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THE XVIII AIRBORNE CORPS DURING THE VIETNAM WAR
As we continue our journey through the past 70 years of XVIII Airborne Corps history, we find ourselves in the period between 1962 and 1973, a time in which the US became increasingly embroiled in the Vietnam War.
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As we've seen, during this time, the 101st Airborne Division deployed to the Vietnam War for virtually the entire US commitment there. The XVIII Airborne Corps HQ and all other Corps units, however, were kept out of Vietnam, just as they were kept out of the Korean War.
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SecDef Robert McNamara believed a showdown with the Soviets or other Communist friendly forces might occur at any time. Therefore, the XVIII Airborne Corps was kept back in the US as a ready reserve to deploy elsewhere if needed.
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In fact, the Corps' Immediate Response Force mission was a higher DoD priority than Vietnam and the XVIII Airborne was funded at a higher level than deploying units.
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The stunning 1968 North Vietnamese Tet Offensive alarmed McNamara into mobilizing dozens of units to deploy quickly. Still, only one brigade from XVIII Airborne went in response: 3rd Brigade of the 82nd.
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With 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne deploying to Tet, the Army gave the 82nd another brigade: 4th Brigade of the 82nd stood up just after 3rd Brigade deployed, bringing the 82nd back to three brigade on Fort Bragg.
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So, even in 1968, when the American commitment to Vietnam peaked with 549,500 US Soldiers in that war, the XVIII Airborne's Immediate Response Force mission was so important that the Corps activated a new brigade to stay on Fort Bragg to replace the one deploying to the war
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