Airborne did a few. US Advisor Team 70 was assigned to the ARVN Airborne DivisionBook "Called Inside Force Recon" talked about the 3 FR S/L inserts. LTC Michael Lee Lanning & Major "Doc" Norton USMC ret wrote it.Airborne Operations in the Cold Warhttp://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=130411Vietnam Air MobilityAt 0900 hours on 22 February 1967, Brigadier General John R. Deane, Jr., stood in the door of a C-130 aircraft. When the green light flashed, General Deane jumped, leading the first U. S. parachute assault in the Republic of Vietnam, and the first such assault since the Korean conflict fifteen years earlier. This parachute jump of the 2d Battalion, 503d Infantry, (173d Airborne Brigade) signaled the beginning of Operation JUNCTION CITY ALTERNATE.The decision to make a paratroop assault was based on the urgency to place a large force on the ground as quickly as possible and still have enough helicopter assets to make a sizable heliborne assault as an immediate follow-up.The 173d had computed that they would free 60 Hueys and six Chinooks for support of other forces by using the parachute assault technique. The paratroopers were assigned landing zones farthest to the north-areas that would have cost many extra minutes of flying time for lift helicopters. The practical aspects of making more helicopters available were perhaps colored by the emotional and psychological motives of this proud unit which was anxious to prove the value of the parachute badge; nevertheless, the jumpers contributed strongly to the overall attack.Thirteen C-130's were used for the personnel drop and eight C-130's for heavy drop of equipment. Jump altitude was 1,000 feet.The battalion dropped on schedule and by 0920 hours on D-day all companies were in their locations around the drop zone. Out of the 780 combat troops who made the assault, only eleven sustained minor injuries.The 1st Battalion, 503d Infantry began landing by helicopter assault at 1035 hours and the entire battalion was in place shortly thereafter. Another infantry battalion, the 4th Battalion, 503d Infantry, conducted a heliborne assault into two other close landing zones at 1420 hours and phase one Of JUNCTION CITY ALTERNATE was essentially complete.Paratroopers arrive to reinforce the beleaguered U.S. forces, engaged for more than a week in bitter fighting around the 3,000-foot peak. Hamburger HillThe employment of the airborne parachute force is historically visualized as a theater-controlled operation aimed at achieving strategic surprise. Although parachute delivery of troops and equipment is a relatively inefficient means of introduction into combat, the very existence of this capability complicates the enemy's planning and offers the friendly commander one more option of surprise. In this instance, which involved multiple units in a major operation, there was a greater demand for helicopter lift than there were helicopter assets. As a result, the 173d pushed strongly for a parachute assault.The fact that airborne techniques were not used more often in Vietnam can be attributed to many factors. The most obvious restraint to an airborne operation in Vietnam was the time lag inherent in airborne operations in responding to intelligence on the elusive enemy. A much more important restraint was the nature of the war itself and the limitations imposed on U. S. forces. From a strategic point of view the U. S. posture in Vietnam was defensive. U. S. tactical offensive operations were limited to the confines of South Vietnam. Had the rules been changed, the parachute potential could have profitably been employed by planning an airborne assault into enemy territory at a distance within the ferry range of the Huey.The Vietnam Combat Jump101st Airborne Division arrives in Vietnam - Jul 29, 1965 - HISTORY.comThe first 4,000 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division arrived in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay. They made a demonstration jump immediately after arriving, observed by Gen. William Westmoreland and outgoing Ambassador (formerly General) Maxwell Taylor. Taylor and Westmoreland were both former commanders of the division, which was known as the “Screaming Eagles.” The 101st Airborne Division has a long and storied history, including combat jumps during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and the subsequent Market-Garden airborne operation in the Netherlands. Later, the division distinguished itself by its defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.The 1st Brigade fought as a separate brigade until 1967, when the remainder of the division arrived in Vietnam. The combat elements of the division consisted of 10 battalions of airmobile infantry, six battalions of artillery, an aerial rocket artillery unit armed with rocket-firing helicopters, and an air reconnaissance unit. Another unique feature of the division was its aviation group, which consisted of three aviation battalions of assault helicopters and gunships.The majority of the 101st Airborne Division’s tactical operations were in the Central Highlands and in the A Shau Valley farther north. Among its major operations was the brutal fight for Ap Bia Mountain, known as the “Hamburger Hill” battle.The last Army division to leave Vietnam, the remaining elements of the 101st Airborne Division returned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where today it is the Army’s only airmobile division. During the war, troopers from the 101st won 17 Medals of Honor for bravery in combat. The division suffered almost 20,000 soldiers killed or wounded in action in Vietnam, over twice as many as the 9,328 casualties it suffered in World War II.101st Airborne Division - WikipediaActive: 1918; 1921–42; 1942–45; 1948–49; 1950–56; 1956–presentLight infantry (Air Assault)Role: Command and control organization containing two to four maneuver brigades, Division XVIII Airborne CorpsHeadquarters: Fort Campbell, Kentucky, U.S.Nickname(s): "Screaming Eagles" (special designation)Rendezvous With DestinyMascot(s): Bald eagle (Old Abe)World War IINormandyOperation Market GardenBattle of the BulgeWestern Allied invasion of GermanyKorean WarVietnam WarPersian Gulf WarGlobal War on TerrorismWar in AfghanistanIraq WarOperation Inherent ResolveOperation Freedom's SentinelOfficial WebsiteCombat service identification badgeDistinctive unit insigniaThe 101st Airborne Division ("Screaming Eagles")[1] is an elite modular specialized light infantry division of the United States Army trained for air assault operations. It is the most potent and the most tactically mobile of the U.S. Army's divisions.[2] It has been referred to as "the tip of the spear."[3]The 101st Airborne at a moment's notice is able to plan, coordinate, and execute brigade-size air assault operations capable of seizing key terrain in support of operational objectives.[4] The 101st Airborne Division is capable of working in austere environments with limited or degraded infrastructure.[4] Its unique battlefield mobility and high level of training have kept the 101st Airborne Division in the vanguard of America's land combat forces in recent conflicts.[5] More recently, the 101st Airborne has been performing foreign internal defense and counter-terrorism operations within Iraq and Afghanistan.[6][7][8]The 101st Airborne Division has a nearly century-long history. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord (the D-Day landings and airborne landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France), Operation Market Garden, the liberation of the Netherlands and, perhaps most famously, its action during the Battle of the Bulge around the city of Bastogne, Belgium. During the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles including the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May 1969.In mid-1968 it was reorganized and redesignated as an airmobile division, then in 1974 as an air assault division. These titles reflect the division's shift from airplanes as the primary method of delivering troops into combat, to the use of helicopters. Many current members of the 101st are graduates of the U.S. Army Air Assault School. Division headquarters is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In recent years, the division has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The division is one of the most highly decorated units in the United States Army and has been featured prominently in military fiction.The 101st is currently the world's only air assault division, capable, in a single lift, of a 4,000-man combined-arms air assault 150 kilometers into enemy territory.[9]It is supported by more than 280 helicopters.[5] This includes three battalions of Apache attack helicopters.[5] At times, additional air assets are assigned to the 101st Airborne during deployment[5] The 101st Airborne also comprises intelligence support, maintenance and operations elements, support personnel, and artillery specialists.[5] Assisting the 101st Airborne Division is an extensive array of support elements, equipment, and training resources.[5]The 101st Airborne provides the United States with a unique capability not available anywhere else in the world.[4] The 101st is considered a very versatile, very flexible, and a fast-moving unit.[10] The 101st has the capability to move long distances. The 101st can can put soldiers down on top of mountains, ridge lines, and behind the enemy forces and can sling-load in artillery pieces for indirect fire.[10] It is considered a unit of choice and it has the ability to secure bridge sites, airfields, and to assist in the combined arms capability for other units.[10]Republic of Vietnam Airborne Division - WikipediaRepublic of Vietnam Airborne DivisionBinh chủng Nhảy Dù1 January 1948 – 30 April 1975Garrison/HQ Tan Son Nhut, near SaigonNickname(s) Bawouans (in French), Nhảy Dù (in Vietnamese)EngagementsFirst Indochina WarVietnam WarCambodian Civil WarLaotian Civil WarRepublic of Vietnam Airborne DivisionParatrooper Hoàng Ngọc Giao (the 5th Airborne Battalion), 1967.The Vietnamese Airborne Division was one of the earliest components of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces (Vietnamese: Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa – QLVNCH). The Vietnamese Airborne Division began as companies organised in 1948, prior to any agreement over armed forces in Vietnam. After the partition of Vietnam, it became a part of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.March 01, 1963840 Vietnamese paratroopers dropping from US Air Force C-123s transport planes over Tay Ninh province in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The operation is known as Phi Hoa II.HistoryRecruitment poster of the Republic of Vietnam Airborne ForcesVietnamese Airborne Division was one of the most elite fighting forces in the ARVN. It was placed as a reserve unit along with the South Vietnamese Marine Division. Headquarters of the Airborne Division was outside of Saigon. The Airborne Division would mobilize anywhere within the four corps at a moments notice. The main use of the Airborne was to engage and destroy People's Army of Vietnam ('NVA') and Viet Cong forces, not hold a specific region like the infantry units.Airborne Advisory DetachmentLike all major ARVN units the Airborne were assigned a U.S. military advisory element, originally the Airborne Brigade Advisory Detachment and later redesignated the 162nd Airborne Advisory Detachment or U.S. Airborne Advisory Team 162. About 1,000 American airborne-qualified advisors served with the Brigade and Division, receiving on average two awards for valour per tour; over the years, they were able to build and maintain a good working relationship with their Vietnamese counterparts and airborne units, a situation unfortunately not always found in other ARVN formations. U.S. officers were paired with their Vietnamese counterparts, from the Brigade/Division commander down to company commanders, as well with principal staff officers at all levels. U.S. NCOs assisted the staff and company advisors.173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team - WikipediaActive1917–19; 1921–45; 1947–51; 1963–72; 2000 – presentUnited States Army Airborne light infantryRole U.S. Army Europe quick response force Brigade U.S. Army EuropeGarrison/HQ Caserma Ederle (Vicenza, Italy)Nickname(s) Sky Soldiers (special designation), [1]EngagementsWorld War IWorld War IIVietnam War:Operation HumpOperation Junction CityOperation CrimpBattle of Dak ToWar on TerrorOperation Atlantic ResolveDecorationsPresidential Unit Citation, 1967Meritorious Unit Commendation Army, 1965–67 and 2003–04Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, 1965–70Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal First Class, 1969–71Official WebsiteThe 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team ("Sky Soldiers"[1]) is an airborne infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe.Activated in 1915, as the 173d Infantry Brigade, the unit saw service in World War I, but is best known for its actions during the Vietnam War. The brigade was the first major United States Army ground formation deployed in Vietnam, serving there from 1965 to 1971 and losing almost 1,800 soldiers. Noted for its roles in Operation Hump and Operation Junction City, the 173d is best known for the Battle of Dak To, where it suffered heavy casualties in close combat with North Vietnamese forces. Brigade members received over 7,700 decorations, including more than 6,000 Purple Hearts. The brigade returned to the United States in 1972, where the 1st and 2d Battalion, 503d Infantry, were absorbed into the 3d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), and the 3d Battalion, 319th Field Artillery was reassigned to Division Artillery in the 101st[3].The remaining units of the 173d were inactivated.Since its reactivation in 2000, the brigade served five tours in the Middle East in support of the War on Terror. The 173d participated in the initial invasion of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and had four tours in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, and 2012–13. The brigade returned recently from a deployment stretching from late 2013 to late 2014.The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team has received 21 campaign streamers and several unit awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of Dak To during the Vietnam War.173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team - WikipediaParatroopers patrolling along the Song Be during Operation Silver City, March 1966.The brigade arrived in Vietnam on May 7, 1965, the first major ground combat unit of the United States Army to serve in the country.[24][25][26][27][28] Brigadier General Williamson boldly predicted on arrival that his men would defeat the Viet Cong quickly and that they "would be back in Okinawa by Christmas".[22]The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division; the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division; and the 1st Cavalry Division quickly followed the 173rd into Vietnam, the first of what would eventually be 25 U.S. Army brigades to serve in the country.[23][28] As larger US Army commands were established in Vietnam, the brigade was assigned to the III Corps and II Corps tactical zone, which they would serve in for the next six years.[29]The brigade was put under the command of II Field Force, Vietnam.[30] The 1st and 2nd Battalions, 503rd Infantry were the first Army combat units from the 173rd sent into South Vietnam, accompanied by the 3rd Battalion, 319th Artillery.[4] They were supported by the 173rd Support Battalion, 173rd Engineer Company, Troop E/17th Cavalry and Company D/16th Armor.[31] The 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment[32] and the 161st Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery[33] were attached to the brigade for one year in 1965.[34]Late in August 1966, the 173rd received another infantry battalion, the 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 3rd Battalion, 503rd joined the brigade at Tuy Hòa Province in September 1967 following the former's activation and training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The 173rd was also assigned Company N (Ranger), 75th Infantry. At its peak of its deployment in Vietnam, the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) comprised over 7,000 soldiers.[35]The brigade was the first unit sent into War Zone D to destroy enemy base camps, introducing the use of small Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. On 8 November 1965, the 173rd took part in Operation Hump, just north of Biên Hòa on the outskirts of Saigon,[32] the capital of South Vietnam. They were ambushed by approximately 1,200 Viet Cong fighters, suffering 48 deaths. The unit fought in the Iron Triangle, a Viet Cong stronghold north of Saigon,[32][36] seeing many engagements with enemy forces during that time. They participated in Operation Crimp in 1966, a failed attempt to root out enemy forces from the Cu Chi tunnels.[37]The attached helicopter unit became the Casper Aviation platoon, befitting a separate infantry brigade as the only separate aviation platoon deployed in Vietnam. Casper platoon was part of the HHC 173rd Airborne Brigade and its members wore the brigade patch. The attached Assault Helicopter Company, the 335th AHC, the "Cowboys", deployed with the brigade all over Vietnam into mid-1968 and comprised the Airmobile capability along with the Caspers.[38]Soldiers of the brigade became involved in Operation Attleboro in fall of 1966, an operation that started out as a small search and destroy mission north of Saigon but eventually involved 22,000 troops from 21 battalions.[39] Soldiers of the brigade also took part in smaller humanitarian missions in between major combat operations.[40]On 22 February 1967, the 173rd conducted Operation Junction City, the only combat parachute jump of the Vietnam War.[41][42] The operation saw three brigades controlling eight battalions dropped by helicopters and US Air Force aircraft into War Zone C, in Tây Ninh Province.[43] During the battle, the brigade operated out of the northeastern part of the war zone along with the 196th Infantry Brigade (Separate), as four other brigades from the 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions attempted to surround and destroy the 9th Viet Cong Division in the War Zone. The operation was a success, and the battered VC division fled.[44]In August of that year, the brigade received its distinctive unit insignia. The soldiers chose to have it contain a parachute and dagger to symbolize their participation in Operation Junction City and the other heavy fighting they had been through. The DUI was also inscribed "Sky Soldiers" as homage to the nickname that the Taiwanese soldiers had given them.[21]Dak ToIn the Summer of 1967, the 4th Infantry Division's 1st and 2nd Brigades were making heavy contact with enemy forces in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, in western Kon Tum Province. These heavy enemy contacts prompted division commander Lieutenant General William R. Peers to request reinforcement and, as a result, on 17 June, two battalions of Brigadier General John R. Deane's 173rd Airborne Brigade were moved into the Dak To area to begin sweeping the jungle-covered mountains in Operation Greeley. The 173rd had been operating near Bien Hoa Air Base outside Saigon and had been in combat only against NLF guerrillas. Prior to its deployment to the highlands, Peers' operations officer, Colonel William J. Livsey, attempted to warn the Airborne officers of the hazards of campaigning in the highlands. He also advised them that PAVN regulars were a much better equipped and motivated force than the NLF. These warnings, however, made little impression on the paratroopers, who were about to become victims of their own overconfidence.[45] 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade soldiers battle for Hill 882, southwest of Dak To.On 20 June, Company C, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry (C/2-503) discovered the bodies of a Special Forces CIDG unit that had been missing for four days on Hill 1338, the dominant hill mass south of Dak To. Supported by A/2-503, the Americans moved up the hill and set up for the night. At 06:58 the following morning, Alpha Company began moving alone up a ridge finger and triggered an ambush by the 6th Battalion of the 24th PAVN Regiment.[46]Charlie Company was ordered to support, but heavy vegetation and difficult terrain made movement extremely difficult. Artillery support was rendered ineffective by the limited range of visibility. Close air support was impossible for the same reasons. Alpha Company managed to survive repeated attacks throughout the day and night, but the cost was heavy. Of the 137 men that comprised the unit, 76 had been killed and another 23 wounded. A search of the battlefield revealed only 15 dead North Vietnamese.[47]In response to the destruction of Alpha Company, MACV ordered additional forces into the area. On 23 June, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry (1st Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division) arrived to bolster the 173rd. The following day, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam's (ARVN) elite 1st Airborne Task Force (the 5th and 8th Battalions) and the 3rd Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division (5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry; 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry; and an additional infantry battalion) arrived to conduct search and destroy operations north and northeast of Kon Tum. General Deane sent his forces 20 kilometres (12 mi) west and southwest of Dak To to search for the 24th PAVN Regiment. By October, the 173rd, the 4th Infantry Division, and six ARVN battalions were moved to Dak To. The North Vietnamese Army, in turn, had moved almost 6,000 troops in four infantry regiments and one artillery regiment.[48][49]The battle around Dak To became more costly as 4-503 of the 173rd was ordered to occupy Hill 823, south of Ben Het Camp, for the construction of Fire Support Base. Only the battalion's Company B was available for the attack, which was borne by helicopter. The company was able to take the hill but suffered 9 dead and 28 wounded.[50]The following morning Bravo Company was relieved by Lieutenant Colonel David J. Schumacher's 1-503, which (against the admonitions of Colonel Livsey) was divided into two small task forces. Task Force Black consisted of Charlie Company supported by two platoons of Dog Company and Task Force Blue which was composed of Alpha Company and the remaining platoon of Dog. Task Force Black left Hill 823 to find the North Vietnamese who had attacked B/4-503. At 08:28 on 11 November, after leaving their overnight laager and following a PAVN communications wire, the force was ambushed by the 8th and 9th Battalions of the 66th PAVN Regiment and had to fight for its life.[51]Task Force Blue drew the job of going to the relief of the beleaguered task force; however, Task Force Blue ran into resistance and was pinned down by enemy fire on all sides. C/4-503 was then assigned the mission of relieving Task Force Black and they too encountered significant enemy fire, but they made it, reaching the trapped men at 15:37. U.S. losses were 20 killed, 154 wounded, and two missing.[52]Following an attack on the Đắk Tô Base,[53] and actions on hill 882 by the 1-503rd that saw 7 men dead and 34 wounded,[54] 330 men of 2-503 moved in to assault Hill 875.[55] At 10:30, as the Americans moved to within 300 metres (984 ft) of the crest, PAVN machine gunners opened fire on the advancing paratroopers. Then B-40 rockets and 57 mm recoilless rifle fire were unleashed upon them. The paratroopers attempted to continue the advance, but the North Vietnamese, well concealed in interconnected bunkers and trenches, opened fire with small arms and grenades. At 14:30 PAVN troops hidden at the bottom of the hill launched a massed assault from the rear. Unknown to the Americans, they had walked into a carefully prepared ambush by the 2nd Battalion of the 174th PAVN Regiment. Soon, U.S. air strikes and artillery fire were being called in, but they had little effect on the battle because of the dense foliage on the hillside. Resupply became a necessity because of high ammunition expenditures and lack of water, but it was also an impossibility. Six UH-1 helicopters were shot down or badly damaged that afternoon trying to get to 2-503.[56]The next morning the three companies of 4-503 were chosen to set out and relieve the men on Hill 875. Because of intense PAVN sniper and mortar fire (and the terrain) it took until nightfall for the relief force to reach the beleaguered battalion. On the afternoon of 21 November both battalions moved out to take the crest. During fierce, close-quarters fighting, some of the paratroopers made it into the PAVN trench line but were ordered to pull back as darkness fell.The following day was spent in launching airstrikes and a heavy artillery bombardment against the hilltop, totally denuding it of cover. On 23 November, 2-503 and 4-503 were ordered to renew their assault while the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry assaulted 875 from the south.[57] This time the Americans gained the crest, but the North Vietnamese had already abandoned their positions, leaving only a few dozen charred bodies and weapons.[58] The battle of Hill 875 had cost 2-503 87 killed, 130 wounded, and three missing. 4-503 suffered 28 killed 123 wounded, and four missing.[59]Combined with noncombatant losses, this represented one-fifth of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's total strength.[60] For its combined actions during operations around Dak To, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.[15] 340 of the 570 173rd Airborne troops who attacked the hill became casualties.[61]Pullout from VietnamThe intense fighting during the Battle of Dak To took a heavy human toll on the 173rd. While several of its units, including the 2-503rd and A/3-319th were ordered to Tuy Hòa to repair and refit,[61][62] the 173rd was transferred to Camp Radcliff in An Khê and Bong Son areas during 1968, seeing very little action while the combat ineffective elements of the brigade were rebuilt. Company D, 16th Armor was engaged in a battle that took place on 4 March 1968 at North Tuy Hòa. During the day, the company lost 8 men killed and 21 wounded. The enemy took a much greater loss. An estimated 2 enemy battalions, 85th Main Force (VC) and the 95th NVA Regiment, were rendered ineffective as they had 297 KIA's, with D/16 Armor receiving credit for killing 218.[63]The company commander, Captain Robert Helmick, was awarded the DSC. One of few combat operations that brigade conducted during this time was an amphibious assault against North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces as part of an operation to clear the rice-growing lowlands along the Bong Song littoral.[4]The unit then served in An Khê until mid-1969, seeing little in the way of heavy fighting. From April 1969 until its withdrawal from Vietnam in 1971, the brigade served in Bình Định Province.[31] From April until August 1971, the unit underwent the process of redeployment to Fort Campbell, Kentucky in the United States, the first time that the 173rd Airborne Brigade in name had returned to the country since 1942 [4].During more than six years of continuous combat, the brigade earned 14 campaign streamers and four unit citations, the Presidential Unit Citation, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, a Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, and a Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal. Sky Soldiers serving in Vietnam received 13 Medals of Honor, 32 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1,736 Silver Stars and more than 6,000 Purple Hearts.[4] The 173rd incurred 1,533 deaths and around 6,000 wounded.[64]After Vietnam, the Army retained the 173rd Airborne Brigade as a quick deploying contingency brigade.[65] However, with the ending of conscription following America's disengagement from Vietnam, many of the Army's formations had to be rebuilt for the volunteer force. One of these was the 101st Airborne Division, which had also been redeployed to Fort Campbell.[65] It was decided that the 173rd would be used to help rebuild the division, which had been converted into an airmobile formation during the Vietnam War.[65] The brigade was inactivated on 14 January 1972 at the fort,[4] and its assets were used to form the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, a parachute component within the airmobile 101st. The 3rd Brigade went off jump status on 1 April 1974, the same date on which the Airmobile Badge (Air Assault Badge as of 4 October 1974) was introduced.[15]

Q. Did the US paratroopers Airborne division unit make operations in the Vietnam War?A. TN's answer to Were paratroopers used in Vietnam?There were indeed paratroopers in Vietnam, but not all units made a jump.How the use of helicopters changed warfare can (partly) be illustrated by the following figures:- The French conducted 245 parachute droppings in Vietnam (between '45 and '54).- While the Vietnam War saw only a few of such attacks.Units of the 173rd Airborne Brigade jumped in Operation Junction City in February 1967 about 75 miles northwest of Saigon. Junction City remained the largest American paratroop operation of the Vietnam War, but others followed.On 02 April 1967, 356 troops (including Montagnards) of 5th Special Forces Group (ABN), 1st Special Forces: Detachment A-503 Mike Force: Co's. 2 & 3 jumped into Bunard, Phouc Long "Happy Dragon" Province Vietnam as part of Operation Harvest Moon.At 0600 hrs on 13 May 1967, 486 troops of Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force), 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne): Detachment A-503, Co's. 3, 4 & 5; 4.2 Mortar platoon & Hdqts. group conducted a water jump at 700 ft. as part of Operation Blackjack in Seven Mountains (Near Chi Lang, 1km S of Nuai Yai), in the SW corner of Vietnam.And on 5 October 1967 a total of 250 troops (w/ARVN paras & Australians) of the 5th Special Forces Group (SFG), Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force), Co's 24 & 25, ll Corps Mike Force (Detachment B-20, B Co. 5th SFG) conducted Operation Blue Max in Bu Prang, Vietnam. A number of other much smaller operations were conducted by special forces detachments.Combat jumps in Vietnam War?III MSF ie III Corp "Mike Force" conducted 3 combat parachute jumps.Bunard SF Camp 2 Apr 67Nau Gai Mountains 13 May 677 Mountains Area 17 Nov 68II Mike ForceBu Prang SF Camp 5 Oct 67CCS did at least 1 S/L insert in Cambodia.ARVN Airborne did a few. US Advisor Team 70 was assigned to the ARVN Airborne DivisionBook "Called Inside Force Recon" talked about the 3 FR S/L inserts. LTC Michael Lee Lanning & Major "Doc" Norton USMC ret wrote it.Airborne Operations in the Cold Warhttp://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=130411Vietnam Air MobilityAt 0900 hours on 22 February 1967, Brigadier General John R. Deane, Jr., stood in the door of a C-130 aircraft. When the green light flashed, General Deane jumped, leading the first U. S. parachute assault in the Republic of Vietnam, and the first such assault since the Korean conflict fifteen years earlier. This parachute jump of the 2d Battalion, 503d Infantry, (173d Airborne Brigade) signaled the beginning of Operation JUNCTION CITY ALTERNATE.The decision to make a paratroop assault was based on the urgency to place a large force on the ground as quickly as possible and still have enough helicopter assets to make a sizable heliborne assault as an immediate follow-up.The 173d had computed that they would free 60 Hueys and six Chinooks for support of other forces by using the parachute assault technique. The paratroopers were assigned landing zones farthest to the north-areas that would have cost many extra minutes of flying time for lift helicopters. The practical aspects of making more helicopters available were perhaps colored by the emotional and psychological motives of this proud unit which was anxious to prove the value of the parachute badge; nevertheless, the jumpers contributed strongly to the overall attack.Thirteen C-130's were used for the personnel drop and eight C-130's for heavy drop of equipment. Jump altitude was 1,000 feet.The battalion dropped on schedule and by 0920 hours on D-day all companies were in their locations around the drop zone. Out of the 780 combat troops who made the assault, only eleven sustained minor injuries.The 1st Battalion, 503d Infantry began landing by helicopter assault at 1035 hours and the entire battalion was in place shortly thereafter. Another infantry battalion, the 4th Battalion, 503d Infantry, conducted a heliborne assault into two other close landing zones at 1420 hours and phase one Of JUNCTION CITY ALTERNATE was essentially complete.Paratroopers arrive to reinforce the beleaguered U.S. forces, engaged for more than a week in bitter fighting around the 3,000-foot peak. Hamburger HillThe employment of the airborne parachute force is historically visualized as a theater-controlled operation aimed at achieving strategic surprise. Although parachute delivery of troops and equipment is a relatively inefficient means of introduction into combat, the very existence of this capability complicates the enemy's planning and offers the friendly commander one more option of surprise. In this instance, which involved multiple units in a major operation, there was a greater demand for helicopter lift than there were helicopter assets. As a result, the 173d pushed strongly for a parachute assault.The fact that airborne techniques were not used more often in Vietnam can be attributed to many factors. The most obvious restraint to an airborne operation in Vietnam was the time lag inherent in airborne operations in responding to intelligence on the elusive enemy. A much more important restraint was the nature of the war itself and the limitations imposed on U. S. forces. From a strategic point of view the U. S. posture in Vietnam was defensive. U. S. tactical offensive operations were limited to the confines of South Vietnam. Had the rules been changed, the parachute potential could have profitably been employed by planning an airborne assault into enemy territory at a distance within the ferry range of the Huey.The Vietnam Combat Jump101st Airborne Division arrives in Vietnam - Jul 29, 1965 - HISTORY.comThe first 4,000 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division arrived in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay. They made a demonstration jump immediately after arriving, observed by Gen. William Westmoreland and outgoing Ambassador (formerly General) Maxwell Taylor. Taylor and Westmoreland were both former commanders of the division, which was known as the “Screaming Eagles.” The 101st Airborne Division has a long and storied history, including combat jumps during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and the subsequent Market-Garden airborne operation in the Netherlands. Later, the division distinguished itself by its defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.The 1st Brigade fought as a separate brigade until 1967, when the remainder of the division arrived in Vietnam. The combat elements of the division consisted of 10 battalions of airmobile infantry, six battalions of artillery, an aerial rocket artillery unit armed with rocket-firing helicopters, and an air reconnaissance unit. Another unique feature of the division was its aviation group, which consisted of three aviation battalions of assault helicopters and gunships.The majority of the 101st Airborne Division’s tactical operations were in the Central Highlands and in the A Shau Valley farther north. Among its major operations was the brutal fight for Ap Bia Mountain, known as the “Hamburger Hill” battle.The last Army division to leave Vietnam, the remaining elements of the 101st Airborne Division returned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where today it is the Army’s only airmobile division. During the war, troopers from the 101st won 17 Medals of Honor for bravery in combat. The division suffered almost 20,000 soldiers killed or wounded in action in Vietnam, over twice as many as the 9,328 casualties it suffered in World War II.101st Airborne Division - WikipediaActive: 1918; 1921–42; 1942–45; 1948–49; 1950–56; 1956–presentLight infantry (Air Assault)Role: Command and control organization containing two to four maneuver brigades, Division XVIII Airborne CorpsHeadquarters: Fort Campbell, Kentucky, U.S.Nickname(s): "Screaming Eagles" (special designation)Rendezvous With DestinyMascot(s): Bald eagle (Old Abe)World War IINormandyOperation Market GardenBattle of the BulgeWestern Allied invasion of GermanyKorean WarVietnam WarPersian Gulf WarGlobal War on TerrorismWar in AfghanistanIraq WarOperation Inherent ResolveOperation Freedom's SentinelOfficial WebsiteCombat service identification badgeDistinctive unit insigniaThe 101st Airborne Division ("Screaming Eagles") is an elite modular specialized light infantry division of the United States Army trained for air assault operations. It is the most potent and the most tactically mobile of the U.S. Army's divisions. It has been referred to as "the tip of the spear."The 101st Airborne at a moment's notice is able to plan, coordinate, and execute brigade-size air assault operations capable of seizing key terrain in support of operational objectives. The 101st Airborne Division is capable of working in austere environments with limited or degraded infrastructure. Its unique battlefield mobility and high level of training have kept the 101st Airborne Division in the vanguard of America's land combat forces in recent conflicts. More recently, the 101st Airborne has been performing foreign internal defense and counter-terrorism operations within Iraq and Afghanistan.The 101st Airborne Division has a nearly century-long history. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord (the D-Day landingsand airborne landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France), Operation Market Garden, the liberation of the Netherlands and, perhaps most famously, its action during the Battle of the Bulge around the city of Bastogne, Belgium. During the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles including the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May 1969.In mid-1968 it was reorganized and redesignated as an airmobile division, then in 1974 as an air assault division. These titles reflect the division's shift from airplanes as the primary method of delivering troops into combat, to the use of helicopters. Many current members of the 101st are graduates of the U.S. Army Air Assault School. Division headquarters is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In recent years, the division has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The division is one of the most highly decorated units in the United States Army and has been featured prominently in military fiction.The 101st is currently the world's only air assault division, capable, in a single lift, of a 4,000-man combined-arms air assault 150 kilometers into enemy territory.It is supported by more than 280 helicopters. This includes three battalions of Apache attack helicopters. At times, additional air assets are assigned to the 101st Airborne during deployment The 101st Airborne also comprises intelligence support, maintenance and operations elements, support personnel, and artillery specialists. Assisting the 101st Airborne Division is an extensive array of support elements, equipment, and training resources.The 101st Airborne provides the United States with a unique capability not available anywhere else in the world. The 101st is considered a very versatile, very flexible, and a fast-moving unit. The 101st has the capability to move long distances. The 101st can can put soldiers down on top of mountains, ridge lines, and behind the enemy forces and can sling-load in artillery pieces for indirect fire. It is considered a unit of choice and it has the ability to secure bridge sites, airfields, and to assist in the combined arms capability for other units.Republic of Vietnam Airborne Division - WikipediaRepublic of Vietnam Airborne DivisionBinh chủng Nhảy Dù1 January 1948 – 30 April 1975Garrison/HQ Tan Son Nhut, near SaigonNickname(s) Bawouans (in French), Nhảy Dù (in Vietnamese)EngagementsFirst Indochina WarVietnam WarCambodian Civil WarLaotian Civil WarRepublic of Vietnam Airborne DivisionParatrooper Hoàng Ngọc Giao (the 5th Airborne Battalion), 1967.The Vietnamese Airborne Division was one of the earliest components of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces (Vietnamese: Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa– QLVNCH). The Vietnamese Airborne Division began as companies organised in 1948, prior to any agreement over armed forces in Vietnam. After the partition of Vietnam, it became a part of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.March 01, 1963840 Vietnamese paratroopers dropping from US Air Force C-123s transport planes over Tay Ninh province in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The operation is known as Phi Hoa II.HistoryRecruitment poster of the Republic of Vietnam Airborne ForcesVietnamese Airborne Division was one of the most elite fighting forces in the ARVN. It was placed as a reserve unit along with the South Vietnamese Marine Division. Headquarters of the Airborne Division was outside of Saigon. The Airborne Division would mobilize anywhere within the four corps at a moments notice. The main use of the Airborne was to engage and destroy People's Army of Vietnam ('NVA') and Viet Cong forces, not hold a specific region like the infantry units.Airborne Advisory DetachmentLike all major ARVN units the Airborne were assigned a U.S. military advisory element, originally the Airborne Brigade Advisory Detachment and later redesignated the 162nd Airborne Advisory Detachment or U.S. Airborne Advisory Team 162. About 1,000 American airborne-qualified advisors served with the Brigade and Division, receiving on average two awards for valour per tour; over the years, they were able to build and maintain a good working relationship with their Vietnamese counterparts and airborne units, a situation unfortunately not always found in other ARVN formations. U.S. officers were paired with their Vietnamese counterparts, from the Brigade/Division commander down to company commanders, as well with principal staff officers at all levels. U.S. NCOs assisted the staff and company advisors.173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team - WikipediaActive1917–19; 1921–45; 1947–51; 1963–72; 2000 – presentUnited States Army Airborne light infantryRole U.S. Army Europe quick response force Brigade U.S. Army EuropeGarrison/HQ Caserma Ederle (Vicenza, Italy)Nickname(s) Sky Soldiers (special designation),EngagementsWorld War IWorld War IIVietnam War:Operation HumpOperation Junction CityOperation CrimpBattle of Dak ToWar on TerrorOperation Atlantic ResolveDecorationsPresidential Unit Citation, 1967Meritorious Unit Commendation Army, 1965–67 and 2003–04Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, 1965–70Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal First Class, 1969–71Official WebsiteThe 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team ("Sky Soldiers") is an airborneinfantry brigade combat team of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe.Activated in 1915, as the 173d Infantry Brigade, the unit saw service in World War I, but is best known for its actions during the Vietnam War. The brigade was the first major United States Army ground formation deployed in Vietnam, serving there from 1965 to 1971 and losing almost 1,800 soldiers. Noted for its roles in Operation Hump and Operation Junction City, the 173d is best known for the Battle of Dak To, where it suffered heavy casualties in close combat with North Vietnamese forces. Brigade members received over 7,700 decorations, including more than 6,000 Purple Hearts. The brigade returned to the United States in 1972, where the 1st and 2d Battalion, 503d Infantry, were absorbed into the 3d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), and the 3d Battalion, 319th Field Artillery was reassigned to Division Artillery in the 101st.The remaining units of the 173d were inactivated.Since its reactivation in 2000, the brigade served five tours in the Middle East in support of the War on Terror. The 173d participated in the initial invasion of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and had four tours in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, and 2012–13. The brigade returned recently from a deployment stretching from late 2013 to late 2014.The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team has received 21 campaign streamersand several unit awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of Dak To during the Vietnam War.173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team - WikipediaParatroopers patrolling along the Song Be during Operation Silver City, March 1966.The brigade arrived in Vietnam on May 7, 1965, the first major ground combat unit of the United States Army to serve in the country. Brigadier General Williamson boldly predicted on arrival that his men would defeat the Viet Cong quickly and that they "would be back in Okinawa by Christmas".The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division; the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division; and the 1st Cavalry Division quickly followed the 173rd into Vietnam, the first of what would eventually be 25 U.S. Army brigades to serve in the country. As larger US Army commands were established in Vietnam, the brigade was assigned to the III Corps and II Corps tactical zone, which they would serve in for the next six years.The brigade was put under the command of II Field Force, Vietnam. The 1st and 2nd Battalions, 503rd Infantry were the first Army combat units from the 173rd sent into South Vietnam, accompanied by the 3rd Battalion, 319th Artillery. They were supported by the 173rd Support Battalion, 173rd Engineer Company, Troop E/17th Cavalry and Company D/16th Armor. The 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and the 161st Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery were attached to the brigade for one year in 1965.Late in August 1966, the 173rd received another infantry battalion, the 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 3rd Battalion, 503rd joined the brigade at Tuy Hòa Province in September 1967 following the former's activation and training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The 173rd was also assigned Company N (Ranger), 75th Infantry. At its peak of its deployment in Vietnam, the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) comprised over 7,000 soldiers.The brigade was the first unit sent into War Zone D to destroy enemy base camps, introducing the use of small Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. On 8 November 1965, the 173rd took part in Operation Hump, just north of Biên Hòa on the outskirts of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. They were ambushed by approximately 1,200 Viet Cong fighters, suffering 48 deaths. The unit fought in the Iron Triangle, a Viet Cong stronghold north of Saigon, seeing many engagements with enemy forces during that time. They participated in Operation Crimp in 1966, a failed attempt to root out enemy forces from the Cu Chi tunnels.The attached helicopter unit became the Casper Aviation platoon, befitting a separate infantry brigade as the only separate aviation platoon deployed in Vietnam. Casper platoon was part of the HHC 173rd Airborne Brigade and its members wore the brigade patch. The attached Assault Helicopter Company, the 335th AHC, the "Cowboys", deployed with the brigade all over Vietnam into mid-1968 and comprised the Airmobile capability along with the Caspers.Soldiers of the brigade became involved in Operation Attleboro in fall of 1966, an operation that started out as a small search and destroy mission north of Saigon but eventually involved 22,000 troops from 21 battalions. Soldiers of the brigade also took part in smaller humanitarian missions in between major combat operations.On 22 February 1967, the 173rd conducted Operation Junction City, the only combat parachute jump of the Vietnam War. The operation saw three brigades controlling eight battalions dropped by helicopters and US Air Forceaircraft into War Zone C, in Tây Ninh Province. During the battle, the brigade operated out of the northeastern part of the war zone along with the 196th Infantry Brigade (Separate), as four other brigades from the 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions attempted to surround and destroy the 9th Viet Cong Division in the War Zone. The operation was a success, and the battered VC division fled.In August of that year, the brigade received its distinctive unit insignia. The soldiers chose to have it contain a parachute and dagger to symbolize their participation in Operation Junction City and the other heavy fighting they had been through. The DUI was also inscribed "Sky Soldiers" as homage to the nickname that the Taiwanese soldiers had given them.Dak ToIn the Summer of 1967, the 4th Infantry Division's 1st and 2nd Brigades were making heavy contact with enemy forces in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, in western Kon Tum Province. These heavy enemy contacts prompted division commander Lieutenant General William R. Peers to request reinforcement and, as a result, on 17 June, two battalions of Brigadier General John R. Deane's 173rd Airborne Brigade were moved into the Dak To area to begin sweeping the jungle-covered mountains in Operation Greeley. The 173rd had been operating near Bien Hoa Air Base outside Saigon and had been in combat only against NLF guerrillas. Prior to its deployment to the highlands, Peers' operations officer, Colonel William J. Livsey, attempted to warn the Airborne officers of the hazards of campaigning in the highlands. He also advised them that PAVN regulars were a much better equipped and motivated force than the NLF. These warnings, however, made little impression on the paratroopers, who were about to become victims of their own overconfidence. 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade soldiers battle for Hill 882, southwest of Dak To.On 20 June, Company C, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry (C/2-503) discovered the bodies of a Special Forces CIDG unit that had been missing for four days on Hill 1338, the dominant hill mass south of Dak To. Supported by A/2-503, the Americans moved up the hill and set up for the night. At 06:58 the following morning, Alpha Company began moving alone up a ridge finger and triggered an ambush by the 6th Battalion of the 24th PAVN Regiment.Charlie Company was ordered to support, but heavy vegetation and difficult terrain made movement extremely difficult. Artillery support was rendered ineffective by the limited range of visibility. Close air support was impossible for the same reasons. Alpha Company managed to survive repeated attacks throughout the day and night, but the cost was heavy. Of the 137 men that comprised the unit, 76 had been killed and another 23 wounded. A search of the battlefield revealed only 15 dead North Vietnamese.In response to the destruction of Alpha Company, MACV ordered additional forces into the area. On 23 June, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry (1st Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division) arrived to bolster the 173rd. The following day, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam's (ARVN) elite 1st Airborne Task Force (the 5th and 8th Battalions) and the 3rd Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division (5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry; 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry; and an additional infantry battalion) arrived to conduct search and destroy operations north and northeast of Kon Tum. General Deane sent his forces 20 kilometres (12 mi) west and southwest of Dak To to search for the 24th PAVN Regiment. By October, the 173rd, the 4th Infantry Division, and six ARVN battalions were moved to Dak To. The North Vietnamese Army, in turn, had moved almost 6,000 troops in four infantry regiments and one artillery regiment.The battle around Dak To became more costly as 4-503 of the 173rd was ordered to occupy Hill 823, south of Ben Het Camp, for the construction of Fire Support Base. Only the battalion's Company B was available for the attack, which was borne by helicopter. The company was able to take the hill but suffered 9 dead and 28 wounded.The following morning Bravo Company was relieved by Lieutenant Colonel David J. Schumacher's 1-503, which (against the admonitions of Colonel Livsey) was divided into two small task forces. Task Force Black consisted of Charlie Company supported by two platoons of Dog Company and Task Force Blue which was composed of Alpha Company and the remaining platoon of Dog. Task Force Black left Hill 823 to find the North Vietnamese who had attacked B/4-503. At 08:28 on 11 November, after leaving their overnight laager and following a PAVN communications wire, the force was ambushed by the 8th and 9th Battalions of the 66th PAVN Regiment and had to fight for its life.Task Force Blue drew the job of going to the relief of the beleaguered task force; however, Task Force Blue ran into resistance and was pinned down by enemy fire on all sides. C/4-503 was then assigned the mission of relieving Task Force Black and they too encountered significant enemy fire, but they made it, reaching the trapped men at 15:37. U.S. losses were 20 killed, 154 wounded, and two missing.Following an attack on the Đắk Tô Base, and actions on hill 882 by the 1-503rd that saw 7 men dead and 34 wounded, 330 men of 2-503 moved in to assault Hill 875. At 10:30, as the Americans moved to within 300 metres (984 ft) of the crest, PAVN machine gunners opened fire on the advancing paratroopers. Then B-40 rockets and 57 mm recoilless rifle fire were unleashed upon them. The paratroopers attempted to continue the advance, but the North Vietnamese, well concealed in interconnected bunkers and trenches, opened fire with small arms and grenades. At 14:30 PAVN troops hidden at the bottom of the hill launched a massed assault from the rear. Unknown to the Americans, they had walked into a carefully prepared ambush by the 2nd Battalion of the 174th PAVN Regiment. Soon, U.S. air strikes and artillery fire were being called in, but they had little effect on the battle because of the dense foliage on the hillside. Resupply became a necessity because of high ammunition expenditures and lack of water, but it was also an impossibility. Six UH-1 helicopters were shot down or badly damaged that afternoon trying to get to 2-503.The next morning the three companies of 4-503 were chosen to set out and relieve the men on Hill 875. Because of intense PAVN sniper and mortar fire (and the terrain) it took until nightfall for the relief force to reach the beleaguered battalion. On the afternoon of 21 November both battalions moved out to take the crest. During fierce, close-quarters fighting, some of the paratroopers made it into the PAVN trench line but were ordered to pull back as darkness fell.The following day was spent in launching airstrikes and a heavy artillery bombardment against the hilltop, totally denuding it of cover. On 23 November, 2-503 and 4-503 were ordered to renew their assault while the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry assaulted 875 from the south. This time the Americans gained the crest, but the North Vietnamese had already abandoned their positions, leaving only a few dozen charred bodies and weapons. The battle of Hill 875 had cost 2-503 87 killed, 130 wounded, and three missing. 4-503 suffered 28 killed 123 wounded, and four missing.Combined with noncombatant losses, this represented one-fifth of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's total strength. For its combined actions during operations around Dak To, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. 340 of the 570 173rd Airborne troops who attacked the hill became casualties.Pullout from VietnamThe intense fighting during the Battle of Dak To took a heavy human toll on the 173rd. While several of its units, including the 2-503rd and A/3-319th were ordered to Tuy Hòa to repair and refit, the 173rd was transferred to Camp Radcliff in An Khê and Bong Son areas during 1968, seeing very little action while the combat ineffective elements of the brigade were rebuilt. Company D, 16th Armor was engaged in a battle that took place on 4 March 1968 at North Tuy Hòa. During the day, the company lost 8 men killed and 21 wounded. The enemy took a much greater loss. An estimated 2 enemy battalions, 85th Main Force (VC) and the 95th NVA Regiment, were rendered ineffective as they had 297 KIA's, with D/16 Armor receiving credit for killing 218.The company commander, Captain Robert Helmick, was awarded the DSC. One of few combat operations that brigade conducted during this time was an amphibious assault against North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces as part of an operation to clear the rice-growing lowlands along the Bong Song littoral.The unit then served in An Khê until mid-1969, seeing little in the way of heavy fighting. From April 1969 until its withdrawal from Vietnam in 1971, the brigade served in Bình Định Province. From April until August 1971, the unit underwent the process of redeployment to Fort Campbell, Kentucky in the United States, the first time that the 173rd Airborne Brigade in name had returned to the country since 1942.During more than six years of continuous combat, the brigade earned 14 campaign streamers and four unit citations, the Presidential Unit Citation, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, a Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, and a Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal. Sky Soldiers serving in Vietnam received 13 Medals of Honor, 32 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1,736 Silver Stars and more than 6,000 Purple Hearts. The 173rd incurred 1,533 deaths and around 6,000 wounded.After Vietnam, the Army retained the 173rd Airborne Brigade as a quick deploying contingency brigade. However, with the ending of conscription following America's disengagement from Vietnam, many of the Army's formations had to be rebuilt for the volunteer force. One of these was the 101st Airborne Division, which had also been redeployed to Fort Campbell. It was decided that the 173rd would be used to help rebuild the division, which had been converted into an airmobile formation during the Vietnam War. The brigade was inactivated on 14 January 1972 at the fort, and its assets were used to form the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, a parachute component within the airmobile 101st. The 3rd Brigade went off jump status on 1 April 1974, the same date on which the Airmobile Badge (Air Assault Badge as of 4 October 1974) was introduced.

I am posting anonymously obviously to avoid trolls and ensure safety.BJP’s victory was based on fake narrative, character assignation, and propaganda. Add fragmented and incompetent opposition to the mix as well.Below are the 10 strategic posture that BJP adopted and which gave them victory. Each of these postures appeals to a certain section of society barring Muslims and liberals. Given liberals are so fragmented, it is the conservative part of society which constitutes the largest vote bank, and it is the conservatives, who vote diligently, not liberals. BJP targeted to get 100% of conservative and 70% of fence-sitter votes, and it looks like they have done it. When I write BJP, I mean the new BJP. This is not Atal Vihari’s BJP, this is Modi-Shah’s BJP. The main strategist or architect of this victory was Amit Shah.Let’s check out Amit Shah’s 10 key strategies:-1. "Love Jihad", periodic Muslim lynchings, "Hindu Khatre mein Hein", "Muslims will be majority", etc.BJP, a formerly right-wing party is leaning ultra-right and toward fascist concepts. In fascism, an imaginary enemy is created and everything wrong in the country is blamed on them, which it’s supporter can hate and gang up against. For BJP, the communal polarisation attracts bigots to BJP’s party. Not all BJP supporters are bigots, but some are.This narrative like BJP’s other is fake. For example, the whole narrative of "Love Jihad" is based on the premise that a Muslim boy cannot love a Hindu girl, and cherry picks incidents of trafficking to the Middle East and interfaith marriages “gone wrong” as proof of “Love Jihad". Given the size of the country, there a load of those incidents. Furthermore, 90% of all interfaith marriage encounter resistance from families on both sides, regardless of Hindu or Muslim. Sometimes it is deadly. The 10% that make it are target by giving the example of the .001%.The second example, for those who know, the cow smuggling network throughout India is around 40% controlled by Bajrang Dal. The lynching of Muslims is mostly from areas controlled by rival networks of Bajrang Dal and rival transports entering Bajrang Dal area, and these lynchings are meant to force rivals to switch side and help Bajrang Dal gain 100% share.Apart from a few districts Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, Lakshwadeep, and in a few districts in East India where Bangladeshis have artificially inflated number of Muslims, and Kashmir valley where Muslims have been the majority, nowhere in India Muslims can or ever be the majority if the current demographic trend continues. By the time India's population peaks in 2065, Muslims will have only increased their share of the population from 14.4% to 16.8%. But explain that to a run of the mill die-hard BJP supporter (“Bhakt”). The propaganda around this is staggering[1] .Around 40% of illegal immigration from Bangladesh are Hindus. Instead of returning both Hindus and Muslim illegal immigrants, the Modi Government is targeting Muslims. Modi Government is also bringing a bill to allow for ANY Hindu from all over the world to be made Indian citizen just on the basis of an asylum application. This would not only make the overpopulation scenario in India worse but also will bring new Hindu voters of Modi and BJP. Modi has made communal politics acceptable. The bigots in the country were like “bas kar pagli, rulaiga kya”?Communal polarisation and communal politics have bought Modi lots of votes. A study has shown, wherever communal tension has been ratcheted up, BJP won.2."Nationalism" or misinterpretation of it, painting BJP as a "nationalist" and others as anti-nationals.While it is true that BJP is that the only “nationalist” party, nationalism is not equal to patriotism and those who oppose nationalism are not anti-nationals. Being not nationalists is good but being unpatriotic is bad. Indians are not aware of this distinction and fall for it. Nationalism is the unwavering support to one's country and its leaders without introspection or critic and forcing of that behaviour on the mass. Patriotism is the support of one's country when the country is in the right direction and criticize and correct when the country is in the wrong direction. Nationalism is accepting the country as it is and unconditional agreement with the leaders and their decisions. Patriotism is taking the good part of the country's character, identify the areas of improvement and evolve. A patriotic person tends to tolerate criticism and tries to learn something new from it, but a nationalist cannot tolerate any criticism and considers it an insult. When a patriotic citizen is told “your country is poor”, the citizen will accept the criticism and vote for someone who works on poverty reduction; while a nationalist citizen when told “your country is poor” will reply “haven’t you seen Yamuna Expressway”, “don’t you see bullet train will run between Mumbai and Ahmadabad”, “don’t you see the tall building or smooth roads of South Mumbai”, or worse “how dare you say the 6th largest economy is poor”? Freedom fighters of India were patriotic, not nationalistic. Nationalistic were the people supporting the Government i.e. British. Nationalism is inherently anti-democratic. The best illustration of Nationalism vs patriotism is below.In fact, nationalism was the reason that Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito could get the masses to support what they were doing. Nationalism is the opposite of what democracy stands for. Nevertheless, nationalism has given BJP substantial vote share because people don't distinguish between nationalism and patriotism.Another tactic that BJP follows to nudge patriotic Indians towards nationalism is to open handles in social media in support of the army, air force, what not, and then attract tens of thousands of followers, then slowly start preaching pro-BJP messages.Ultimately, nationalism appeals to the emotion of both real nationalists and patriotic Indian who go on for voting for BJP.3. Use of de-humanizing words like “Libtard”, “Khan market gang”, “Tudke Tudke gang”, “Urban Naxals”, “Pseudo-secular” and narrative behind it etc.These dismissive catch-words are meant as ammunition for the die-hard BJP supporters to use against liberals and intellectuals. You can see generous use of this in social media. If no logic holds, these words are now embedded in the psyche of Indian youth to dehumanize the left or anything left of centre. As in real life, social media users also follow the herd mentality. People “develop” and opinion rather than “form” an opinion. Seeing left-liberal bashing and most of the vocal supporters from the BJP, common youth will lean right wing in their opinion as well and that transfers to vote.Like everything else, this is also based on fake narrative. Take the “Tudke Tudke gang” branding for example. Kanhaiya, Anirban and Umar were branded as terrorists’ supporters when, Kanhaiya was indeed asking for “Azadi” but it was freedom from hunger, sanghwaad (RSS-ism), feudalism, capitalism, Brahminism and Manu-ism (casteism). The NewsX/India News video edited these words out, leaving Kumar’s claims for “Azadi” open to interpretation. The channel then ran the video with the subtitle: “Hear Kanhaiya’s ‘seditious’ rant”. Their protest Afzal guru hanging was not specific to saving Afzal guru, but broader demand to end capital punishment and has been going on since long before Afzal guru incident. Then there is enough evidence now that some Kashmiri student shouted "Bharat ki barbaadi tak, jung rahegi, jung rahegi!", not DSU, the left union in JNU. But Kanhaiya Kumar has been permanently smeared and left politics strategically linked to anti-nationalism.Then take the word “pseudo-secular” for example, which is meant to be used against those who claim to be secular but appease a community. It is true Congress and many other parties appease Muslims, but BJP appeases Hindus as well. So, who is secular? Both are pseudo secular. But pseudo secular is used in 99% of cases as a dehumanizing phrase to describe Congress, not BJP. For the remaining 1%, BJP has another explanation - “Secularism in India is a myth. India has never been secular”. This sentence is used to inject an idea or assure anxious fence sitters that don’t worry, nothing is changing, as was before so will be after Hindu Rashtra. This sentence mixes true pseudo-secularism of “some” political parties with true secularism of other parties and individuals and discredits them in one go.Don’t forget the “Hinduphobic” card. Previously, used to hear only Muslim cleric and Islamic terror apologists using the word “Islamophobic”. Never thought the day would come when communal and regressive aspects of BJP, when attacked, would generate a reaction - “Hinduphobia”.Now, once a narrative is built against (pseudo) secularism and paint all parties other than BJP as pseudo secular and “Hinduphobic”, who will want to vote for those who support terrorists, or want to break up India or anti-Hindu?When social media banned posts with de-humanizing content, BJP played the victim by saying Facebook is anti-Hindu, Twitter is anti-Hindu etc. Social media companies were called in before the election in closed-door hearing blackmailing and accusing them of anti-right-wing. Result? Only “for show” action against dehumanizing comments and cyber bullying in Social media.4. Vote for BJP, The “anti-dynasty" party.The truth is BJP is almost as much dynastic as Congress. Since 1999, Congress had 36 dynastic MP's elected to Parliament while BJP had 31. Most of BJP’s allies are also dynastic parties. The only difference between BJP and Congress in terms of dynasty politics is that the PM candidate of BJP is not dynastic while that of Congress is. Moreover, ordinary people are not able to understand that there is some amount of dynasty built into India system. A family with a history of army men will have more army men; a doctor’s son or daughter has more chance of being a doctor, etc. But the ordinary voters wouldn’t care to think otherwise, as dynasty is painted as untouchable and BJP’s image is that of a party that is anti-dynastic.5. Vote against “casteist parties”This is one of the biggest lies. A casteist party is one which exploits the divisions based on caste, exploits the resentments against another caste, gives benefits or favours certain caste and thereby appeal to them, or simply preach on the basis of caste.BJP's primary support base is the upper cast to whom they appeal by saying that they do not follow the cast politics of SP or BSP, that they are against reservation etc. They speak empty words knowing very well that just merely speaking they are against caste-based politics will get them upper caste votes. So, instead of removing caste-based reservation and replacing with means-based reservation BJP has started reservation for General category. Modi once said he will not end reservation even though Ambedkar comes today and ask him to end caste-based reservation. BJP routinely campaign for new communities to be added to reserved categories -for example, the Jats in Haryana. BJP administration in the past and present have chosen to deal with caste violence and discrimination inconsistently and often lightly when the perpetrator is from the upper caste. BJP leaders in OBC dominated areas, like its OBC Morcha in Bihar, gave speeches and produced pamphlets targeting OBC's explaining why OBC's should vote for BJP, what Modi will do in next 5 years for OBC’s, explaining to them that parties like BSP are for Yadavs so OBC’s should vote BJP. BJP now has the largest OBC vote share as well, apart from Upper caste vote while parties like SP and BSP have a large chunk of SC votes. Therefore, BJP is no less casteist than BSP and caste politics has given BJP votes and the impression that BJP is not casteist have given BJP even more votes.6. “Modi is making India proud”. Vote for Modi.This is another lie. The supporting evidence presented are world leaders warmly welcoming Modi and rock star type reception of Modi abroad. The truth is, as the third-largest economy by PPP, no world leader will ever ignore India, rather will woe India and its leaders irrespective who is in power. Modi was blacklisted for US visa before he becomes PM but removed from blacklist once he became PM. Modi is immensely popular among the NRI's, but NRI's do not represent world view. In fact, world media and press clearly label Modi as a controversial character who divides, not unites India, as someone under whose rule Hindu fundamentalists are emboldened to threaten and lynch and under whose leadership, the economy is fumbling. The most routine news that comes of India abroad is of increased communal clashes, lynching and how Modi is part of a trend across the world of rising ultra-nationalism approval of leaders with fascists tendencies, like Trump, Duterte, etc.But, who would want not to vote for someone who is making India proud?7. BJP is not corrupt. Therefore, vote for BJP.This is another lie. First, let me define "corruption". Corruption: Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.The biggest scam pulled off by anyone in independent India was and is demonetization. Demonetization enabled cash black money held by individuals and organisation to be converted into white, but only one establishment found it hard converting cash black into white, i.e. opposition parties, for as soon as they would declare the cash, they would have come in the radar of ED, CBI and what not. They were too ashamed to risk that. Demonetization was done to break the opposition parties while BJP themselves remained unaffected (forewarned), in the crucial period before UP election. New evidence emerging that RBI advised against demonetization saying it will do little to solve the black money problem. Hundreds of people died after demonetization and their blood is on Modi to make BJP win in UP election.Then, Modi is also asking SC not to ask for CBI probe in Rafale deal scam on "national security ground". This is the first time in independent India where defence scams are defended on "national security" ground. I really hope other parties don't get ideas from this.Another ploy adopted by BJP under Modi-Shah is to control the media in a manner where you don't hear of scams. Have you heard of the 20,000 crores Gujrat State Petroleum Corporation scam under Modi's Gujrat? Have you heard of Adani Coal import scam to the tune of 50,000 crores and how BJP helped Adani to avoid bankruptcy? Have you heard of 1200 crore Vyapam scam? Heard of the PDS scam? Heard about Karnataka mining scam? Housing scam in Goa - heard of that? Or BJP leaders involved in Karnataka Ponzi schemes? Farm waiver scam in MP during BJP rule? No? Did you ever wonder how could so many industrialists with loan defaults be able to escape during BJP rule?BJP also has some of the most corrupt people among its leadership, like G Janardhana Reddy in Karnataka, or Mukul Roy in Bengal, a former TMC leader who joined BJP. Then Vasundhara Raje, Amit Shah and his genius son who multiples his money faster than anyone else on earth, to name a few. There dozens more mid-level BJP leaders whose name came forward in some form of corruption.BJP is also a party which allows a CM to withdraw cases on himself. Look at the abuse of power, then try to think that he is a hero in BJP. He is Yogi Adityanath. He owns guns, gaushalas and of course, works 19 hours per day, 1 hour less than Modi’s 20 hour day. These are the heroes of BJP today, wrong numbers of this age, and Gods of the future.Furthermore, the compromise and control by Modi led BJP of SC, CBI, ED, EC, RBI are dishonest behavior which is dangerous for democracy.Modi is also soft on corruption. Before 2014, he vowed setting up fast track courts for MP’s with criminal cases, vowed of bringing back black money from abroad (which accounts for 95% of black money), but did nothing.BJP passed Finance Bill 2017 which made it non-mandatory for companies to declare donations to political parties. Talk of Fascism - early signs can be seen already!Then, think of a party that starts the system of electoral bonds where individuals and companies can invest in a party anonymously and then the same party goes on to get 95% of all investment. It is BJP. Not only this is anti-democratic, but it is also open to exploit by foreign powers and non-state actors. Worse, as per the system “officially”, the receiver does not know the donor. Imagine Monsanto calling up BJP asking for an account number and promising to donate 5 crores and giving it. Tomorrow if bribery charges are investigated, BJP “officially” does not know the 5 crores came from Monsanto. It’s the legalization of bribery. Do you see or hear media talking about it?BJP spend 27,000 crores for election 2019 or about 45% of all money spent by all parties combined…clean money? You must be joking.As the narrative of clean BJP is so successful, who would not vote for an incorruptible party?8. “If not Modi, then who”, Rahul Gandhi is of course ‘Pappu’ and Kejriwal ‘Khujliwaal’ and Mamata “Jehadi didi”.Rahul Gandhi in the past no doubt made immature statements, but he has matured with time. If he has made a joke of politics in pants, made fun of himself in front of Arnab Goswami, then Modi also has told tea sellers to use gas from nullah to heat water, he also advises air force to attack based on cloud cover as ‘apparently’ it will stop radar. He was also that poor tea seller who used mobile phone and Email in 1988. He says to cheering fans “a plus b square into bracket square is equal to a square plus b square plus 2ab. Extra 2ab milta hai yai nahi milta hai?” *more cheers*”. I mean he can say whatever and get away with it.Rahul Gandhi at least takes questions from the press and has the courage to answer spontaneously, unlike the prepared show for Modi. An interview walkout like what Modi did with Karan Thapar would end the career of Rahul, but look where Modiji is today!Let alone press, Modi also attended parliament session 20 times in his last 5 years, 4 times per year. And he works 20 hours per day! He is really the paradoxical Prime Minister.So why Modi is not “Pappu” and Rahul Gandhi “Pappu”? It is the power of BJP’s PR campaign and social media influence.There is a whole gamut of name calling and character smearing tactics for any and all major opposition leaders. People first laughed, then participated in name-calling, then believed in the slander, and finally voted against them.9. The illusion of prosperity, competency and happinessIf people do not look at bad news and only focus on good news, a bubble can be created where everyone is happy. If someone is not happy is inspired via other issues to vote for BJP.Look at the situation with data:Job data “leaked” indicate India is going through a job crisis worsts in 45 years, quietly admitted after the election was over.Just before election, it came out that India dropped from its 6th place in the world economy to 7th place. But that news was suppressed by all major media house and newspapers except NDTV. The news soon got overshadowed by Balakot.GDP ranking (GDP) | Data CatalogPost-election Government admitted that India shot down its own helicopter after Balakot strike.Data on farmer distress and farmer suicide were censored. Farmers themselves feel the pain. But look at the irony here. Many farmers voted BJP going above their instinct to survive because BJP workers told them if you vote for other parties, you vote for anti-Hindu (where the farmer is Hindu), or anti-national, and that other parties do not take care of the army and is soft with Pakistan.A key element of censoring is BJP’s IT cell who manufactures petrol and fire for use of BJP’s army of vitriolic supporters in social media. If something is not spoken about, written about (for fear of cyberbullying), people cannot educate themselves about it.Another key element is the silencing of RTI activists. Officially, 67 RTI activists have been murdered since Modi’s win and hundreds more attacked. Data accumulated by non-government entities put the combined number of murders, attacks and threats at 438 for RTI activists, 76% by BJP goons. It is really shameful that this was not an issue in Indian election. Not only BJP’s PR muscle, but also weak opposition with no strategy is responsible for media silence on this. Strategically placed, this single issue should have been enough to bring down Modi-Shah. [Edit July 2019: As one of Modi’s biggest post-2019 election move, Modi with help of TRS and BJD made RTI officers susceptible to pay cuts, transfers etc, making the RTI Act effectively dead.]BJP perfected the art of timing with publicity. So testing ASAT weapons before election, which was ready for years; coordinating with BJP sympathetic production houses to release movies like Accidental Prime Minister (almost a caricature of Manmohan Singh) to cement the idea that any PM candidate from Congress will be controlled by Sonia; announcing payouts days or months before the election was also very effective.Then consider that a GDP calculation was done based on output from companies 38% of which are either shell companies or invalid entities and they contributed positively to the GDP figures. What an idea Modiji.The hype of progress was also projected by cherry picking success stories like the Train-18, competitiveness indicator ranking (which BTW is calculated by sampling Delhi and Mumbai), bullet train agreement (going to be a one-off white elephant).This illusion of progress is amplified by the worthless opposition who fell under BJP trap of discussion on Nehru and Rajib, Mandir and Masjid, and what not. The opposition should bring up facts and figures, like Modi Government giving 4.3lakh crore tax corporation to big businesses, and that tax break failing to improve the job situation; they should avoid the BJP trap to talk on perception and talk numbers instead- on all issues, not just this.Modi and Amit Shah duo created a hate-filled and negative narrative for all sections of the society to identify with, consume, believe and ultimately vote. The opposition was smeared. Those who didn’t buy BJP’s story in this category were told ‘then who?’ The last resort has been data manipulation or censoring and over representing the little success that was achieved. Result? Votes for BJP.10. Schemes, schemesThis is a story with at least some success and some truth. However, many of Modi’s big flagship schemes are a failure or on the brink of failure.Namami Ganga: Only a fraction of work is done despite a vast amount of money spent. Pollution increased in the last 5 years in many stretches – with one of the worst pollution in Varanasi, Modi’s own constituency.Swachh Bharat: ODF free districts and villages continue to have open defecation as per CAG report. CAG also found many SBM toilets are lying unused after construction. This contrast with the Government’s own report of 93% of villages ODF. It seems a large percent of villages were declared ODF without audit let alone periodic audits. Further, a RICE survey in UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan found 43% of village people still defecate in open contrasting Government reports.Beti Bachao: No quantifiable progress on this which can link any success to this scheme. On the contrary, 56% of the fund allocated to Beti Bachao has been allocated to advertisements alone.Make in India: Manufacturing sector is struggling. Apart from one or two smartphones factory opened in India due to India applying tariff on imported phones, no success to boast off from this re-branded “Made in India” scheme.Jan Dhan Yojna: 91% of accounts opened are without any balance. This is a huge liability for the banks.PM-Kisan: The focus could have been on building storage, providing advisory on yield and quality, ensuring minimum guaranteed price and loan at zero interest or loan payment relief for a few years. Instead, 3 payouts of INR 2000. totalling INR 6000 per year which is better than nothing but not nearly enough, and I thought BJP is against payouts/handouts. Ironically, when any non-BJP government gives payouts, they are defamed as handouts which do not help in the bigger schemes of things, but when any BJP government gives payouts (like in UP by Yogi), they are celebrated as master-stroke.Mudra Yojna (PMMY): The scheme had some initial success, but there is no mechanism to stop frauds. Many fraud cases are being uncovered and many cases of loan to undeserving people or SME are being discovered every day and Mudra loans are turning out to be bad debt by PSU banks. This is a budding crisis as now banks have no idea how much of the money lent will become NPA.Atal Pension Yojna: Met only 11.2% of target. The scheme remains unpopular because Governments own NPS bond gives higher interest.Some schemes with decent starts are AB-PMJAY, PMUY, though both have detractors and it is too early to comment. As for Saubhagya, before even it was launched most works on village electrification was completed in UPA-I and UPA-II era. In 10 years of Manmohan Government, 1,082,280 villages were connected to grid compared to 18,452 by Modi Government. Similarly, NREGA, the continuation of MNREGA has been a success. NPS seems to be good model as well.They will give a view of data in a manner that everything appears as a success, catchy numbers et al, but when you look deep, many are rotting.BJP’s PR machinery has successfully hidden the failures, promoted the success of schemes and gained votes.So what’s next?BJP under Modi and Amit Shah are have embarked upon a project to enforce Hindutva on Indians. Hindutva is a political manifestation of a struggle to make India a Hindu nation. Even 5 years back, the very mention of India being a Hindu nation would have drawn laughs, but more and more demand of Hindu nation is becoming mainstream. BJP is waging psychological warfare on Indians to push the idea of Hindutva. The idea being, to prevent Muslim appeasement or Muslims demanding “Azadi” or prevent “Islamic terrorism”, Hindu nation is the only answer. That day someone told me “What do you care if India becomes a Hindu nation?” If I had any respect for Christian nations of the middle ages, the Islamic nations of the 20th and 21st century, I would not have cared. If I had any respect for Pragya Thakur and Pratap Sarangi, I would not have cared. If I had anything to like about lynchings and riots and Indian mindset regressing to the middle ages, I would not have cared. The guy nevertheless strongly defended the idea. Imagine Congress having a Muslim minister with a charge of terrorism. There would be nationwide riots if a Muslim with terrorism charge gets elected. Get the point?A new norm is catching random people suspected of being thieves or Muslims and thrashing them if they do not chant “Jai Shri Ram”. This is the same thing the world saw in Talibanised Afghanistan where Kafirs were forced to chant “Allah Hu Akbar” and asked to recite verses from the Quran.Sakshi Maharaj once boasted that after 2019, there will be no more elections in India. That’s the worst-case scenario, but it is now somewhat likely that elections will be reduced to formality only. Already there is a push to sell the China model to Indian voters showing China as an example of a successful country with an authoritarian regime. People are buying it. As long as the majority is misled to vote for the wrong causes, a mix of democratic authoritarianism can prevail. So in future India may be a democracy by name, but will be an authoritarian fascist regime with political Hinduism as the driving force.Also, there is a danger of a huge riot instigated by BJP and where BJP will ultimately appear as “saviour” of Hindus from the backlash of Muslims. This can cement BJP’s position for years if not decades.Someone said if you hate someone to your core, your will to defeat them will make you do acts which will rob you of what you are. In its hate of Pakistan, many Indians are demanding another Pakistan, albeit, Hindu.Another trend will continue - manufacture fake history where Sardar Patel and Subhash Bose were nationalistic of the RSS kind and Vivekananda was pro-Hindutva and manufacture a role of RSS in Indian independence. The magic of Modi will also continue wherein amid a job crisis, unemployed educated youths will say “Modiji is right about jobs, I am polishing shoes and an entrepreneur”. That you can never expect from any other leader from any other party. It is a charisma built on illusion, on hate and on the dangerous cocktail of political Hinduism. What’s going on is nothing short of a grand brainwashing experiment of gigantic scale, perhaps the largest since the end of the Cold War. The world does not know that, just like the Indians.I agree on one thing – the uselessness of the opposition. They don’t know what hit them. So unless the other parties unite and understand what’s at stake, Modi will be PM in 2024 and maybe someone from BJP forever. Unless they reach out to public and explain whats happening to India under Modi-Shah, things will not change for the next 20 years.Edit: People, read Jayanta Guha’s comment. He is exhibit one for Amit Shah’s prime strategy (first point), or what happens when one falls for it.P.S.: I am not a Muslim as someone commented below. I was born Hindu, but I am agnostic now, otherwise referred to as “libtard” by Bhakts. I have read the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, several Puranas, Quran, texts from the Old and New Testament and decided to leave all religion. Now I am living with my pseudo secular, commie, libtard, sometime anti-national status.Footnotes[1] MP Giriraj Singh blames Muslims as he calls for a law to control population