Spycraft - Melton [163]
A seaworthy rubber raft known as the Zodiac, which grew out of a TSS project code-named RB-12 during the Korean Conflict, became the mainstay of amphibious infiltration operations into North Vietnam. These rafts carried landing teams launched by the modified junk mother ships to the insertion points along the coast. To track the rafts after launching, the techs adapted “cherry top” flashers similar to those used on early police cars, lining them with Kodak gelatin filters (numbers 87, 87C, 88A, or 89B) through which light only in the infrared spectrum passed. When lit from within, the covert “flashers” were invisible to the naked eye, but could be seen by using a T-7 metascope—a hand-held, battery-operated infrared optical device.13
Training of poorly motivated Vietnamese guerilla fighters proved problematic. “The Vietnamese government provided the requisite numbers of bodies for sabotage and harassment operations, but they were unqualified, and difficult to train,” Jameson explained. “Many of the young men they supplied were just people the government wanted to get off the streets, city kids, and not country boys who understood how to hunt and shoot. We kept saying, without much response, ‘give us some country boys, and don’t give us these city thugs.’”
This became apparent during one covert mission that called for a CIA-trained four-man Vietnamese team to infiltrate the North and destroy a bridge on Highway 1, cutting off—at least temporarily—a major Vietcong supply route. As planned, the team would launch from the junk in a Zodiac raft, land on the beach, trek five miles inland to the bridge, plant the time-delayed charge, then hike back to the Zodiac hidden on the beach and return to the junk.
On the night of the operation, the team launched on schedule and began reporting their location by radio as the Zodiac approached the landing site. At the command post on the junk, Jameson noted the progress as the team reported reaching “point one,” “point two,” and “point three.” The mission looked good. A few minutes later came the next report: “point three,” then “point two.” Clearly, the team was returning. When the Zodiac pulled alongside the junk, one of the Vietnamese team members pointed to water in the bottom of the raft from what seemed to be a leak.
Jameson, skeptical, inspected the raft and found multiple holes—all made by knife blades. When questioned, team members admitted that after launch they had become frightened and sabotaged the mission. “Those guys went to jail,” Jameson recounted, “but we learned an important lesson. Find a higher caliber of agent. We recruited four Nungs and trained them for the operation.”
Several weeks later the Nung team launched from the same junk and encountered no trouble reaching the beach, landing, or finding the right trail to the bridge. Following the operational plan, they attached the explosive charges to the bridge support structure. Once secured, they activated the time-delay devices and departed the area using a different trail than the one used to approach the target. Overhead photos the next day confirmed that the bridge “dropped” exactly as planned.
Other high-value targets called for a more creative approach. A North Vietnamese petroleum depot that provided fuel for equipment moving into South Vietnam was one such a target. Unlike