arrived at its new post in September 1971, and the following January the brigade headquarters was inactivated while some of the brigade's elements were reassigned to the 101st.[1]
In June 1972 the last two U.S. combat brigades, the 3d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, and the 196th Infantry Brigade, left Vietnam. The cavalry brigade rejoined its parent unit at Fort Hood, replacing the 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, while the 196th was inactivated at Oakland, California. The last brigade element, the 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry, departed Vietnam in August 1972, marking the end of U.S. Army divisions' and separate brigades' direct participation in the war in Vietnam.[2]
Shortly after the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam had begun in 1969, President Nixon adopted a new doctrine for military involvement in world affairs. He based the "Nixon Doctrine" on several principles; the United States would honor all treaty commitments; it would provide a shield if a nuclear power threatened one of its allies or a nation whose survival was considered vital to U.S. national interest; and it would offer military and economic assistance to its allies when requested, But the United States expected a nation directly threatened to assume primary responsibility for its own defense, Following these principles, Nixon directed a 20,000-man reduction of Army forces in Korea by 30 June 1971. To accomplish that goal, the 7th Infantry Division concluded its 21-year stay in Korea and returned to Fort Lewis, where it was inactivated on 2 April. Its departure left only the 2d Infantry Division, now reorganized to consist of two armor and six infantry battalions, augmented by Korean forces.[3]
With a smaller Army the nation could no longer maintain two brigades in Alaska, and Westmoreland decided to eliminate one. In September 1969 both brigades had been reorganized from mechanized to light infantry as modernization and cost-saving measures. U.S. Army, Alaska, chose to inactivate the 171st Infantry Brigade and reorganize the 172d. Under the new alignment a light infantry battalion and the reconnaissance troop were stationed at Fort Wainwright. while two light infantry battalions and the remainder of the brigade base were at Fort Richardson. The reduction of forces in Alaska was completed by November 1972.[4]
By May 1972 post-Vietnam retrenchment had cut the active forces by about 650,000 men from its peak wartime figure of 1.5 million. The number of Regular Army divisions fell to twelve, and only four special-mission brigades remained. The divisions, particularly those in the United States, were far from being effective fighting teams. The vicissitudes of the war in Vietnam and the reductions in the size of the Army combined to erode combat effectiveness. The decline in unit capabilities had been less abrupt than in 1919 or 1945–46 but just as alarming.
The years between 1965 and 1972 had been tumultuous for both the Army and the nation. Organizationally, however, the ROAD concept had proved sound. The active Army increased more than 66 percent during this period, and divisions
- ↑ Memo for Record, Vincent M Russo, Asst Sec of the Gen Staff, 22 Jun 71, sub: Stationing of the 173d Airborne Brigade, and Msg, ACSFOR to CG, CONARC, 172206Z Dee 71 sub: Organization of 101st Abn Div (Ambl) in CONUS, both 173d Abn Bde file, DAMH-HSO.
- ↑ Ltr, TAG to CinC, USARPAC, and other addresses, 5 Jun 72, sub: Letter of Instruction for the Twelfth Incremental Redeployment of US Army Forces from RVN, DAAG-PAP-A (M) (24 May 72) DAMO-ODT, and Ltr, TAG to CinC, USARPAC, and other addresses, 10 Aug 72, sub: Letter of Instruction for the Thirteenth Incremental Redeployment of US Army Forces from RVN, DAAG-PAP-A (M) (2 Aug 72), DAMO-ODT, both Vietnam Redeployment file, DAMH-HSO.
- ↑ Nixon, Public Papers, 1969, pp. 905–06; Ltr, TAG to CinC, USARPAC, and other addresses, 22 Jun 71, sub: Letter of Instruction for Redeployment of US Army Forces from the Republic of Korea, ADGA-A (M) (8 Jun 71) OPS OD TR, Korea, Redeployment of Units 1971–1972 file, DAMH-HSO; GO 162, Sixth US Amny, 1971, 7th Inf Div file, DAMH-HSO.
- ↑ US Army Alaska, "Annual Historical Summary, 1 Jul 68–30 Jun 69," p. 14, 1 Jul 69–30 Jun 70, p, 17, DAMH-HSR; Department of the Army Historical Summary, 1972, p. 10; GO 657, US Army Alaska, 1972, 171st Inf Bde file, DAMH-HSO.
