During the investigation Secretary of Defense McNamara was asked what would happen if the uprising failed and he replied, "They would be split up into a guerilla force and move to the Escambrays [Escambray mountains],"" but the mountains were at least sixty miles from where the expatriates landed (Kesaris 202). From the beginning of the operation, Kennedy made it apparent that the guerilla option was vital, but "Nobody pointed out that the mountains were so far away,"" so location is clearly one of the factors that hurt the expatriates (Wyden 102)-. .
The anti-Castro expatriates were poorly trained and poorly informed by the CIA. The CIA assured the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of Defense that the troops could go guerilla, but they were far from being prepared. Operation Zapata reveals that the expatriates were not even told of the possibility of going guerilla:.
Question: Was there any mention of your becoming guerilla?.
Mr. Estrada (Cuban expatriate): No, we had no plan to go the mountains (Kesaris 296).
Question: Was there ever any talk, when it appeared things were becoming critical, of going guerilla?.
Mr. Betancourt (Cuban expatriate): Not that I know of.
Question: During your training, was there any talk of this?.
Mr. Betancourt: No (310).
During the troops' training the CIA assured that they would be covered by the United States, "The air above the beaches will be yours,"" but "the president never promised the Cubans U.S. air cover (Skelly 46)."" They were also told that the Marines would be right behind the Cuban invaders. What is known for certain is that Kennedy authorized early warning destroyers, "provided they stay at least 30 miles from Cuban territory (Kornbluh 306)."" In The Secret CIA Report on the Invasion of Cuba: Bay of Pigs Declassified, a lack of procedure is identified:.
The agents on the ground did not have a standard procedure for air reception (most of them had not been trained).