The Combined Action Platoons

Created as a response by the U.S. Marines to what was known as the other war in Vietnam, the Combined Action Program (CAP) was comprised of platoons each combining a 14-man marine rifle squad, a navy corpsman, and a platoon of South Vietnamese militia. These CAP units were unique to the war, as their function was to "capture and hold" rather than to search and destroy. Peterson not only provides a valuable historical account of the program but also analyzes the civic action and community development projects undertaken by the CAP marines. His study is done with an eye to the future as U.S. counterinsurgency has again found expression in other Third World conflicts.