Map 22 of Maps of SEA in the 1960s

Interdiction Point GOLF     

The Plan

In April 1968, the American forces showed the overwhelming potential of a coordinated interdiction plan.  The plan returned to the proven air interdiction concept: disrupt the enemy flow to force concentrations of lucrative targets, find those targets, and destroy them.  Since the validation phase of Igloo White was complete, analysts believed the sensor system could “... sense concentrated targets of even short duration on a timely basis ....”

Two other factors combined to make April the right time for a large scale interdiction campaign in Laos .  First, President Johnson had directed a halt in bombing of all targets above a latitude of 20 degrees in North Vietnam .  Second, the weather was clearing in the mountainous region around Khe Sanh, and American ground and air forces were driving the North Vietnamese divisions for the perimeter of the besieged base.  Thus, much of the Air Force and Navy strike force was available to attack targets the sensor system discovered.

Once the planners assured that a significant number of aircraft were available, the next step was the choice of a point that would disrupt the normal flow of North Vietnamese trucks. Interdiction Point GOLF, where the road ran along the east side of a karst outcropping, was an obvious choice.  Located on Route 911 about 10 miles north of the Chokes, GOLF was on the most direct route from Mu Gia Pass to South Vietnam .  Thus, Interdiction Point GOLF was the focus of the first widely coordinated effort in Steel Tiger since Operation HUB a year earlier.  Unlike the abortive efforts against the HUB, however, the campaign against GOLF received the priority, the aircraft, and the munitions to get the job done.