The rifle that was carried the most through out the early years of the war was the.
M-14.This weapon was of 7.62 caliber and had a 20 round capacity. Weighing in at a staggering.
10 pounds, the M-14 was a iron and wood WW II relic that was nearing the end of its long and.
exemplary career. It was seen by the troops as tough, battle proven rifle that would stand up to.
the harsh jungle climate but, was becoming obsolete due to a slow rate of fire. .
The battle fatigues of the time were made of a heavy canvas like martial. With no way to.
vent, the utilities trapped the body heat of it's wearer. In a climate that reaches 102 degrees in.
the shade, this was obviously unacceptable. In addition, the utility pants had four pockets. two.
side and to back. These were far to small to carry the needed supplies of an infantrymen. The.
Blouse also had similar problems. the two upper breast pockets, were situated perfectly up and.
down. This made it hard to reach deep into the pocket to retrieve ammunition under combat.
conditions. Also, the buttons had a tendency to stick and not unsnap.
Worn along with the utilities was the all weather boot. Not suited for the jungle, it was.
made totally of leather. In a wet environment, leather provided no ventilation . This promoted.
fungus or "foot rot" and other bacteria native to Vietnam. Constantly having wet feet also took its.
toll on the morale of the soldiers. Dry socks were hard to come by in the early years of the war.
Vietnam was know as the helicopter war. The "chopper" that was in use 1965 was the.
CH-46 Jolly Green Giant. This big and slow helicopter was lightly armed with a single .30 caliber.
machine gun in the door. A Korean war veteran, the "Jolly Green" made the infantry highly.
mobile and deployable at a short notice. However had a significantly limited range and pay load.
capacity.
After 1965, both sides in the Vietnam conflict started changing their strategies. General.
Nguyen Chi Thanh, commander of the main Vietcong force , began to push for a Phase 3 general.
