Knowing The Enemy: Naval Intelligence in Southeast Asia

U.S. Navy Intelligence Contribution Key to SE Asia War Effort from 1965-75

Knowing the Enemy, part of the commemorative series, The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War, covers the Navy intelligence establishment's support to the war effort in Southeast Asia from 1965 to 1975. It describes the contribution of naval intelligence to key strategic, operational, and tactical aspects of the war including the involvement of intelligence in the seminal Tonkin Gulf Crisis of 1964 and the Rolling Thunder and Linebacker bombing campaigns; the monitoring of Sino-Soviet bloc military assistance to Hanoi; the operation of the Seventh Fleet's reconnaissance aircraft; the enemy's use of the neutral Cambodian port of Sihanoukville; and the support to U.S. Navy riverine operations during the Tet Offensive and the SEALORDS campaign in South Vietnam.

Special features elaborate on the experiences of reconnaissance plane pilots navigating the dangerous skies of Indochina; intelligence professionals who braved enemy attacks at shore bases in South Vietnam; the perilous mission in Laos of Observation Squadron 67 (VO-67); the secret voyage of nuclear attack submarine Sculpin (SSN-590); and the leadership and heroism of Captain Earl F. Rectanus, Lieutenant Commander Jack Graf, and other naval intelligence professionals who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives in the service of their country during the war. The work is lavishly illustrated with more than 85 photographs and maps, and includes a select list of suggested readings. This publication will be of interest and value to scholars, veterans, and students of the Vietnam War and the Navy’s role in that conflict.

Related products:

Vietnam War resources collection can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/us-military-history/battles-wars/vietn...

Southeast Asia product collection is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/international-foreign-affairs/asia/sou...

Other products produced by the U.S. Navy, Navy History and Heritage Command can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/902

Table of Contents:

Introduction 1

Interpretation of the Threat to Southeast Asia 5

The Question of Seaborne Infiltration 9

Intelligence Gathering in Laos 13

Collecting Intelligence on the Enemy’s Doorstep 17

Intelligence Support during the Tonkin Gulf Incidents 21

Preparations for War in Southeast Asia 25

Navy Tactical Reconnaissance 29

A Helping Hand to Hanoi: Sino-Soviet Bloc

Military Assistance 41

The Defense of North Vietnam 45

The Post-1968 Air War in North Vietnam and Laos 51

Intelligence and the War on the Coast 55

Cambodia’s Open Door: Sihanoukville 65

The Naval War in South Vietnam 73

Naval Intelligence and the Fight for South Vietnam 77

NILOs in Action 83

Intelligence in the Linebacker Campaign 91

Conclusion 95

Sidebars

A Recce Pilot in Harm’s Way 14

In a MiG’s Sights 30

The Short, Dangerous Life of the Ghost Squadron 32

CT Duty at “Rocket City” 37

Sculpin and the Sinking of an Infiltrating Trawler 69

Zumwalt’s Eyes and Ears 85

Jack Graf: A Naval Intelligence Hero 87

The Authors 98

Acknowledgments 99

Suggested Reading 100

This publication would be useful to new members of the military to train them to recognize the importance of military history to military leadership and strategy.  In addition, this publication would be beneficial to military leaders teaching new recruits, historians and students studying military history, and members of the general public interested in military history.