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The Air Close To The Trees: Evolution And Innovation In U.S. Army Assault Helicopter Units During The Vietnam War, Adam Thomas Givens

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the Vietnam War the United States Army's use of assault helicopters was unprecedented in modern warfare. Although planners originally anticipated their utilization on a European battlefield rather than against an insurgency, Army Aviation adapted, allowing them to overcome an uncertain future. Due to the unconventional nature of the conflict, continual revisions in tactics, techniques, and procedures ensured that assault helicopter doctrine was never concrete, but always shifting. Multiple factors influenced these developments, and manifold channels of dissemination allowed combat knowledge ultimately to influence training and doctrine. This thesis finds that previous works focus too heavily upon the initial large-scale …