Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence in the Mayaguez Incident: Who's on First?

Abstract

On 15 May 1975, U.S. military forces successfully recaptured the U.S. container ship Mayaguez and her crew from Cambodian Khmer Route forces. Considered a strategic success, the effort was hampered by numerous flaws at the operational level. Because of the strategic implications of hostage rescue missions, it is imperative that the application of operational art be done in the most thorough manner possible. This paper will examine some of the failures of the Mayaguez incident at the operational level with specific focus on the operational functions of command control, communications and intelligence. Lessons learned will be determined and checked for applicability today in the hope of preventing the shortfalls identified in Mayaguez from occurring in the future.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 13, 1998
Accession Number
ADA348566

Entities

People

  • Stephen E. Bates

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Asia
  • Boats
  • Command And Control
  • Communication Equipment
  • Geographic Regions
  • Helicopters
  • Islands
  • Lessons Learned
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Navy
  • Reconnaissance
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control