As a result, new methods and ideas were constantly being invented to deceive the enemy as to the insertion of these teams. As the war went on, the NVA became more proficient at detecting the insertion of small patrols and anticipating probable LZs for the teams.
When that was the case it was desirable to prep the LZ with gunships, to at least make any NVA get under cover, or at best di-di the area. Mission requirements didn’t always make it feasible to use a natural LZ, so sometimes man made clearings had to be used. Kinda’ like a shell game, but much more deadly.
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The preferred landing zone was a natural clearing, just large enough for a lift ship to get into after a series of false insertions or other deceptions, designed to mask the real LZ and confuse the enemy. The hill tops and ridge lines of northern I corps were dotted with clearings made by engineers or fire power from past battles, and the enemy watched these LZs. During the last years of the Vietnam war, it was a common NVA practice in northern I Corps to use LZ watchers on likely helicopter insertion landing zones. Would it be a cold LZ? Or were the NVA waiting. These were the critical seconds when everyone involved, held their breath in anticipation of what might come.
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During helicopter insertions, the team and air crew were at their most vulnerable when suspended between the transition of full forward flight, and while flaring into the landing zone for a touch down. A missions successes or failure depended on an insertion that allowed a team to get in undetected, or at least free of enemy contact upon insertion. By Randy White, With input from the L Company and 2/17 Cav personnel involved.įew participants of long range patrol mission's would argue against the fact that the most critical time of a mission was the insertion.
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