Does History Repeat itself or do we Repeat History. The CAP Program, Relic of thePast or Tool of the Future

摘要

This report reviews a number of elements of the Combined Action platoons asimplemented by the United States Marine Corps in Vietnam. Many consider this program one of the few successful operations of the Vietnam conflict. Lessons are learned from the history of the program as applied to Vietnam and in contrasting the strategy of clear and hold (the foundation of the CAP) and that of search and destroy (the strategy generally employed throughout the conflict). The applicability of the CAP concept in future Operations Other Than War is explored and a case is nade to maintain the concept and its elements as a tool for the Operational Commander. Much of the text is relegated to the telling of the story of the program, for it is in the re telling where many lessons are learned.