Word: arvn
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...task and role of the U.S. in Viet Nam, Abe Abrams' appointment represents a rare mating of man and mission. As Westmoreland's deputy commander, Abrams has spent the past ten months working with ARVN (the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam) to shape up its structure, stiffen its spine and improve its performance. In their extremely violent Jet offensive, the Communists unwittingly showed that Abrams has had some success: to the surprise of many Americans and the consternation of the Communists, ARVN bore the brunt of the early fighting with bravery and elan, performing better than...
...reason for the shift in emphasis back to ARVN is that Hanoi has proved able to match the U.S. buildup through proportionate infiltration into the South, and that President Johnson has concluded that total military victory in Viet Nam is not possible at an acceptable cost in men or years. The result is a fundamental decision, reached in the past several weeks during a post-Tet "A to Z" reappraisal of the war by the Administration, to get the South Vietnamese ready to fend for themselves, as they would have had to do sooner or later. The decision was made...
...more Americans for Viet Nam, rather than the 135,000 to 200,000 that Westmoreland had wanted, thus represents a tacit de-escalation of the war by the U.S. Since Lyndon Johnson has no intention of handing over South Viet Nam to the Communists, the new strategy depends on ARVN's ability to learn to fill the combat boots now being worn...
...tough, plain-speaking New Englander and onetime tank commander who could inspire aggressiveness in a begonia. Retired Army General Bruce C. Clarke, who commanded Abe Abrams in World War II, bluntly calls him "the No. 1 fighting general in the Army." Moreover, Abrams will have the advantage of knowing ARVN better than any American in Viet Nam ever has. The South Vietnamese are unlikely to be able to put much over on him, or promise what he knows they cannot deliver. And by temperament and the terms of his new assignment, the cigar-chomping Abrams will likely...
Elsewhere, the Communists pose a constant threat. The allied military presence has never been strong, for example, in the southernmost IV Corps, which comprises the rice-rich Delta; now it is weaker than ever. The ARVN and Popular Forces fled from the countryside at the onset of Tet, and have been slow to return. The U.S. has only two brigades of the Ninth Infantry in the Delta. Their energies have been fully taxed by the patrols required to keep open Route Four, over which food supplies flow to Saigon...