During Udorn meeting last Saturday, 2 I had my staff give Generals Westmoreland and Momyer a briefing on operation Commando Lava, which we have been conducting in Laos. var script = document.createElement("script"); The U.S. Air Force had already begun to up the ante in its anti-infiltration campaigns by unleashing B-52 Stratofortress bombers against the trail in December 1965. [64] Regardless of the constant American belief that its enemy was on the verge of collapse, PAVN maintained and expanded its logistical flow to combat units in the field and managed to launch major offensives in 1968 and 1972 and a counteroffensive in 1971. The first aircraft successfully dropped its payload on the target and escaped enemy fire. During the campaign, ten American aircraft were lost to SAMs (mostly SA-2 Guidelines) and another thirteen were lost to more conventional weapons.[58]. It was decided to divide Commando Hunt into numerically designated phases that reflected the seasonal weather patterns in southern Laos. After operations resumed, between 25 and 29 July 1967 inclement weather still prevented the third mission from being conducted. On 22 July 1967, the operation was suspended to examine whether a change in tactics should be made. The targeted roadway was seen as being soft and deeply rutted despite no significant rainfall since the mission had been flown. The chemical compound was various referred to as "soap" or "detergent," but was in fact a mixture of Trisodium Nitrilo-triacedic acid and Sodium Tripolyphosphate. [43], The Air Force estimated that during the year there were 3,375 trucks working the trail system in southern Laos, yet it claimed that 12,368 enemy trucks were destroyed during the year.
Every day—at its height—hundreds of tons of material made its way south. [52] This highlighted what was now rapidly becoming a dual dilemma for the Air Force: First, the gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Southeast Asia meant that there were fewer and fewer air assets available with which to conduct more and more missions. They were to have two objectives: First, to reduce the enemy's logistical flow by "substantially increasing the time needed to move supplies from North Vietnam to the south;" second, "to destroy trucks and supply caches along the roads, pathways, and streams and in the truck parks and storage areas along the Trail."[11]. An informal motto associated with the program went: “Make mud, not war.”, The program was conducted with the utmost secrecy. Fearing a breach of security and accusations of a chemical warfare campaign, personnel were instructed to describe the mixture as a “compound, solution, or material.”.