to the Cuban Missile Crisis

by

Major John M. Young

United States Marine Corps Reserve

Occasional Paper

HISTORY AND MUSEUMS DIVISION

HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

1990

to the Cuban Missile Crisis
 

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by
 

Major John M. Young
 

United States Marine Corps Reserve
 

Occasional Paper 

HISTORY AND MUSEUMS DIVISION
 

HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS
 

WASHINGTON, D.C.
 

1990
 
The device reproduced on the front cover is

the oldest military insignia in continuous use

in the United States. It first appearqd, as

shown here, on Manne Corps buttons adopted in 1804. With the stars changed to five

points this device has continued on Manne

Corps buttons to the present day.
When the Russians Blinked:

The U.S. Maritime Response

to the Cuban Missile Crisis

by

Major John M. Young

United States Marine Corps Reserve

Occasional Paper

HIS'IORY AND MUSEUMS DIVISION

HEADQUARTERS, US. MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

1990
Other Publications in the Occasional Papers Series

Vietnam Mitones Workshop: Plenary Session. Jack Shulimson, editor 9 May

1983. 31 pp

Vietnam Revisited Conversation with Willunn D. Broyles, fr Colonel John

G. Miller, USMC, editor 11 December 1984. 48 pp

Bibliography on Khe Sanb USMC Partic4'ation. Commander Ray W

Strubbe, CHC, USNR (Ret), compiler April 1985. 54 pp.

Alligators, Buffaloes, and Bushmasters. The History of the Development

ofthe LJ'T Through World ¡Tarif Major Alfred Dunlop Bailey, USMC (Ret)

1986. 272 pp.

Leadership Lessons and Remembrances from Vietnam Lieutenant General

Herman Nickerson, Jr., USMC (Ret). 1988. 93 pp

The Problems of US. Manne Corps Pnsoners of War in Korea James Angus

MacDonald, Jr 1988 295 pp.

John Archer Lejeune, 1869.1942, Register ofHis Personal Papers lieutenant

Colonel Merrill L Bartlett, USMC (Ret). 1988. 123 pp

To Wake is/and and Beyond Reminiscences. Brigadier General Woodrow

M Kessler, USMC (Ret). 1988 145 pp

Thomas Holcomb, 1879-1965, Register of His Personal Papers Gibson B

Smith 1988 229 pp.

Curriculum Evolution, Manne Corps Command and Staff College,

1920-1988 Lieutenant Colonel Donald F Bittner, USMCR. 1988 112 pp

Herringbone Cloak GiDaggerj Mannes ofthe OSS Major Robert E Mattingly, USMC 1989 315 pp.

The Journals ofMarine SecondLieutenant Henry Bulls Watson, 1845 -1848

Charles R Smith, editor. 1990 420 pp
Foreword

The History and Museums Division publishes as "Occasioilial Papers" for limited distribution,

various studies, theses, compilations, bibliographies, monographs, and memoirs, as well as proceedings of selected workshops, seminars, symposia, and similar colloquia, which it considers to be

of significant value fbr audiences interested in Marine Corps history These occasional papers, which

are selected for their intrinsic worth, must reflect structured research, present a contribution to

historical knowledge not readily available m published sources, and reflect original thought and

content on the part of th author, compiler, or editor It is the intent of the division that these

occasional papers be distributed to selected institutions, such as service schools, Department of

Defense historical agencies, and directly concerned Marine Corps organizations, so the information contained therein will be available for study and exploitation

When the Russians Blinked The US Maritime Response to the Cuban Missile Crisis is the

thesis written by Major John M Young, USMCR, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

a master of arts degree, which he received in 1989 at the University of Tulsa Most of his research

into Marine Corps documentation was conducted at the Manne Corps Historical Center in the

Washington Navy Yard

Major Young is a native Oklahoman who graduated from Sapulpa High School, the University

of Oklahoma (1972), and the University of Oklahoma College of law (1974), from which he received

the degree of juris doctor He served as a Marine Corps judge advocate from 1975 to 1979, followIng which he transferred to the Marine Corps Reserve Major Young is a practicing attorney in

Sapulpa and active in local civic affairs He is a member of a number of professional legal and

military societies and is currently the logistics officer for the Marine Corps Mobilization Station

at Oklahoma City

This paper concerns the period in October 1962, when US aerial surveillance revealed that

the Cubans were busily setting up sites for missiles delivered to Cuba by the US S R Major Young

notes that surprisingly little has been written about the military response to the Cuban Missile

Crisis, as it became known In conducting his research, the author was,able to have declassified

many formerly top secret operations plans and command diaries of US Navy and Marine Corps

units which, as he writes, "formed the core of a massive quarantine and planned invasion force

that was larger than the Allied invasion force on D-Day" in 1944 Major Young traces the history

of the U S -Cuban relationship over the years, and the Kennedy Administration's response to the

discovery of nuclear missiles in Cuba targeted at the United States Ue also analyzes naval planning by a study of applicable maps, intelligence reports, and troop deployment orders for a contingency aimed at Cuba Finally, the author discusses the probable effect on Russian leaders of

an American invasion of Cuba and a quarantine of Soviet vessels bound for Cuba Major Young

concludes his paper with an assessment of the effects that the crisis continues to have on relationships with Cuba and Latin America as a whole

The History and Museums Division believes that this occasional paper is a significant addition

to the literature of the event In pursuit of accuracy, we welcome comments on this publication

from interested individuals and activities

EDWIN H SIMMONS

Brigadier General US Marine Corps (Retired)

Director of Marine Corps History and Museums
THE UNIVERSITY OF TULSA

TRE GRADUATE SCHOOL

WREN THE RUSSIANS BLINKED: THE U.S.

MARITIME RESPONSE TO THE

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

by

John Mark Young

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

in the Discipline of History

The Graduate School

The University of Tulsa

1989

Cc) Copyright 1989 by John Mark Young
THE UNIVERSITY OF TULSA

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

WREN THE RUSSIANS BLINKED

THE U.S. MARITIME RESPONSE TO THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

A THESIS

APPROVED FOR THE DISCIPLINE OF

RIS TORY

By Thesis Committee

Chairperson

Ph.D.

Ph.D.

(c) Copyright 1989 by John Mark Young

ii
ABSTRACT

Young, John Mark (Master of Arts in History)

When the Russians Blinked: The U.S. Maritime Response to the

Cuban Missile Crisis (236 pp. - Chapter XIII)

Directed by Dr. Thomas H. Buckley

(150 Words)

Surprisingly very little has been written about the

military response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The author, a

major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, has obtained the

declassification of many formerly top secret operations plans

and command diaries of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps units

which, in less than a week, formed the core of a massive

quarantine and planned invasion force that was larger than

the Allied invasion force on D-Day.

This paper traces the history of the United States'

relationship with Cuba and our response to the discovery of

nuclear missiles there targeted at our homeland. The naval

planning for a Cuban contingency is analyzed through its

actual implementation with the assistance of maps,

intelligence reports, and troop deployments. The probable

effect of the invasion plans on Soviet leaders and an

assessment of the effects that the Crisis continues to have

on US. policy toward Latin Pmerica are also discussed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is difficult to adequately acknowledge the

contributions of all those who have helped to make this

project a reality. Credit for the original idea must be

given to Colonel Allan R. Millett, the prominent historian of

the U.S. Marine Corps. If the finished product has any

merit, it is certainly due to the patience, guidance, and

inspiration of Dr. Thomas H. Buckley, my advisor and the

chairman of my thesis committee at the University of Tulsa,

Dr. Patrick Blessing, who "pulls double duty" as my

commanding officer in the USMCR and Dr. Marvin Will, the

University's Caribbean specialist. No research paper is any

better than the research upon which it is based, and no

researcher could hope for more helpful assistance than that

provided by Henry Shaw and Joyce Bonnett at the Marine Corps

Historical Archives. I must also thank my secretary, Becky

Stair, who cheerfully burned almost as much "midnight oil" as

the carrier Independence did during the Crisis to type draft

after draft of the manuscript. Last, but far from least, I

can never fully thank my wife, Debi, for her encouragement to

"reach for my dream."

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Approval Page ii

Abstract iii

Acknowledgment iv

Table of Contents y

Chapter I

"U.S. - Cuba Relations - 1898-1962"

Chapter II 18

"Probing the Tiger"

Chapter III 37

"The Commander in Chief in Command"

Chapter IV 55

"Naval Preparations Prior to the Crisis"

Chapter V 75

"Anchors Aweigh -- To Cuba"

The Quarantine 75

Task Force-135 84

Anti-Submarine Force Operations 88

South Atlantic Force Operations 90

Submarine Operations 93

Service Force Atlantic Operations 95

Chapter VI 97

"The Cuban Threat"

Weather, Terrain and Inhabitants 97

Cuban Naval Forces 103

Cuban Air Forces 105

Enemy Ground Forces 108

Chapter VII ill

"The Big Picture"

Chapter VIII 120

"The Reinforcement of Guantanamo"

Chapter IX - 136

"Go East, Marine"

Chapter X 148

"Aviation"

V
Chapter XI - 156

"Staff Planning" - G-1 Administration 157'

G-2 Intelligence 158

G-3 Operations 160

G-4 Supplies and Combat Service Support 164

Chapter XII 17

"Soviet analysis of 'the Caribbean Crisis"

Chapter XIII 185

Conclusion

Bibliography 203

appendix 1 209

Map-Gulf, Caribbean and atlantic Coast krea

Appendix 2 210

Operation Plan

COMNAVEASE GTMO/CTG 84.9 No. 316-62

Enemy Naval Forces

Appendix 3 214

Operation Plan

COMNAVBASEGTMO/CTG 84.9 No. 316-62

Enemy Air Forces

Appendix 4 218

COMNAVEASE GTMO/CTG 84.9 No. 316-62

Enemy Ground Forces

appendix 5 221

Glossary of Acronnts

Appendik 6 - 225

Chronology of the- Cuban Missile Crisis
CHAPTER I

U.S. - CUBA RELATIONS 1898-1962

In the middle of October 1962, New York City was still

exulting in the victory of the seemingly indominatable New

York Yankees over the San rancisco Giants at the World

Series. Optimism was high at NASA's Jet Propulsion

Laboratory as the Ranger V spacecraft streaked into space,

hoping to reach the moon after four previous failures.

Arnold Palmer and Bob Hope exchanged quips at the Denham Golf

Club near London promoting their new movie "Call Me Bwana."

On the evening of October 22, 1962, John P. Kennedy,

merica's most youthful president, announced his intention

to address the nation. At 7:00 p.m., from the President's

office, that address stunned the nation and caused the entire

world to recoil in fear. In words that many mericans

remember as if it were yesterday, President Kennedy

announced:

Gôod evening, my fellow citizens. This Government,

as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance

of the Soviet military buildup on the island of

Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence

has established the fact that a series of offensive

missile sites is now in preparation on that

imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be

none other than to provide a nuclear strike

capability against the Western Hemisphere...

We no longer live in a world where only the

actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient

challenge to a nation's security to constitute

maximum peril...

. To halt this offensive buildup, a strict

quarantine on all offensive military equipment

under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All

1
ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever

nation or port will, if found to contain cargos

of offensive weapons, be- turned back. This

quarantine will be extended, if needed, to other

types of cargo and carriers...

¿It shall bethe policy of this Nation to regard

any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any

nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by

the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring

a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union..

.1 have reinforced our base at Guantanamo...

.-. Under the Charter of the United Nations, we are

asking tonight than an emergency meeting of the

Security Council ,be convoked without delay to take

action against this latest Soviet threat to world

peace. Our resolution will calL for the prompt

dismantling and withdrawal of all offensive weapons

in Cuba, under the supervision of the U.N.

observers, before the quarantine can be lifted.

The cost of freedom is always high--but

Americans have always paid it. And one path we

shall never choose, and that is the path of

surrender or submission.

-Our--goal is not the victory of-- might, but the

vindication of right--not peace at the expense

of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here - in this hemisphere, and, we hope, around the

world. - - God willing, that goal will be achieved.

thank- you'ánd good night. 1

The President's speech confirmed the worst

suspicions of some that the Soviet Union had long been

initiating a secret buildup of offensive missiles in Cuba. 2

The announcement came as a complete surprise to those who

Kennedy,

United States

D.C. 1963, pp.

Sorensen,

1965 p. 672.

John F.

1982, U.

806-9.

Theodore

Public Papers of the Presidents of the

S. Government Printing Office, Wash.

C;, Kennedï, Harper and Row, New York,
wanted to "wish" the world to peace. To the Soviet

leadership in the Kremlin, there was anxiety that the missile

site preparations had been discovered--and confusion about

what to do now that their adversary had chosen to make the

issue public.3

Without prior public warning, the world was at the brink

of nuclear devastation that could have killed 100 million

Americans, over 100 million Russians, and millions of

Europeans. Never before in the history of the world had the

possiblity of such swift and widespread destruction been so

imminent. Never before had leaders of the world held the

fate of civilization itself in the balance. Never before had

two men had the awesome power to reduce so much of humanity

to ashes.

In the month which followed the President's

announcement, some Americans frantically constructed nuclear

fallout shelters. World leaders struggle&to somehow pull

the world back from the trigger of war. The United States'

armed forces planned a military operation that would have

dwarfed the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. Within hours

of the command of the President of the United States, a

quarter of a million servicemen from all the armed services

as well as navy units from other countries of the Weitern

Hemisphere would have launched an air, naval, and amphibious

3. Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr., A

Kennedlin the White-Rouse, Houghton

1965, p. 820; Talbott, Strobe, ed.,

Little, Brown, & Coupany, Boston 1970,

!PY John F.

Miff lins to., Boston

Khrushchev Remembers,

p. -497

3
operation to 'attack and invade Cuba, an 'island only 90 mile

f röm Ehe southeastern tip ¿f Florida.

In order to understand the thilitary response to t

crisis, an understanding of Pmerica's historical a

strategic relationship with Cuba is essential. merican

are fond of sentimentally crediting their coup di main ov

western hemispheric security to the Monroe Doctrine in whi

their new country baldly asserted fts authority ±o protec

the Western Hemisphere from Euròpean domination. In 

address to Congress on December 2, 1823 president Jam

Monroe, the fifth president of the fledglingUnited State

in a message'of "sheer- braggadocio'" proclaimed:

[W]e should consider any attempt on their part

[European countries or Russia] to extend their

system 'to any portion' of- this hemisphere as

dangerous to our peace and safety... we could not

view ny interposition for - the purpose of

oppressing them, or controlling in any other

manner their destiny, by any European power

in any other light than as the manifestation

of an unfriendl' thspòsition toward the United

States.4

Two avenues of advance into the Tmeri.cas concern

President Monroe. Tne first was Russia's expansionary thru

on the northwest Pacific coast and the second was t

expansion of their colonial interests in Latin merica 

the Spanish, Vrench, and English. The British forei

4: Buckley', Thomas 'H; and Strong, Edwin B. Jr., Mìeric

Foreian and NationaLsecurity Policies, 1914-1945 Universi

of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1987, p. 4.
secretary had invited the United States to join his country

in opposing the expansion by any other colonial powers in

Latin America. President Monroe and his Secretary of State,

John Adams, decided it would be better for the United States

to make a unilateral statement, knowing that British seapower

would back-up the policy.5

Prior to that time, following European discovery,

America had been developed primarily as British colonies and

Cuba had been a Spanish colony. The United States proclaimed

its independence in 1776 and won it by military action in

1781, but, by the end of the nineteenth century, Cuba still

remained a Spanish colony under a harsh, exploitive colonial

administration. By the end of the nineteenth century,

America had consolidated its colonial expansion, and had

achieved military power sufficient to challenge that of the

former European colonial powers, even though it had not been

exercised in any significant external capacity.

American foreiçrn investment had also increased. By

1896 America's investment in Cuba had reached $50,000,000 and

the following year its annual trade with Cuba was about

$27,000,000.6 The political sivation in Cuba, however, was

tense. Inspired by the poet, Jose Marti, the efforts of

Sellers, Charles and May Henry, A Synopsis of American

History, Rand McNally & Co., Chicago, 1969, pp. 103-4.

Smith, Robert F., The United States and Cuba: Business and

Diplomacy 1917-1960, Bookman Associates, New York, 1960,

p.24 - -

s
Cuban nationalist elements seeking independence from Spa

escalated to war on February 24, 1895. Fighting spre

throughout the island and Spain deployed more than tw

hundred thousand troops to subdue its colony. Both sid

killed civilians and burned estates and towns, but t

"yellow press" in the United States intensified the passio

of Americans in sympathy with the nationalists to achiev

independence from Spain. By 1898 commerical activity betwe

the United States and Cuba had fallen to a standstill and 

mysterious explosion aboard the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harb

precipitated a chain of events that prompted the Unit

States to declare war against Spain on April 25, 1898.

America's efforts on behalf of its tiny neighbor durin

the Spanish-American War are still preserved with popul

reminiscences of Teddy Roosevelt's leading the First Regime

of the United States Calvary, nicknamed the "Rough Riders

in its victorious charge up San Juan Hill. Traditions 

the U.S. Marine Corps are also well entrenched on the soil 

Cuba. The first American casualties of the war in Cuba we

two Marine privates involved in the action to sei

Guantanamo Bay from Spanish forces. The United States Na

had blockaded Havana Harbor and pursued the elusive Spani

fleet, finally bottling it up in Santiago Bay, 40 miles we

of Guantanamo.7 The decision was made to establish a ba

7. McNeal, Herbert P., lIt. cmdr. USNR, "How the Navy W

Guantanamo Bay", Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 79, Ju

1953, pp. 615-9
7

at Guantanamo Bay and a battalion of Matines from Key West

joined the fleet off Santiago. The Marines landed on June

lO, 1898 and embarked on a land campaign which would soon

seize the Well of Cuzco which provided the only fresh water

to Guantanamo City. During this action Sergeant John H.

Quick earned the Medal of Honor by bravely exposing himself

to enemy fire in order, with his back to the enemy, to signal

the U.S.S. Dolphin offshore to provide naval gunfire support.

Guantanamo Bay was soon occupied and, after the surrender at

Santiago, was used as a base to launch the U.S. invasion of

Puerto Rico 500 miles to the east.

Five years later in 1903 the United States and Cuba

formally approved a treaty lease agreement establishing a

U.S. naval base at Guantanamo, whose value to the Navy to

control Caribbean sea lanes soon became obvious. Over a half

century later the naval base at Guantanamo the focus of

worldwide attention in the United States' efforts to secure

the removal of offensive weapons from Cuba.

The motivation behind America's assistance to the cause

of Cuban independence in the Spanish-Pmerican war has been

long debated. Many have accused America of surreptitiously

intending to exploit Cuba by securing its independence from

Spain, but some historians, particularly Samuel Flagg Bemis,

strongly assert that kmerica's true intention was to assist

Cuba in obtaining independence from Spain; insuring its

proper development as a nation free from meddling or

interference by foreign, particularly European, power áñd
by assisting it in establishing a constitutional legal

framework for government.8

Cuba won its independence on January 1, 1899 and self

rule began under the U.S. military occupation of General

John Brook who had accepted the Spanish surrender. A. resolution of Congress passed on April 20, 1898 inserted the

Platt Amendment into the Cuban constitution which granted

America the right to intervene in the internal affairs of

Cuba, to oversee international commitments, dominate the

economy, intervene in internal affairs, and establish a naval

station at Guantanamo Bay.

American military occupation did restore nonna1itr.

Americans built schools, roads, bridges, deepened f avana

Harbor, paved streets, repaired and extended the telephone

and telegraph systems, started sewer works, and made

significant advances against yellow fever. The intent of the

military occupation authorities was to prepare the island for

incorporation into the United States.

America's naval interest in the Caribbean was also

awakening at the turn of the century. The U.S. Navy had

grown along with America's merchant shipping. Spurred by

such far-thinking navalist thinkers as Capt. Alfred Thayer

Mahan, public opinion became more aware of the need for an

isthmusiah canal, not only to expedite maritime commerce but

8. Bemis, Samuel Flagg, T Latin American Policy of the

United State: An Historical Interpretation, W.W. Norton &

Co., Inc., New York,- 1943, pp. 128-141
also to facilitate the rapid shifting of naval fleets between

Atlantic and Pacific theaters. 9 As interest in the maritime

and security implications in the Caribbean increased, so did

interest in the land countries and governments in the region.

On September 14, 1901 Teddy Roosevelt succeeded to the

presidency when President William McKinley was assassinated.

Twice during his tenure European powers threatened to

intervene in Latin America. To meet a threat of possible

permanent intervention Roosevelt and Secretary of State Elihu

Root framed a policy in 1904 that became known as the

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Under the

Roosevelt Corollary, the United States eagerly assumed the

role that the public now so often disdains. As "world

policeman" the United States undertook to maintain law and

order in Latin America and to guarantee that Latin American

nations met their international obligations. This policy

prohibited non-American intervention in Latin American

affairs, but asserted the right of the United States to do

so. In the early part of the Twentieth Century, the United

States' Latin American neighbors received, either willingly

or unwillingly, trie assistance of U.S. Marines in forming and

managing their governments.l0

Mahan, Alfred Thayer, Tiì Influence of Sea 9! Qpon

llL!2ffl 11ZM Little, Brown, and Co., Boston 1897 p.88

Langley, Lester D., Central America: The Real Stakes

Crown Publishers Inc., New York, 1985, pp.3-17

9
In the decades following World War I, America's vas

economic potential depended on surplus production and expor

for its vitality, the proceeds of which could best be sol

and invested abroad. American business thus developed 

vested interest in the stability of Latin America whic

became an important market for the American economy. 1

america's policies toward Cuba prior to 1959 wer

bittersweet. America was often very generous in extendin

loans for economic development to Cuba and in grantin

extensions in the repayment of those loans. Along with th

loans, however, came "big stick' economic coercion to insur

eventual debt repayment. The unfortunate result was 

growing anti-American sentiment among the Cuban people. T

appease this sentiment, America finally agreed to abrogat

the Platt Amendment by treaty on May 29, 1934, thu

demonstrating some cautious confidence in Cuban nationalism

Although left largely to "chart" their own course, the Cuba

governments which emerged were fraught with problems.

The Cuban people's patience with their corrupt, mal

administered governments finally climaxed with the defeat o

the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. The victor was th

charismatic revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, who had le

guerilla forces for the two years that it took to overthro

the Batista government. t first the course of th

revolution was unclear and the United States courted Castro

11. Smith, The United States and Cuba: Business an

Diplomacy, pp.33-7

r
good graces. But Castro permitted no elections and the only

political organization in the country was modeled after that

of communist nations.

Finally, the nationalization of hundreds of millions of

dollars of U.S.-owned property brought the undisguised

hostility of the American government. The United States

reduced its sugar quota in 1960, followed with a total trade

embargo, and in January, 1961 severed diplomatic relations.

Some have argued that America should have done more "soul

searching" of its own to understand that some of the

hostility toward America was the inevitable result of its own

"big stick" economic policies, but the fact remains that Cuba

pursued a policy of direct antagonism toward the United

States and embraced aid and political and military ties with

the Soviet Union and its eastern bloc allies.12

Through the covert efforts of the Central Intelligence

Agency sponsored by the popular Eisenhower administration, in

the 1950's the United States had been successful in

overthrowing the governments of a number of under-developed

countries which were unfriendly or acting inimically to

United States' interests.l3 In 1953 the C.I.A. had assisted

the Shah of Iran to return to power after an

overbearing and eccentric prime minister unfriendly to

Plank, John N., "The United States and Cuba:

Cooperation, Coexistence, or Conf lict," A chapter in The

Restless Caribbean by Richard Millett and W. Marvin Will,

ed., Praeger Publishers, New York, 1978, pp.117-31

Wise, David and Ross, Thomas B., The Invisible

Government,- Bantam Books, New York, 1964, 116-121, 177-96

n
the West had seized control.14 His appetite for covert

operations whetted, President Eisenhower then authorized the

C.I.A. to depose the left-leaning elected president of

Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz, in 1954.15 Engulfed in what had

been described as a "clandestine mentality," a mind-set that

thrives on secrecy and deception, 16 the Eisenhower

administration also authorized the formulation of

"Operation Zapata", an attack by a force of C.I.A.-trained

Cuban exiles upon their homeland at the Bahia De Cochinos

(Bay of Pigs).l7 Before the operation could be implemented,

however, Eisenhower's term expired and the term of President

Kennedy began.

President Kennedy inherited the plan on January 20, 1961

when he was briefed on the operation by the C.I.A. as

president-elect in Palm Beach. He could have cancelled th

plan, but, as his special counsel, Theodore C. Sorensen

notes, he was under tremendous pressure to continue:

But the CIA authors of the landing plan not only

presented it to the new President, but as was

perhaps natural, advocated it. He was in effect

asked whether he was as willing as the Republicans

Pahlavi, Mohammed Rega, Answer to History, Stein an

Day, New York, 1980, p. 91

Schlesinger, Stephen, and Kinzer, Stephen, Bitter Fruit

Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, New York, 1982, pp.159-72

Marchetti, Victor and Marks, John D., The CIA and th

Cult of Dell Publishing Co., New York,l980

p.5.

Higgins, Trumbull, The perfect Failure: Kennedy

Eisenhower, and the C.I.A. at the B of Ps, W.W. Norton 

Co. New York, 1987.
to permit and assist these exiles to free their

own island from dictatorship, or whether he was

willing to liquidate well-laid preparations, leave

Cuba free to subvert the hemisphere, disband an

impatient army in training for nearly a year under

miserable conditions, and have them spread the word

that Kennedy had betrayed their attempt to depose

Castro. Are you going to tell this 'group of fine

young men,' as Allen Dulles posed the question

later in public, 'who asked nothing other than

t»e opportunity to try to restore a free government

in their country.. .ready to risk their lives.. .that

they would get no sympathy, no support, no aid

from the United States?' Would he let them

choose for themselves between a safe haven in

this country and a fighting return to their own, or

would he force them to disband against their

wiShes, never to be rallied again?18

Kennedy would later complain bitterly about his advisers that

"the first advice I'm going to give my successor is to watch

the generals and to avoid feeling that just because they were

military men their opinions on military matters were worth a

damn" .19 The invasion force was a highly motivated band of

Cuban exiles intent on overthrowing the Castro government in

favor of a democratic form of government. Known as Brigade

2506, the unit consisted of approximately 1,500 Cuban exiles

who were trained by the C. r. . in highly secret training

camps in Guatemala. The invasion force was even supported by

an. air force consisting of C-46 and C-54 transport aircraft

and a few B-26 medium bombers. 20

Sorensen, Ken dy, pp. 295-6

Higgins, The Perfect Failure, p.167

An excellent summary of the military aspects of the

operation is available at the Command and Staff Library of

the U.S. Marine Corps., English, Joe R., Maj. USMC, "The Bay

13
At a routine weekly press conference on april 12, 1961,

in response to a question, President Kennedy stated his

policy toward Cuba. That statement was later to hamper his

freedom of action during the actual Bay of Pigs invasion:

First, I want to say that there will not be, under

any conditions, an intervention in Cuba by the

United States armed forces. This government will

do everything it possibly can, and I think

it can meet its responsibilities, to make sure

that there are no Americans involved in any actions

inside Cuba... The basic issue is not one between

the United States and Cuba. It is between the

Cubans themselves. I intend to see that we adhere

to that principle and as I understand it, this

administration's attitude is so understood and

shared by the anti-Castro exiles from Cuba in this

country . 21

The actual invasion struck in the early morning hours of

April 17, 1961 when a force of 1,443 exiles landed on the

southern shores of Cuba. They established a beachhead

against overwhelming numbers of Cuban forces and held it for

3 days. The brigade imposed a 10 to 1 kill ratio on the

Castro forces, losing only 114 men during the invasion while

the Castro forces lost approximately 1,250 men. Because of

President Kennedy's pledge, he refused to order air support

or logistical support from the naval carrier task forces

offshore and, without the air support and the popular

uprising predicted by the C.I.1L., the operation was doomed to

failure. Eventually, a total of 1,189 men of the Brigade

cont. of Pigs: A Struggle for Freedom", Student Thesis,

James Carson Breckenridge Library Marine Corps Command &

Staff College, Marine Corps Development & Education Command,

Quantico, Va. 1984.

Kennedy, Public Pa2ers of the President1 1962, p. 258

1
became Castro's prisoners. One hundred and fourteen had died

in the swamps and around 150 made their way to safety in one

way or another.22 On April 8, 1962, following a four day

trial, the men of Brigade 2506 were sentenced to thirty years

imprisonment. Eventually, ransom was paid for their release,

and on Christmas Eve, 1962, the last planeload of prisoners

landed in Miami.

In the inevitable investigation which always follows in

the wake of a military debacle, General David Shoup, the

Commandant of the Marine Corps who was to serve President

Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and who possessed

vast experience in amphibious operations from Tarawa in World

War II, complained that the clandestine operation was so

secret that he did not have absolute and complete knowledge

about it and was only asked his opinion about which of three

potential landing sites was preferable.23 The United States

Marines, the nation's military force most experienced in the

conduct of amphibious operations, was not consulted at all in

the detailed planning of the operation.

For this and a host of other reasons beyond the scope of

this paper, the effort was a dismal failure, President

Kennedy admitted his mistake to the nation in a

radio/television interview on November 16,. 1962, 24 but,

eulogized the sacrifices of the Brigade when they returned to

English, "Bay of Pigs", p. 88

Operation Zapata: T! rflasensitive" Report and

Testimony of the Board of inquiry on the Bay of Pigs,

University Publications of America, 1981, p. 249

15
the United States.25 That failure was also to plague t

Kennedy administration during its conduct of the Cub

Missile Crisis only eighteen months later.

Much has been written analyzing the political a

strategic implications of the Cuban Missile crisis. Large

because most military aspects of the Cuban contingen

planning have until recently remained classified, very litt

has been written analyzing the military operation planned 

attack and invade Cuba. Many of these records are n

available under the Preedom of Information Act.

The world remembers the naval quarantine of Cuba as t

successful means used to pressure the Soviets to remove the

missiles. But arrayed behind the picket line of ships was 

air/ground invasion force that threatened not only 

neutralize the missile sites, but also to remove t

communist government of Fidel Castro, then the communist

only prospect of a toehold in the Western Hemisphere.

This paper, based largely on formerly classifi

military operational plans, orders, and records, and comma

diaries, will concentrate on the operations and planning 

the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps to implement t

President's declared quarantine of Cuba and an invasion 

the island if ordered.

24. Pimerican Foreign Policy Current Documents 196

Reflections on U. S. Policy During the Cuban Missile Crisis

Replies made by the President (Kennedy) to Questions Asked 

the Television-Radio Interview "After Two Yeats-

Conversation With the President," December 16, 1962 (Exetpt

U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1962, p

469-71
25. 1A2 Forejgn Policy Ç1!! !It P22!a'flt!L 12 "Some

Day the People of Cuba Will Have a Free Chance to Make a Free

Choice:" Remarks Made by the President (Kennedy) to the

Cuban Invasion Brigade, Miami, December 29, 1962 (Exerpts),

u. s; Government Printing Office, 1962, pp. 471-3

17
CHAPTER II

PROBING TITE TIGER

At 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning, October 16, 1

President Kennedy, scanning the morning newspapers in 

bedroom, was interrupted by his National Security Advis

McGeorge Bundy, who informed him that intelligence analy

at the C.I.A. believed that the Soviet Union was construct

medium range missile bases in Cuba.l Bundy had been brie

at his home the previous evening by top C.I.A. officials 

their conclusions. Kennedy took the news calmly, but 

surprised and angry at Khrushchev's efforts to deceive him

The President requested a private briefing on the mat

to be followed by a briefing to a list of officials which 

asked Bundy to summon. At 11:00 a.m. the private brif

was conducted by the C.I.A.'s deputy director, Gene

Marshall Carter, who spread enlarged U-2 reconnaissa

flight photographs before the President. The evidence 

unequivocal. The missiles were there, they had nuc

capability, they had a range sufficient to reach most of 

United States, and they would shortly be operational.

The formal meeting of the invited staff members bega

11:45 a.m. in the cabinet room. The ad hoc group pre

would later be called the "Executive Committee" of 

National Security Council (ExComm) and inclu

1. Sorensen, Kennedy, p. 673

18
State: Secretary Dean Rusk, Under Secretary George Ball,

Latin-American Assistant Secretary Edwin Martin,

Deputy Under Secretary Alexis Johnson and Soviet

expert Liewellyn Thompson. (Participating until

departing for his new post as Mibassador to France

the following night was Charles "Chip" Bohlen.)

Defense: Secretary Robert McNamara, Deputy Secretary Roswell

Gilpatric, Assistant Secretary Paul Nitze and

General Maxwell Taylor (newly appointed Chairman of

the Joint Chiefs of Staff).

C.I.A.: On the first day, Deputy Director Carter;

thereafter (upon his return to Washington),

Director John McCone.

Other: Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Treasury Secretary

Douglas Dillon, White House aides Bundy and

Sorensen. (Also sitting in on the earlier and

later meetings in the White House were the Vice

president and Kenneth O'Donnell. Others--such as

Dean Acheson, Adlai Stevenson and Robert Lovett--

sat in from time to time, and six days later USIA

Deputy Director Donald Wilson, acting for the

ailing Edward R. Murrow, was officially added. )2

Robert Kennedy admitted rather candidly following the

briefing that what the photo intelligence experts insisted

were missile bases under construction in a field near San

Cristobal appeared to be nothing more than the clearing of a

field for a farm or the basement of a house. Everyone else,

including the President himself, had the same initial

reaction. 3

At this point President Kennedy must have felt some of

the despair once experienced by the prophet Job who lamented

that "[t]he thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and

that which I was afraid of is come unto me." 4 The president

was, in the midst of a fierce congressional election campaign

Ibid., pp. 674-5

Kennedy, Robert F., Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban

Missile Crisis, New American Library, New York, 1968, p. 24

Job 3:25

19
Keating,

Sess., Vol.

Kennedy,

Sen. Kenneth, Congressional Record, 88th Cong. 2

108, pp. 18359-18361.

Robert F., Thirteen Days, pp. 25-6

a scant three and a half weeks away. The administration was

under sharp attack by many critics. Led by Senator Kenneth

Keating, a Republican from New York, they charged that the

Kennedy administration had been weak in combating communism

in Cuba. Particularly, in a manner which Senator Keating

never disclosed, he had learned that the Soviets wer

installing surface to air missiles (SAM's) similar to thos

which shot down Gary Powers1 U-2 earlier during th

Eisenhower administration while flying a reconnaissance

mission over Soviet territory.5 Others, such as Senato

Homer Capehart of Indiana were urging that the United State

take direct military action against Cuba.

Robert Kennedy had previously expressed the President'

deep concern over the Soviet military build-up in Cuba t

their ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin, wh

assured the attorney general that there would be no ground-t

-ground missiles or offensive weapons placed in Cuba. H

further asserted that the Cuban build-up was nothing o

significance and that, during the period prior to th

election, Khrushchev would do nothing to disrupt th

relationship of the two countries because he "liked Presiden

Kennedy and did not wish to embarrass him. "6 This informa

pledge was in keeping with what has been described as an un

written "rule" of the game of super-power diplomacy that bot
i

21

parties must recognize the legitimacy of leadership of the

other and not seek to undermine the other's leadership. This

unwritten rule has in fact been observed by both sides since

Stalin's death during such crises in leadership as the

ultimate deposition of Khrushchev following the Cuban Missile

Crisis, the Johnson administration's consuming fixation with

Vietnam, the collapse of Nixon's authority as a result of

Watergate, and the paralysis of the Kremlin resulting from

the illness and death of three Soviet leaders in quick

succession within less than three years. 7

During the following two weeks, U-2 photos and other

intelligence operations were to identify a wide variety, of

Soviet military equipment in Cuba which included:

Six sites for medium range ballistic missiles (MRBM)

were under construction. Each had four launch positions which

were capable of firing two missiles. This totaled 48 MRBM's

with an effective range of 1,000-2,000 nautical miles. In

its October 28th report the C.I.A. stated that all MRBM

launchers were in operation. The location of the IRBM and

MRBM sites are depicted in Figure 1 and the range of the

Soviet missiles is reflected in Figure 2.

Three fixed sites of intermediate range ballistIc

missiles (IRBM) having four launch positions each were also

under cons trùction. This toc.aled twelve launchers for

missiles with a range of 2200 nautical miles. On October

7. Gaddis, John Lewis, The Long Peace: Inquiries into the

History of the Cold War, Oxford University Press, New York,

1987, pp. 242-3
¡AN CRISTOUAL

ItthM tOMPLEX

1-OCATION OF MRBM AND 11113M SITES IN CUBA

JA VANA

ISLE 0E PINES

CUAN Ai AY

IRBM COMPLEX

'e

Reprinted from Brune, The Missile Crisis of

October 1962.

FIGURE 1

SAGUA IA GRANM

'-4

o 10G

NAUT$CAL MILES

MRBM COMPLEX

REMEDIOS IRBM

U.S. NAVAL RASE
Reprinted from Brune, The

Missile Crisis of October 1962

FIGURE

Range of Soviet Missires

23
25th, the C.I.A. estimated that one base would 

operational by December ist, and the other two by Dece

15th. However, no IRBM warheads reached Cuba.

Forty-two two un-assembled IL-28 (Beagle) bom

arrived at two Cuban airfields in early October, only s

of which were finally assembled. The bombers had a ro

trip range of 600 nautical miles.

The nuclear missiles sites were surrounded b

total of 24 surface to air missile (SAM) sites. Each 

site had six launchers with missiles in place and three 

load missiles available, each of which could hit targets 

an altitude of 80,000 feet with a horizontal range of 

nautical miles. Most SAMs had become operational by Oct

23rd.

Four cruise missile sites were located near 

beaches and harbors capable of launching naval cr

missiles with a range of 40 nautical miles. These 

designed to defend against invading ships or amphib

operations.

The ports of Mariel and Banes held twelve high-

KOMAR patrol boats each of which carried two 20 foot cr

missiles with a range of 10 to 15 nautical miles.

Forty-two of the latest MIG-2l jets designéd 

intercept aircraft with speeds up to 1,000 knots at 4

feet equipped with air to air missiles had been delive

Additionally, Cuba had received 40 MIG-l5s and MIG-l7s 

to July, 1962.
8. By October approximately 22,000 Soviet soldiers and

technicians were estimated to be sationed in Cuba to

assemble, operate, and defend the Soviet missiles. Soviet

infantry were stationed in defense of four major missile

installations including a regimental armored group equipped

with 35 to 40 T-54 medium tanks, free rocket over-ground

(FROG) tactical nuclear rockets with a 20-25 nautical mile

range and modern anti-tank missiles nicknathed the SNAPPER.8

President John F. Kennedy, on that day a youthful 45

years of age, was faced with the greatest strategic challenge

that had ever been presented to an American president in the

Cold War, either before or to date since. Sitting before

the President in the cabinet room on that autumn morning were

some of the most experienced, intelligent, influential--and

over-bearing--men that were available to the United States

government to provide leadership and guidance. How the

United States would respond, whether by inaction, diplomacy,

or war would be decided by these men. Whether they would

succeed in their intended response would largely depend upon

their confidence in leading and supervising their

subordinates and their confidence in their respective

8. C.I.A. reports of October 23rd thru 28th, 1962, ExComm

National Security Files, JFK Library, Boxes 315-316. CIA

reports for October 1962 are available on microfilm; Paul

Kesaris, ed., "C.I.A. Research Reports: Latin America, 1946-

1976." University Publications, Frederick, Md:, 1982.

Portions of the C.I.A. reports of October 21st, 25th, 26th,

are in Dan Caldwell, Missiles in Cuba: A Decision-Making Game

Learning Resources in International Studies, New York, 1979,

pp. 5-20.

25
H 

positions. The man who would ultimately bear t

responsibility for the consequences was the President of t

United States. Whether he would be the clerk of the

talented, forceful men or their leader would depend upon h

personal ability to project his influence to them and to t

world. 9

At the conclusion of the first meeting, Preside

Kennedy directed that more aerial reconnaissance missions 

conducted. The film taken by high altitude and low altitu

reconnaissance planes would total more than 25 miles 

length. 10 The President also ordered that those prese

set aside all other tasks ta make a prompt and intensi

survey of the dangers and all possible courses of action a

enjoined everyone to the strictest secrecy until both t

facts and the United States response could be announce

Giving the surface impression that nothing was amiss, t

President continued to make scheduled public appearances.

The most perplexing questions in the next few days w

why the Soviets had embarked upon such a rïsky, unprecedent

«i venture to station nuclear missiles in close proximity 

Mierica. As recently as September 19th, the United Stat

tntelligence Board had issued a national intelligen

estimate which concluded that the Soviet Union did not int

to place offensive missiles in Cuba. The Kremlin had never

)e5tt, Richard E., Presidential Power: The Politics 

Leadership, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1960, p.2

Sorensen, Kennedy, p. 68
even stationed missiles in Warsaw Pact nations and the board

believed the Soviets would consider Fidel Castro too unstable

to be trusted with them. il The lone dissenter in this

conclusion was the Central Intelligence Director, John

McCone, who, as late as August 29th, had been the only

Kennedy official who believed that Khrushchev's plans went

beyond the construction of SAM bases. However, throughout

September he had been honeymooning on the Prench Riviera and

it is probable that the U.S. intelligence operation had been

affected by his absence. Because, however, he was such ah

ardent anti-communist, many did not give serious

consideration to his opinions and he was perceived to be a

devil's advocate whose warnings on Soviet intentions were

routinely down-graded by both his colleagues and by the

President.

During their deliberations, ExComm advanced five

theories to explain the Soviets' motives in placing the

missiles in Cuba. Graham Allison in his classic,

Essence of Decision, 12 and others have identified and

expounded upon the five hypotheses.13 The theories and a

brief explanation of each follows:

Brune, Lester H., The Missile Crisis of October 1962: A

Review of Issues and References, Regina Books, Claremont,

Calif., 1985, pp. 38-9

Allison, Graham T., Essence of Decision: Epìaininq the

Cuban Missile Crisis, Little Brown & Co., Boston, 1971, pp.

40-56

Sorensen, Kenne4y, pp. 676-8

27
Hypothesis 1: Bargaining Barter. The previo

Eisenhower administration had basically forced Turkey 

allow United States Jupiter missiles to be installed on 

soil. By this time the missiles were obsolete and Presid

Kennedy had previously ordered their removal. T

characteristics of the operation cannot sustain the cla

that the Soviets made the initial move intending to force t

removal of the missiles from Turkey. First, the Sovi

missile deployment was much larger than the single squadr

of Jupiter (15 missiles) deployed in Turkey. Secondly, 

the intention had been to eventually withdraw the missile

it is probable that the Soviets would have avoided 

expense of permanent TREM sites. Because of the earli

Berlin airlift, Khrushchev had found that the Americ

commitment to Berlin was un-shakable and would probably 

unwilling to utilize Cuba as a bargaining chip for Berlin 

fear that an American response would mean wa

Hypothesis 2: Diverting trap. If the United Sta

could be goaded into attacking tiny Cuba, the allies would 

divided, the U.N. horrified, Latin Americans would bec

more anti-American than ever, and America would be diver

while Khrushchev moved swiftly in on Berlin. This theory w

discounted because of the presence of a large number 

Russian military personnel which would have discouraged 

United States from attacking the missile sit

Additionally, if the Soviets had wanted an attack upon Cub

their intelligence as late as October 28th predicted t
29

they would only have had to wait a few more days than they

did before agreeing to withdraw the missiles and an attack

would have occurred. The United States was in fact prepared

to attack by October 30th if the Soviet Union had not

announced its intention to withdraw the missiles on the 28th.

Hypothesis 3: Cuban Defense. The earlier Bay of Pigs

invasion had been a faint-hearted effort, but it had whetted

the appetite of hawkish congressmen and Cuban refugee groups.

A large amphibious exercise PHIBRIGLC-62, was at that time

in progress in which a force of 7,500 Marines supported by 4

aircraft carriers, 20 destroyers, and 15 troop carriers

planned to storm the coral beaches of Vieques Island off the

southeastern coast of Puerto Rico to overthrow a mythical

dictator named Ortsac (Castro spelled backwards). The

Soviets' later admissions of the presence of the missiles

claimed tht Cuban defense was in fact the reason they had

been installed. It is significant, however, that no one in

the United States government believed that the deployment of

Soviet missiles was truly intended to deter a U.S. invasion

of Cuba, although Castro's defeat was certain if the Marines

did attack.l4

Hypothesis 4: Cold War Politics. Undertaken in secrecy,

the success of Khrushchev's plan to install the missiles

required a fait accompli. Confronted with operational

14. Garthof f, Raymond L., Reflections on the Cuban Missile

Crisis, Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. 1987, p. 25
missiles, the United States would be too timid to risk 

nuclear war and too concerned with legalisms to react wi

determined resolution. according to this hypothesis t

Soviets predicted that the United States, when confront

with operational missiles, would merely protest through t

United Nations or other diplomatic channels and by doing 

would make tacit admissions to the world that the Monr

Doctrine, the Rio Treaty, and the President's own wor

carried no backbone. Perhaps the President's refusal 

provide the decisive air support that Brigade 2506 needed f

the success of its mission encouraged Khrushchev to "pro

the tiger." During one of the ExComm meetings, Ambassad

Charles Bohlen quoted an old adage of Lenin which compar

national expansion to a bayonet thrust: "If you stri

steel, pull back; if you strike mush, keep going." 

America failed this test of will, Khrushchev could mo

forward in a more important place, such as West Berlin or 

put new pressure on American overseas bases, but with t

strength of nuclear missiles pointed at America's back. Th

hypothesis represents the most widely accepted explanation 

the Soviet move and was accepted by the President himself.

Hypothesis 5: Missile Power. Since the launch 

Sputnik I in 1957, there had been such general panic 

America concerning a missile and technology gap in Americ

strategic defenses that it became a political issue whi

helped propel Kennedy to the Presidency. However, by t

early sixties it was widely recognized, at least 
government circles, that the gap that did exist was strongly

in favor of the United States. Khrushchev himself realized

this, and, partially because of the adverse strategic

balance, he had twice failed in his offensives against

Berlin. By stationing nuclear missiles so close to America,

a first strike could destroy America's B-52 strategic bomber

force on the ground, which required a 15 minute alert. At a

fraction of the cost of matching the United States' landbased arsenal and the rapidly developing sea-based Polaris

submarine-launched ballistic missile system, the Soviets

could drastically alter the strategic balance. This

hypothesis explains the introduction of IRBM's and offers the

most satisfactory explanation of the Soviet intentions,

according to Allison. 15

At the president's direction, most of the following week

was spent analyzing all possible courses of action and

weighing the arguments for and against each. Allison has

summarized the six general courses action considered as

follows:16

Course of Action I: Do nothing. American vulnerability

to Soviet missiles was nothing new, but all in FxComm agreed

that some action was required to counter this significant

cha.11enge to American power and prestige. Otherwise, no

American commitment would be credible.

Allison, Essence of Decision, p. 55, See also Garthof f,

Reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis, p. 26

Allison, Essence of Decision, pp. 56-62

31
Course of Action TI: Diplomatic pressures. The Unite

States could make diplomatic appeals through the Organizatio

of merican States, the United Nations, make secre

approaches to Khrushchev, or even propose a summit meeting

The possibility of U.N. action was slim since the Russian

could veto any proposed actions and their ambassador

Valerian Zorin, was then chairman of the Security Council

Any diplomatic initiative would result in demands for U.S

concessions. ExComm eventually concluded that this approac

was untenable since the missiles would shortly be operationa

and any "deals" might confirm the suspicions of our wester

allies that the United States would yield our resolve o

European security when a direct challenge was made to our ow

security.

Course of Action III: A Secret approach to Castro. Th

United States could privately threaten Castro by warning h

that his alternative was the downfall of his government an

attempt to split him from the Soviet camp. The weakness o

this alternative was that the missiles belonged to the Sovi

Union, not to Castro, and he had no direct control over them

The removal would, therefore, require a Soviet decisio

anyway.

Course of Action IV: Invasion. A sizable amphibiou

task force was already in the vicinity and could simply 

diverted to Cuba. The United States could then "kill tw

birds with one stone" by removing the missiles and Castro 

the same time. However, this alternative practical
33

guaranteed an equivalent Soviet move against Berlin.

Course of Action V: Surgical Air Strike. Many members

of ExComm and the President himself on Tuesday and Wednesday

preferred this alternative. Former Secretary of State, Dean

Acheson championed this alternative to very lucid and

convincing arguments. General Curtis LeMay, the Air Force

Chief of Staf f, also argued strongly with the President that

some type of military attack was essential.17 Listening to

the air strike proposals, Robert Kennedy passed the famous

note to his brother upon which was written "I now know how

Tojo felt when he was planning Pearl Harbor." 18 As this

course of action was analyzed, however, it became apparent

that any air strike, to be successful, could hardly be

"surgical." It would require a massive attack of at least

500 sorties which would kill Russians and whose success in

destroying all of the missiles could not be guaranteed.

Ultimately, the President discounted this alternative because

there was no guarantee of success and because it was contrary

to strong American traditions against surprise attacks

without warning, particularly against such a tiny nation.

Course of Action VI: Naval Blockade. The naval

blockade is an act of war and in violation of the U.N.

Charter and international law, unless the United States could

obtain a two-thirds vote supporting such action in the O.A.S.

Kennedy, Robert F., Thifl pp. 36-8

Ibid., p. 31
The blockade of Cuba could invite a similar reprisal again

Berlin. During the blockade period, the Soviets would ha

additional time to complete construction of the missi

sites. Castro might attack the Navy ships blockading t

island or attack Guantanamo. It would offer the Sovie

time to delay. Despite these disadvantages, it did have so

advantages. It would be aggressive enough to communica

firmness, but not as precipitous as a first strike, it wou

avoid a direct military clash if Khrushchev kept Soviet shi

away. Its primary advantage was that it exploited o

significant naval strength. Any U.S. naval blockade in t

Carribbean at our doorstep would be invincible. The blocka

also avoided the dangers of using strategic forces to comp

the Soviets to withdraw and permitted the United States 

exploit the threat of subsequent non-nuclear steps in whi

it would enjoy significant superiority.l9 The use 

military force, coupled with the making of stro

administration coercive statements, has frequently in t

Cold War achieved favorable results. 20

Despite all the hawkish rhetoric that had recently be

Kaplan, Stephen S., Diplomacy of Power: Soviet Arm

Forces as a Political Instrument, Brookings Institutio

Washington, D.C., 1981, p. 675. But, without at least t

implicit threat of further action such as an air strike 

invasion, the blockade alone could not have forced t

removal of missiles already present, Allison, Essence 

Decision, p. 64.

Blechman, Barry M. and Kaplan, Stephen S., Force Witho

War: U.S. Armed Forces as a Political Instrument, Brookin

Institution, Washington, D.C., 1978, pp. 115-8
4

bantered about Washington, surprisingly few members of ExComm

supported an invasion. Some did argue that a blockade would

seem indecisive and that an merican airborne seizure of

Havana and the government was the best alternative. But, with

a blockade, invasion was a last step, not the first. At the

conclusion of the meeting of ExComm held at 2:30 p.m. on

October 20th, according to Sorensen, "...there was a brief,

awkward silence. It was the most difficult and dangerous

decision any president could make, and only he could make it.

No one else bore his burdens or had his perspective.11 21

The time had come for the President of the United States

to make a decision. The decision he would make could change

the course of humanity. It could mean the difference between

peace and war, humiliation or prestige, victory or defeat. He

knew that the entire human race would be affected by either

war or surrender. Finally the President announced his

decision--to impose a naval blockade around the island of

Cuba and to intercept and sink if necessary any Soviet or

other ship attempting to take war materiel to the island.

The President had truly been the leader of those whom he had

chosen to be his advisors. He had forced them to question,

to reconsider, to fully evaluate the alternatives. The

decision he made was tailored to make maximum use of Zmerican

strengths--superior naval force--and minimized any effort to

exploit political advantage out of the situation. Re

carefully deleted from the speech he intended to give to the

21. Sorensen, Kennedy, p. 694

35
ThId., p. 702

Ibid., p. 702

American people any reference to any effort to remove Cast

from power.

At 5:00 p.m. that afternoon the President met with so

twenty congressional leaders. He had them recalled fr

campaign tours and vacationing spots all over the countr

some by jet fighters and tzainers. Sorensen glibly notes th

"members of both parties campaigning for re-election glad

announced the cancellation of their speeches on the groun

that the President needed their advice." 22 Many disagre

with his intended action. He rejected all suggestions 

reconvening Congress or requesting a formal declaration 

war. tater he would state that "if they had gone through t

S day period we had gone through--and looking at t

alternatives, advantages and disadvantages--they would ha

come out the same way that we did." 23

That evening President Kennedy on national televisi

addressed the nation that had chosen him as the Commander 

Chief of their armed forces. The United States had played i

hand to the nation and the world. What has become known 

the "Cuban Missile Crisis" had officially begun.
CHAPTER III

TRE COMMANDER IN CHIEF IN COMMAND

Now that the crisis was public knowledge, the pace of

events quickened. Some Americans reacted with panic, but

most took pride that their country was taking a strong stand

for its defense. Essential military preparations to be

discussed in subsequent chapters had already taken place.

More were put into action. Prime Minister Harold MacMillan

of Great Britain telephoned his support. Many allies

complained about not being consulted but, despite some

equivocation by Canada, the N.A.T.O. Council and Charles

DeGaulle of France pledged their backing. By Tuesday the

Republican congressional leaders, including Senator Keating,

called for complete support of the President. The flood of

telegrams received at the White Rouse expressed confidence

and support in the President by a ratio of 10 to 1. 1

The United States requested a meeting of the U.N.

Security Council and called, as a provisional measure under

Article 40 of the Charter, for the immediate dismantling and

withdrawal from Cuba of all missiles and other offensive

weapons, 2 and Cuba requested the Security Council to

consider the act of war committed by United States in

Sorensen, Kennedy, p. 707

State, Department of , &nerican Forejgn Policy 1962, U.S.

Government Printing Office, p. 404

37
ordering the naval blockade. 3 anticipated, debate in t

United Nations was fierce. Nabassador Adiai Stevenso

although he had been strongly in favor of a diplomat

response in ExComm, argued the United States positi

forcefully. t 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 23, the deba

commenced with Stevenson1s delivering a scathing attack 

Soviet post-war policies followed by a summary of the dra

resolution on offensive weapons in Cuba:

I have often wondered what the world would be like

today if the situation at the end of the war had

been reversed--if the United States had been

ravaged and shattered by war, and if the Soviet

Union had emerged intact in exclusive possession

of the atomic bomb and overwhelming military and

economic might. Would it have followed the same

path and devoted itself to realizing the world of

the Charter?

This draft resolution calls, as an interim measure

under Article 40 of the Charter, for the immediate

dismantling and withdrawal from Cuba of all

missiles and other offensive weapons.4

Cuba's ambassador to the U.N., Sr. Mario Garci

Inchaustegui rejected "as false and dishonest all 

accusations leveled by the President of the United States a

repeated here by his representative to the U.N...." 5 a

Th4. p. 405

Jacobs, Norman, ed., "The Cuban Crisis, A Documenta

Record," Foreiqn Policy Association Headline Series, Numb

57, January-February 1963, pp. 33,49

Ibid., p. 50
declared that the "naval blockade" was an "act of war against

the sovereignty and independence of Cuba" 6. Referring to

the United States' most morally vulnerable position, that of

a supporter of the Bay of Pigs invasion against Cuba, he

suggested that "U.N. observers should be sent to the United

States bases from which invaders and pirates emerge to punish

and harrass a small state, whose only crime is that of

struggling for the development of its own people." 7

The Soviet ambassador to the U.N., Valerian A. Zorin,

echoed the "falsity of the accusations now made by the United

States against the Soviet Union" and claimed that the

armaments and military materiel being sent to Cuba were

exclusively for "defensive" purposes and that the Soviet

rockets and missiles were so powerful that there was "no need

to seek a location for their launching anywhere outside the

territory of the Soviet Union." 8

The Soviet Council of Ministers on the same date issued

a statement delineating the measures being carried out to

raise the combat readiness of the Soviet armed forces

including the postponement of demobilization from the Soviet

army of the older contingents of strategic rocket troops,

anti-aircraft troops, and the submarine fleet, the halting of

furloughs for all personnel, and the raising of combat

State, Dept. of, Naerican Forejgn Policy 1962, p. 418

Jacobs, "The Cuban Crisis," p. 51

Ibid, p. 52

3g
readiness and vigilance of all troops.9

Also on Octobet 23, 1962 the Organization of Ameri

States unanimously approved a resolution calling for 

immediate dismantling and withdrawal from Cuba of 

offensive missiles and weapons. It also invoked the rig

pursuant to rticles 6 and 8of the Inter-American Treaty 

Reciprocal Assistance, to take measures, including the use 

armed force, to prevent Cuba from receiving further milit

materiel which might threaten the peace and security of 

continent.lO This important Latin American endorsement 

the originally unilateral U.S. action in imposing 

quarantine was necessary to add legal justification to 

quarantine under international and maritime law as well 

the U.N. Charter.

When the U.N. Security Council debate resumed on Octo

25th, Stevenson charged that "one of these missiles can 

armed with its nuclear warhead in the middle of the nig

pointed at New York, and landed above this room five minu

after it was fired."il Flanked by photo interpreters 

intelligence analysts, Stevenson charged the Sov

ambassador:

Alright, sir, let me ask you one simple question:

Do you, Ambassador Zorin, deny that the U.S.S.R.

has placed and is placing medium and intermediate

State, Dept. of, Pmerican For4gn Policy 1962 p. 407

Ibid., pp. 408-10

Jacobs, "The Cuban Crisis," p. 56
range missiles and sites in Cuba? Yes or No? Don't

wait for the translation yes or no! (the Soviet

representative refused to answer)....

You can answer yes or no. You have denied that they

exist and I want to know whether I have

understood you correctly...

I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell

freezes over if that is your decision. I am also

prepared to present the evidence in this room."l2

Zorin equivocated in his answer, claiming that he was not in

an American court room.

The previous thy, on October 24th, the U.N.'s acting

Secretary General, U Thant, intervened personally in the

crisis by sending two identically worded messages to

President Kennedy and to Premier Khrushchev. He offered to

mediate the crisis and urged that the quarantine be lifted.l3

Zt the same time he urged that the construction and

development of major military facilities and installations in

Cuba be suspended during the period of negotiations.l4 It is

interesting to note, with historical hindsight, that included

within this appeal was a quote front a speech given by Castro

before the General Assembly two weeks prior to the beginning

of the Cuban Missile Crisis that "were the United States

able to give us proof, by word and deed, that it would not

carry out aggression against our country, then we declare

Jacobs, "The Cuban Crisis", p. 61

State, Dept. of, American Foreign Policy 1962, p. 436

Ibid., p. 422

41
solemnly before you here and now that our weapons would be

unnecessary and our army reduòdant." 15 President Kennedy

stood his ground and responded that "the existing threat was

created by the secret introduction of offensive weapons int

Cuba, and the answer lies in the removal of such weapons."16

U Thant next urged Soviet ships to stay away from Eh

quarantine line for a limited time 17 and for the Unite

States vessels to do everything possible to avoid direct

confrontation with Soviet ships in the next few days. 18

At the White House the President obtained data abou

each Russian ship approaching the quarantine line an

personally made the decision which vessels should be

confronted and inspected by U.S. Navy officers and which 

should be permitted to pass by the quarantine.19 The firs

tense moments occurred during the first half hour followin

the beginning of the quarantine at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesaay

October 24th. Within fifteen minutes, two Soviet ships, th

Garaarin and the Komiles, would reach the blockade line. A

the last minute a Soviet submarine maneuvered into positio

between the two Soviet ships and the ships on the Navy picke

Jacobs, "The Cuban Crisis", p. 64

State, Dept. of, American Forejan Policy 1962, p. 424

Ibid., p. 425

Ibid., p. 426

Sorensen, Kennedy, pp. 708-10
line. But at 10:25 a.m. word reached the White flouse that

the Russian ships had stopped dead in the water, and by 10:32

a.m. additional information was received that fourteen Soviet

ships in the vicinity of the blockade had either stopped or

turned back toward their home ports. A sense of relief swept

the White Rouse that Khrushchev had decided not to challenge

the quarantine.20

The next day the President permitted a Soviet tanker,

the Bucharest, to pass through the quarantine line after

identifying itself, because of the little likelihood of its

carrying offensive weapons and because he desired to give

Khrushchev more time to work out his position before forcing

the quarantine. Meanwhile intelligence photos produced by U2 flights and by low flying reconnaissance aircraft confirmed

that construction on the missile sites was proceeding at a

feverish pace and that the missiles would shortly be

operational. The reconnaissance effort was monumental during

the crisis and the film alone produced by these photographic

missions was to exceed twenty-five miles in length. 21

The first hope for a break in the crisis came when John

Scali, an ABC news correspondent at the State Department,

received a telephone call from Alexander Fomin, the Soviets!

Brune, , The Missile Crisis of October 1962, p. 62

Kennedy, Robert F., Thirteen Dais, p. 68

43
K.G.B. agent in Washington, requesting that they have lun

At the meeting P0mm told Scali that he feared war wo

break out and asked Scali if he thought Americans wo

promise not to invade Cuba if Khrushchev promised to rem

the Soviet missiles from Cuba. omin wanted Scali 

communicate this to the State Department and discover 

United States' reaction to the proposal. He gave Scali 

embassy phone number and urged that he make haste in 

reply. Scali rushed to the State Department and the news 

quickly relayed to Secretary Rusk. Rusk contacted the Wh

House and the President approved a positive response 

Fomin. Rusk emphasized that time was very urgent and t

the Russians make their offer in no less than two days.

That evening at 6:00 p.m. the State Department recei

a ten page letter from Khrushchev via the U.S. embassy 

Moscow. In emotional wording, uncharacteristic of most Sov

diplomatic messages, Khrushchev professed his longing 

peace and pleaded for both leaders not to let the situat

get out of hand. The enforcement of the quarantine wo

only force the Soviets to take countermeasures. Then 

Soviet leader suggested a settlement exactly as Alexan

Fomin had proposed to Scali. When Rusk received the mess

he was elated and told Scali "remember when you réport thi

that eyeball to eyeball, they blinked first.»'22

22. Brune, The Missile Crisis of October 1962, p.66
The most dangerous period of the entire crisis, however,

occurred the next day. Just as there was some hope for a

peaceful resolution, a second letter was received, reportedly

from Khrushchev, taking a much harder line than the first

letter had taken and proposing that the United States

Jupiter missiles be removed from Turkey in exchange for the

removal of missiles from cuba. 23 The President refused to

allow commitments to a N.A.T.O. ally to be diluted or

bargained away by the negotiations in Cuba.

Additionally, at 10:15 that morning the news arrived

that an American U-2 plane piloted by Major Rudolph Anderson,

Jr., U.S.A.F., had been shot down. To the ExComm members,

the attack against the U-2, which could only hinder further

U.S. reconnaissance efforts, coupled with the two conflicting

letters from Khrushchev, appeared to be attempts to deceive

American leaders into delaying any new U.S. action until all

of the Cuban missiles became operational. With this news,

there was at first almost unanimous agreement that the United

States should attack the following morning with bombers and

fighters and destroy the S.A.M. sites.24 But again, despite

the tremendous pressure to attack, the President again stood

his ground, this time against his own advisors. It wasntt

the first step that concerned him, but both sides escalating

Kennedy, Robert F., Thirteen Days, pp.l64-9

Ibid., p.98

45
to further steps that was the danger.

it is not known to this day why Major P.nderson's U-2 

shot down, but, under the circumstances, it was cert

either a deliberate attack or an unauthorized blun

Blunders, however, were not confined to the Soviet side. 

same day, through a navigational error, a U-2 flying 

Alaska flew deep into Soviet territory which caused S

fighters to scramble to divert it.25 The error 

unintentional, but the President worried that a 

Khrushchev might speculate that the flight was to s

targets for a preemptive nuclear strike.

ExComm considered that the point of escalation was 

hand. The alternatives were tightening the bloc

increasing low level reconnaissance flights, using 

flights to harass the Cubans, and dropping lea

informing Cubans of the missile sites and air strikes. 

was also the ever-present spectre of the ultimate invasio

Cuba.26 Twenty-four Air Force Reserve troop ca

squadrons were called up to better prepare for a mil

response and special messages were sent to N.A.T.O. outl

the critical stage which had been reached. The Presi

though, still refused to take the next step of ord

further military action.

Sorensen, Kennedy, p. 713

Ibid., pp.7l3-6
Throughout the crisis President Kennedy was impressed

with the effort and dedicated manner in which the military

responded to the Cuban contingency. But, with the notable

exception of General Taylor, the President was disturbed with

the advice he received from his military chiefs.27 To the

President it seemed that the military leaders always assumed

that a war was in our national interest and seemed unable to

look beyond the limited military field to the broader

consequences of initiating a preemptive strike against Cuba.

No doubt the President had bittersweet hindsight himself of

the Bay of Pigs fiasco. In that instance he had relied

almost implicitly upon his military advisors and the result

was disastrous. Then, to make matters worse, at the precise

moment when the use of United States military force could

have turned the tide, the President refused to use it,

thereby making himself appear to be weak not only in his own

eyes but in the eyes of his adversaries.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, therefore, the

President found himself on the horns of a dilemma with his

military advisors, On one hand he distrusted their advice,

but, on the other hand, could he as a neophyte military

leader do a better job leading the military (even though he

was the Commander in Chief) than those professional military

leaders upon whom he was supposed to rely? But, because a

27. Kennedy, Robert P., Thirteen Days, pp. 118-20

47
military response was a distinct possibility, he was fo

to consult them. Could he combat the "weak" image 

adopting the more aggressive stance advocated by his mili

advisors? Ironically, he was to prove that, by standin

to the very strong pressure of his military advisors, 

would be demonstrating his strength.

The President had earlier in the week been able 

demonstrate both his strength as a leader and his techn

competence as the Commander in Chief. On many occasions 

President's military advisors had pointed out to him 

Cuban aircraft lined up wing to wing on Cuban airfields 

evidence of how easy it would be to strike against them. 

a flight to Palm Beach during the United States mili

buildup in the southeastern United States, the President 

observed our own aircraft lined up wing to wing on mili

airfields and, to further verify it, he ordered a secret 

flight to photograph our own military airfields. 

military had assured him that his fears were unfounded 

it was with some chagrin that the military leaders viewed 

U-2 photographs which resulted. The aircraft were qui

dispersed. 28

President Kennedy had read the Guns ç g3! and 

pondered over the gross misapprehensions and' misjudgm

that led to the First World War which nobody wanted and w

in the end utterly devastated those who participated. 

28. Sorensen, Kennedy, p. 708
49

mused to his brother that "war is rarely intentional." 29 and

yet, despite his intention to the contrary, he found himself

teetering along with his adversary on the very brink of a war

that could dwarf the devastation of World War I. Neither the

United States nor the Russians wanted a war. Yet what could

unlock the chain of events that seemed inevitably to lead to

that end?

The answer may have come from a quite unlikely source.

On the night of Tuesday, October 23th, the President dined

quietly at the White House with some English friends.30 The

President beckoned the British ambassador, David Ormsby Gore,

out into the long central hall while the dinner party

continued inside. Robert Kennedy joined them after having

just returned from a meeting with Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin

in an effort to find out whether the Soviet ships had

instructions to turn back if challenged on the high seas.

The concern heightened when the President's brother reported

that the Soviet ambassador seemed unaware of any

instructions. The British for centuries had been masters at

the art of super-power diplomacy. With a deep global insight

the British ambassador suggested that Khrushchev had some

hard decisions to make and that every additional hour might

make it easier for him to climb down gracefully. Following

Kennedy, Robert F., Thirteen Days, p. 105

Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr., A Thousand Days: Johfl

Kennedy in the White House, Houghton, Mifflin Co., Boston

1965, pp.8l7-8
t i

il.

it J

t I

tE

li

his suggestion at the time, President Kennedy ordered 

quarantine line withdrawn closer to Cuba even though it w

be closer to the striking radius of Cuban aircraft. Late

June of 1963 in a speech at the Nuerican University 

president commented that, while defending their own v

interests, the nuclear powers must avoid confrontations w

"bring an adversary to the choice of either a humilia

defeat or a nuclear war."31

It was this realization by the President of the Un

States that probably averted the war that so nearly occur

He realized that his Soviet counterpart had taken a risk 

placing the missiles, but the United States action in cäl

his bluff had placed him in a potentially highly embarras

and humiliating situation. When the United States mili

urged a military response, with an insight that Presi

Kennedy no doubt obtained himself as a Chief of State, 

President kept insisting that Khrushchev be allowed en

time and latitude to find a graceful "out".

The opportunity for Khrushchev to withdraw gracef

and to save face occurred when a positive response 

delivered to the Scali/Fomin exchange. The President c

to ignore Moscow's second letter, suspecting it had 

authored by the hawkish elements in the Kremlin. The ta

worked. At 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 28th, Moscow R

broadcast the news that Khrushchev accepted Kennedy's dea

3l.Kennedy, Robert F., Thirteen Day, p. 126
remove Russian missiles in exchange for a promise that the

United States would not invade Cuba. Off ical word reached

the Secretary of State at 11:00 am. By noon the President

resonded, welcoming Chairman Khrushchev's "statesmanlike

decision to stop building bases in Cuba."32 Although the

"deal" allowed Khrushchev to save face, it also blunted

Kennedy's pre-crisis rhetoric against allowing communism to

continue in Cuba. Two years later Richard Nixon in the

Digest was to claim that Kennedy had "pulled defeat

out of the jaws of victory."33

The United States initially wanted some type of

supervision of the dismantling of the missile sites by the

U.N. or the Red Cross. But Castro was angry with

Khrushchev's decision to remove the missiles and, even after

a personal visit from the Secretary General of the U.N., U

Thant, Castro still refused to allow on-site inspection. 34

During his visit, the quarantine was suspended, but still

there was no cooperation.35

after the Soviets agreed to withdraw the missiles, even

over Castro's objections, and work had begun to dismantle the

sites, another problem emerged. The United States contended

State, Dept. of, American Foreign Polic 1962, pp. 444-5

Nixon, Richard, "Cuba, Castro and John F. Kennedy,"

Reader's Digest, Nov., 1964, pp. 283-300

State, Dept.of, American Foreign Policy 1962, p. 450

Ibid., p. 451

53-
that the agreement to remove offensive weapons included 

IL-28 bombers that the Soviets had been delivering to Cub

Castro claimed that the bombers were a gift, but on Nove

19th he finally gave in and agreed that they could 

withdrawn. The next day when Khrushchev agreed to remove 

bombers from Cuba within 30 days, the President annou

that the United States was ending the naval quarantine. 

Soviets did in fact remove forty-two IL-2 8 bombers from 

between December ist and 6th, 1962 and the Cuba Mis

Crisis was officially history.

Although most in america exalted over what 

considered to be victory in the strategic showdown with 

Soviets,37 President Kennedy strictly enjoined ExComm 

publicly claiming a victory in consonance with 

determination to allow Khrushchev a graceful way out. 

those in the Kennedy administration who had participated 

the decision-making process, the Cuban Missile Cr

represented the President's finest hour.38 According to t

the President measured every level of response cal

objectively, and precisely and was always in command. 

36. Garthof f, Raymond L., Reflections on the

Crisis, The Brookings Institution, Washington

pp. 67-83. See also "Summary Record of N.S

Committee Meeting No. 10, October 28, 1962, 11

(Top Secret; now declassified)

Cuban Mis

D.C., 1

.C. Execu

:10 a.m.," 

"Showdown - BacKdown," Newsweek, Nov. 5, 1962, pp.27-

Medland, William J., The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1

Needless or Necessary, Praeger, New York, 1988, p. 56
gave his adversary time to respond in a manner which neither

adversely affected Soviet national security nor humiliated

him. By taking Khrushchev to the nuclear brink, the

administration could later claim that the Soviets' postcrisis temperament in the Cold War began to be one of

peaceful co-existence and detente rather than the previous

history of confrontation.

The administration, with some credibility, could claim

victory in its showdown with the Soviets. Elfe Abel, the

former foreign correspondent for the New Yoik Times and for

N.B.C. described the crisis as thirteen tension--filled days

when "the young President played nuclear poker with Nikita

Khrushchev and won."39 President Kennedy, as well as his

adversary, have been harshly critized for brinkmanship

diplomacy for their own selfish ends which threatened the

world needlessly with nuclear war.40 Because the United

States tasted the fruit of victory, it acquired a renewed

confidence in its military powers, which according to

Professor William J. Medland,- led it to escalate its actions

in Vietnam.41

Abel, Ehe, The Missile Crisis, J.B. Lippincott Company,

New York, 1966. (Book jacket)

Dinerstein, Herbert S., The Makiflg of a Missile Crisis,

John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1976, pp. 229-33

Medland, The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, pp. 147-8

53
Perhaps, as Adiai Stevenson argued so vigorously at 

time, the United States should have attempted to priva

negotiate the removal of the missiles. At least a nuc

confrontation with its attendant uncertainty would have 

averted. However, after Khrushchev personally obse

President Kennedy at the Vienna summit in June of 1961 

J

! after Kennedy refused to provide military backing for Bri

2506, Khrushchev probably believed Kennedy was a 

adversary. 42 Negotiations would have required concess

to be effective, and those concessions could only have 

from N.A.T.O. or Berlin. They would also have allowed 

Soviets time to complete construction of their missile si

Perhaps it was just plain luck--or maybe even D

mercy--but a war, nuclear or conventional, was aver

Although the United States had achieved at least its s

objective of the removal of the missiles, shortly after 

crisis some were calling it a "net gain for the Kremlin

In the short run, the United States appeared to have g

the upper hand, but what about the longer term today--an

the future?

Nixon, "Cuba, Castro, and John F'. Kennedy," Rea

Djgest, p. 295. See also Shevchenko, Arkady N., Breaking 

Moscow, Ballantine Brooks, New York, 1985, p. 154

Nixon "Cuba, Castro, and John F. Kennedy," p. 297
CHAPTER IV

"NAVAL PREPARATIONS PRIOR TO THE CRISIS"

In the decade preceding the Spanish-American War, a somewhat reserved United States naval officer and amateur

historian, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, published ,what was to

become a classic work upon the history of sea power, The

Influence of Sea Power History 1660 to 1783. His primary

thesis, that the objective of a nation's navy was to search

out the enemy's forces and to destroy or drive them from the

seas, had several corollaries.1 The wealth and developnsnt

of nations bordering upon the seas depended upon their

ability to develbp and project their national interest and

influence through sea power. Industrial production, the

exchange of products, and colonies were the keys to much of

history as well as the foreign policy of nations bordering

upon the sea. 2

Mahan enumerated six principal conditions which affected

the development of sea power.3 although the United States

quite comfortably fit into all of his criteria, he himself

asked "Ew]hat need has the United States of sea powerV'4

He answered his own question with the ironic conclusion that,

Livesey, William E., Mahan on Sea Power, University of

Ok3. Press, Norman, Okla. 1981, p. 315

Mahan, A. T., Capt., The Influence of Sea Power Upon

liat2En 1660-1783, Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1932, p. 28

Ibid., pp. 28-89

Ibid., p. 84

55
because the United States had no colonies and was not lik

to have any, it did not need a significant sea capability

Fifteen years later, the eminent geo-politician T-Ialf

Mackinder read a paper to the Royal Geographical Soci

entitled "The Geographical Pivot of History"S in which 

suggestE. that the Columbian epoch, the four centuries 

overseab exploration and conquest by the European powers, 

coming to an end and an altogether different epoch was ab

to begin. He predicted an explosion of social forces in 

enclosed environment in which efficiency and inter

development would replace expansionism as the main aim 

modern states. The size of nations and numbers of t

population would be more accurately reflected in the fear 

international developments. The vast region of central Rus

with all of its un-marshalled population and resources w

become a pivot area of the world. Successful world pow

would be those with the greatest industrial bases, and 

power of invention of science would be able to defeat 

others. according to Mackinder, the result would be 

waning of sea power in relation to land power.

Throughout the Twentieth century 6 strategists 

debated the propriety of maritimè-based versus land-b

force projection. All agree, however, that Mahan 

Mackinder, have literally influenced the course of nat

Kennedy, Paul M., The Rise and Fall of British N

Mastery, Charles Soribner's Sons, New York, 1976, pp. 183

Livezey, Mahan on Sea Power, pp. 297-386
i

57

and history in this century. Generally, however, Mackinder

is credited with being the more prescient.

Until some point after World War II, the Soviet Union

had never sought to be or become a maritime power. Indeed,

those naval adventures that it,had previously undertaken had

met with bitter defeat. Uthough a nation much more vast in

resources, size, and population than Japan, Russia was

decisively defeated by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-

5) at the Battle of Tsushima in the greatest naval battle

between Trafalgar (1805) and Jutland (19l6).7

But at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the naval

and maritime capability of the U.S.S.R. was mediocre.8

Through its military and political gerrymandering at the

conclusion of World War II, the Soviet Union had established

her military perimeter across the narrower part of Europe but

her maritime flanks were uncomfortably exposed along the

Baltic coast and the Black Sea. Because, however, of

merica's atomic capability, in 1954, the Soviet leadership

that followed Stalin decided to downgrade the treatment of

sea-borne invasion and give first priority to defending

against the dangers of a surprise nuclear attack.9 These

post-Stalin leaders concluded that a greater reliance on long

Young, Peter, Brig, ed. Great Battles of the World, Book

Value International, Northbrook, Ill., 1978, p. 10

Quester, George H., ed. S ?2!.f A tb 2fl!a' Dunellen

Publishing Co., New York, 1975, pp. 4-5

MccGwire, Michael, ed., Soviet Naval Policy: Objeive

and Constraints, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1975, pp. 505

11
range cruise missiles carried by surface ships, di

submarines, and aircraft would allow resources to be rele

from warship construction to tile domestic economy. 

implement these decisions, Khrushchev brought Admiral Gor

to Moscow to replace the former commander in chief of 

navy who strongly opposed these decisions. The buildin

cruisers was halted in mid-course, mass production of me

submarines was sharply brought to a halt, and, alth

destroyer escort and subchaser programs were allowed 

continue, their successor classes were postponed for y

The Soviet naval air force was stripped of its fi

elements which were transferred to the newly formed nati

air defense. This defensively-oriented navy was support

shore-based air cover.

A new defense policy announced by Khrushchev in Janu

1960 down-graded the role of conventional ground force

deference to a heavier emphasis on nuclear delivery syst

By implication, the Soviet navy was not intended to chal

the West's world-wide maritime capability. The end r

was that the Soviet navy was at a low ebb as a result of 

cut-backs in naval construction resulting from the 1954 

evaluation of naval programs as it entered the Cuban Mi

Crisis.lO In contrast, the United States Navy was seco

none the world over, and the contest was in its backyard

lo. IPt4t p. 509
President Kennedy chose to employ a naval "quarantine"

in his initial action against the Soviet Union in the Cuban

Missile Crisis. The only difference between a blockade and a

quarantine was that a blockade was an act of war and a

quarantine, at least in name, was not. Historically,

blockades had been very effective weapons which would sooner

or later bring an enemy to its knees 11 and to which even

the United States was vulnerable, at least in Mahan's eyes

at that time.l2 However, it is probable that, without the'

implicit threat of air strike or invasion, the blockade

alone, while it could have prevented Soviet ships from

bringing additional missiles to Cuba, could not have forced

the removal of the missiles already present.l3 The real

beauty of the blockade strategy from a military point of

view, however, was that it capitalized upon Mierica's naval

strengths and exploited the Soviet Union's naval weaknesses.

The classic confrontation between the Americans and thé

Russians of which DeTocqueville had warned over almost a century and a half earlier was about to begin---with America

choosing the weapons.l4

Kennedy, Rise and -Fall of British Naval Mastery, . 182 - Mahan, Influénce of Sea Power U2on History, pp. 84-5 - Allison, Essence 2 P!sA!4a p. 64

De Tocqueville, Alexis, Democracy in America , WashingtonSquare Press, New York, 1964, pp. 124-5 ' ' -

59
Charged with the primary responsibility of 

continential defense of a great maritime nation with len

coastlines as well as with the defense of sealanes in re

parts of the world, the United States Navy has grown in

massive military institution. It is generally divided 

two commands, the Atlantic Command and the Pacific Comm

with the dividing point being the Suez Canal. Based upon 

hard-fought experience of World War II, navy combat funct

are further divided into three basic elements. The pre

capital ship in the modern navy is the aircraft car

deployed in a carrier battle group, with a primary missio

sea superiority. Second is the submarine force composed 

primarily nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines 

nuclear-powered attack submarines. This force has a pri

mission of sea denial and, during the Cuban Missile Cri

still had many diesel powered submarines. The third m

element is the amphibious warfare force intended to pr

military presence from the fleet to the shore. 

organization of a fleet is depicted in Figure 3.

There are four fleets assigned to the Atlantic 

pacific commands. Cuba lies within the Atlantic are

responsibility and the 2nd Fleet headquartered at Nor

Virginia. The 6th Fleet covers the Mediterraneab and bo

these have close links with N.A.T.O. fleets. The ea

Pacific is the province of the 3rd Fleet which is quar

at Pearl Harbor. The 7th Fleet, also headquartered at P

Harbor, is generally responsible for the western Pacific 
FLEET MARINE FORCE

* FLEET

(CGFMF ) (1)

NAVAL AIR FORCE

FLEET

(CDMNAVAIR ) (1)

SURFACE FORCE

FLEET

(COMSLJRFIZt.) (1)

SUBMARINE FORCE

* FLEET

(COMSUBL) (I)

TRAINING COMMAND

FLEET

(COMTRA **

) (1)

FLEET ORGANIZATION

UNIFIED COMMANDER

COMMANDER IN CHIEF

US FLEET

(CINC

"FLT)

OTHER FORCES

AND FRONTIER

COMMANDERS

NOTES:

Reprinted from Fleet Marine Force

Organization 1980, p.3

(1) TYPE COMMANDERS.

FIGURE 3 -

FLEET

(COM " FLT)

FLEET

(COM FLT)

AREA NAME (i.e. ATLANTIC, PACIFIC).

AREA NAME AB8REVIATION (i.e. LANE PAC).

FLEET NUMBER (i.e.. SECOND). THESE

.ARE- OPERATIONAL FLEET COMMANDERS.

61
units scattered as far west as the Phillippines, Okinawa, a

Guam.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis carriers were employ

extensively both for quarantine operations and for operatio

in support of the planned attacks and invasion of Cuba. T

largest was the carrier Enterprise, launched shortly befo

the crisis in September of 1960. Also involved were t

smaller attack carriers, Independence, Midway, WaspL a

Lexington (which saw combat service in World War II). The

carriers, depending on their size, could accommodate fr

seventy to ninety-five aircraft. Each carrier is accompani

into battle by screening ships of cruisers, destroyers, a

frigates. Each carrier battle group will also usually ha

some submarines assigned to it and be serviced 

replenishment service ships.

The amphibious warfare ships are grouped into amphibio

Squadrons (PTIIBRON's) each capable of remaining on stati

with a reinforced U.S. Marine Battalion and all of 

equipment. t least one PHIBRON is usually attached to ea

fleet. The older World War II ships sómetimes required 

amphibious assault ships to beach themselves in the assau

but the newer amphibious ships have landing craft embark

aft and floodable wells. These ships vary in design a

include amphibious transport dock (LPD's) and dock landi

ships (LSD's), both of which are self-propelled float

docks with varying capacities for troop accomodation

More modern are the tNT amphibious assault ship
small carriers for helicopters which can also accomodate over

1,700 combat troops with their gear, vehicles, and artillery

and twenty large helicopters for use in vertical assaults.

Even larger are the LHA ass&ult ships. LST's are amphibious

assault ships capable of landing tanks over the beach. Most

of the command ships for amphibious operations (LCC's) which

were in service during the Cuban Missile Crisis were also in

service during World War II.

One of the greatest strengths of the United States Navy

has always been the support that its fleets receive from

service ships that act as forward bases for replenishment.

These consist of replenishment oilers (AO's), ammunition

ships (AE's), fast combat support ships (AOE's),

destroyer tenders (AD's), and submarine tenders (AS's).

Naval aviation consists of a variety of aircraft for a

multitude of missions. Fighters and attack squadrons are

routinely rotated from shore bases to deployment aboard

carriers. The navy also has extensive anti-submarine patrol

craft and long range reconnaissance air craft.

The United States was not surprised by a Cuban

contingency. Since Cuba lies withiñ the Atlantic Command

(CINCLANT) area of responsibility, the task for preparing

plans for military operations in Cuba fell to Admiral Robert

L. Dennison, the area unified commander.lS The resulting

operation plans were numbered 312, 314, and 316. OPILAN 312

provided for the rapid use of U.S. air power against Cuba

from a no-warning condition and for a variety of

63
requirements ranging from air strikes against single target

to widespread air attacks throughout Cuba.16 Change Two wa

devoted to the defense of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Ba

which was assigned to the Commander, Antilles Defense Comma

(cOMANTDEFCOM). Change Four divided OPLN 312 into thre

different categoies. Category r code named "Fire Hos

provided for. the selective destruction of surface to a

missile sites as directed by CINCI:2ANT. Category II cod

named "Shoe Black" provided for a wider selection of tarqet

under limited operations and for grouping of targets 

types (airfields, SAM siteà, missile complexes, and comba

air patrols). Category III code named "Scabbards 31

provided for large scale air attacks against Cuba. Essentia

aviation support equipment and ordnance was to be pr

positioned in southern Florida and elsewhere, in th

Caribbean.

Even though no nuclear missiles were known to be in Cub

at the time, extensive training exercises were initiated 

September 18, 1962 in support of OPrJPJIN 312. - Two carriers

the Independence and Enterprise, were. deployed as Naval Ta

ktlantic Command, Headquarters of the Commander in Chie

CINCLANT Historical Accountof the Cuban Crisis, U.S-.- Nava

Base, Norfolk, Virginia 1963. The bulk of the remainder 

this chapter was extracted from this 'document. Portion

remain classified.

Headquarters, USAF, The Air Force Response to the Cub

Missile Crisis, USAF - Historical Division Lia-ison Off icer

Bolling AFB, Washington D.C., 1962, pp.7-10
Force 135 with Air Groups 6 and 7 and a Marine A-40 squadron

embarked aboard. The Commander of Carrier Division 6 was

designated its commander (CTF 135) and was in position for

possible execution of OPtAN 312-62 on October 20, 1962. One

Marine air group (MAG) at Key West and two carrier air groups

in the Jacksonville area were directed to report to

CINCAFÍ1ANT for planning and for operations if ordered.

OPtAN 314-61 provided for joint military operations in

Cuba by combined navy, air force, and army forces, as well as

a simultaneous amphibious and air-borne assault in the Havana

area by a joint task force within 18 days after the receipt

of the order to execute. This plan envisioned the overthrow

of the Castro government. On October 26th, upon the

recommendation of CINCLANT, the Joint Chiefs of Staff

directed that planning and preparation for execution of OPtAN

314 be abandoned in favor of OPtAN 316.

OPtAN 316-62 employed the same forces as those in OPtAN

314. By October 17th at the request of the Joint Chiefs of

Staff (UtS) a seven day delay between the beginning of air

strikes and the commencement of a simultaneous assault by

airborne and amphibious forces was incorporated. This

allowed the full force of the Second Marine Division (minus)

and the ten battle groups of the U.S. ?rmy's XVIII Airborne

Force to arrive simultaneously. CINCAFLANT would be

responsible for air operations in the Western Zone of Cuba

except for the amphibious objective area and the commander of

the naval task force would be responsible for the Eastern

65
k

Zone. MAG-l4 would be chopped to the Commander of the Nava

Task Force upon completion of its 312 operations.

During the initial phase of Cuban contingency operation

planing, October 1-22, command and staff actions wer

cowtmenced relating to the Cuban situation on a strict "nee

to know" -basis. This involved the actual study of possibl

causes of action to determine the relative feasibility o

each in accomplishing whatever precise missions might b

assigned.

CINCLANT notified the Commander of the Atlantic Flee

(CINCLANTFLT) and the Commander of the Atlantic Fleet Ai

Forces (CINCAFLANT) on October ist that all measure

necessary to insure maximum readiness to execute CINCLAN

OPrJAN 312 by October 20th must been taken. In response U.S

Navy forces were earmarked for 6, 12, and 14 hour reactio

times. Why such significant actions were taken prior to th

outbreak of this crisis is unknown. Further research on th

intriguing question was beyond the scope of this researc

paper.

By October 6th, CINCLANT directed increased readiness t

execute the 312, 314, and 316 OPLANS. In response it w

recommended that a carrier with an embarked air group shoul

be maintained in or south of the Jacksonville/Mayport are

on a continuing basis, along with supporting ships. Th

permanent relocation of certain Marine units for the 312 pl

was recommended in order to decrease the reaction time f

the Marine elements involved. The relocation involved pr
positioning a Marine air group at Key West and the assignment

of a Marine division/wing team to the t1antic command along

with appropriate amphibious shipping.

On October 8th the JCS referred to CINCEÀNT a

memorandum from the Secretary of Defense outlining

contingencies "under which military action against Cuba may

be necessary and toward which our military planning should

be oriented." These included Soviet bloc action against

Berlin, positioning offensive weapons in cuba, attacks

against the Guantanamo Naval Base or U.S. planes, a popular

uprising in Cuba which would recover Cuban independence from

Castro, Cuban armed assistance to other parti of the western

hemisphere, or other events triggering a decision by the

President for action. In all contingency planning the

Secretary of Defense stated that the political objective of

removing the threat to United States security of Soviet

weapon systems in Cuba or the removal of the Castro regime

should be included. The Secretary of Defense also asked the

Office of International Security to work with the State

Department on political actions which should precede or

accompany the military options.

On October 13th CINCLANT deleted CJTF-122 f roía the task

organization of the 312 OPLAN and the Commander of the

Tactical Air Command (COMTAC) assumed the role of CINCAFLANT

in the plans. The Second Marine Air Wing directed Marine Air

Groups 14 and 31 to pre-position certain aviation equipment

at Key West on a priority basis. The USS Grañt County was

67
made available for the sea lift of the material.

CINCr4ANT advised JCS on October 17th that one ci

affairs! area headquarters, four civil affairs groups, a

eight civil affairs companies would be required. Two da

later preparation for the implementation of psychologic

warfare operations was initiated. The appropriate annexes 

the 314/316 OPtIANS were initiated in support of the 312 pla

The capture of a Russian SAM site intact had always been 

concern of armed forces intelligence, so by October 20t

CINCLANT had devised a scheme to capture one in conjuncti

with the execution of the 312/316 OPLANS. One opti

consisted of not launching air strikes against a selected S

site. Under another, option, two SAM sites would be select

and precise air strikes would be launched to destroy only t

fire control system on one site and only the launcher a

missiles on the other. CINCAFLANT and CINCARLANT agreed th

the first option might be feasible with seaborne forces 

would be extremely hazardous if attempted by airborne force

Both also agreed that the second option was feasible, 

highly impractical. They concluded that all SAM sit

should be destroyed as forcefully and rapidly as possible 

the initial assault.,

The responsibilities of CJTF-122 were assumed 

CINCLANT on October 20th. This placed a heavy addition

burden on CINCLANT headquarters, and additional army and 

force personnel were augmented, reaching a peak of 

officers and 69 enlisted personnel. The staff was impres
with the urgency that the contingency war room might have to

be operated under conditions of general war.

During the build-up of forces which followed, it became

apparent that there was a shortage of amphibious shipping

needed for U.S. Army (AR[1ANT) forces and of lIST's essential

for a rapid build-up and delivery of forces and armored

equipment into the objective area in the execution of the 316"

OPIlAN. To make up the gap, commercial LST!s were chartered

and il lIST's from the Atlantic reserve fleet were activated.

By October 26th the charter f twenty commerciAl cargo ships

and their pre-positioning at ports for out-loading to reduce

reaction times was also authorized.

In the air defense of the Key Weit area the rules of

engagement were confusing and unclear, as CINCLANT and thefl

Commander of the Continental Air Defense (CINCONAD) each had

separate rules for their forces. CINCLANT issued a directive

with JCS approval clarifying protective measures to be taken

in defining hostile acts committed by enemy forces. An army

"Hawk" unit was also assigned to the Key West area.

,Emergency funding was als« approved for the construction of a

new ground control intercept radar facility aE NAS Key West;

as the existing facilities were judged to be inadequate in

terms of overall space and radar scopes.

In coordination with the Federal Aviatl'oñ Administration

(FAA) and CINCONAD, a military emergency zone (MEZ) was

established in southern Florida. Emergency measures

providiñg for the secuity control of air traffic (SCAT)

69
program would be implemented within the MEZ and all civilia

and non-tactical military aircraft scheduled to terminate

depart, or overly the MEZ would be diverted, cancelled, 

terminated.

In conjunction with the State Department a detail

military government directive was developed for delivery 

civil relief supplies to Cuba in the event of milita

operations. New Orleans was to be used as the load-out po

for supplies to support civil affairs operations.

A grim aspect of the planning was estimating the numb

of casualties which could be expected. The total estimat

of KIA's, WIA's, Nfl's (personnel killed, wounded, 

missing), and non-battle sick and injured from D-Day to D

10 exceeded 18,000 troops of which over 8,000 were estimat

to be Marines and over 9,000 were U.S. Army soldiers. T

estimates could be high or low since the degree of resistan

could not be anticipated and the enemy could even empl

tactical nuclear weapons. The Marines were expected to be

the brunt of D-Day's casualties with almost 2,500 estimat

casualties.

The Commanding General of the U.S. Army Continental Ar

Command (USCONARC) received from CINCtJANT as early as Octob

1st information concerning the eminence of a possib

implementation of OPrIAN 316-61. In the following days t

UtS directed that units contained in the task for

organization for OPLAN 316 be brought to the highest state 

operational readiness as soon as possible. The major- ar
combat elements scheduled to participate in OPI:IAN 316 were:

Air Echelon

82nd Airborne Division

101st Airborne Division

Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division

(Two Battle Group Task Forces)

Battle Group Task Force

ist Infantry Division

Co. D (Light Tank), 66th Armor

ist Battalion, 92nd Field Artillery

2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery

Surface Echelon

Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division

(Two Battle Groups, reinforced with the

2nd Battalion (Medium Tank), 69th Armor)

Task Force CHARLIE, ist Armored Division

2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery

ist Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery

54th Artillery Group

Fioatina Reserve

Headquarters, ist Armored Division

Brigade of the ist Armored Division

2nd Infantry Division

(Two Battle Group Task Forces)'

On-Caii Echelon

Brigade, ist Armored Division

8th Battalion (Medium Tank), 34th Armor

3rd Battalion, i6th Field Artillery

Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Division and

supporting forces, if required

52nd Artillery Group

Originally, planners had envisioned a logical procedure

for the progressive implementation of OPLAN5 312 to 314 and

314 to 316. As planning proceeded, however, CINCARLANT

realized that the major portion of the U.S. D-Day assault

capability under that plan would be extremely vulnerable to

enemy nuclear strikes, and that, therefore, the logical

alternative would be to execute OPLAN 316 on a seven day

71
r

phase, pre-positioning forces and supplies as necessary 

insure that the initial combat forces could meet redu

reaction times. The JCS agreed and on October 26th direc

that further planning for OPLAN 314 should be suspended 

all effort should thereafter be concentrated on refinement 

planning for OPLAN 316.

By November 1, 1-962 the Army Task Force had comple

its relocation to Fort Stewart, Georgia and was placed o

three hour alert status for movement to the points 

embarkation.

Had the invasion of Cuba been ordered, on D-Day the 8

and 101st Airborne Divisions would have conducted parach

assaults, and Marines in sufficient force would have secu

a beach-head at Tarara. The Second Infantry Division wo

then have landed over the beach at Tarara immediately beh

the Marines and the First Armored Division would then h

landed through the port at Mariel. If Havana had b

secured, the First Armored Division would have landed the

The preparation by United States naval forces 

implement OPLAN 316 was divided into 3 phases. Phase 

(alert phase) involved the activation of a naval task fo

headquarters including the necessary staff augmentation w

all to be on a four hour movement notice. The Caribb

amphibious squadron (PHILBRON ) with embarked Marines wo

be directed to deploy to an area within four miles steam

of Guantanamo Bay and other amphibious units would be pla

on a 24 hour sailing notice. Necessary action to prèp
other designated forces for Cuban operations short of actual

deployment including providing a flag ship for CJTF-l22 were

also tasked in the alert phase.

In the pre-position and deployment phase, Phase II,

CINCtANT would provide for the most advanced state of

operational readiness short of actual hostilities. This

would include major deployments and repositioning of forces

in which reserves, MATS aircraft, and MSTS shipping would be

made available. The Caribbean PHIBRON would be chopped to

COMANTDEFCON and, when the Marines disembarked, would sail to

a CONUS port for reload. CINCLANT would also direct the

commander of the naval task force to deploy to the vicinity

of the objective area. The CG of FMFLANT would be directed

to provide air-lifted reinforcement to Guantanamo with the

assistance of the Atlantic Naval Air Forces Command

(COMNAVAIRrJANT).

Phase III, the deployment and pre-assault phase, would

be ordered into execution by CINCLANT only after the outßreak of hostilities or a United States decision to conduct

military operations in Cuba. In such an event the naval task

force would be chopped to CJTF-122 and the deployment of

naval task forces would continue and be chopped to the

commander of the naval task force upon departure from CONUS

ports.

The response of the U.S. armed forces to the Cuban

Missile Crisis consisted of much more than preparation of

operation plans. When the President decided to impose a

73
naval quarantine, the task forces to implement it had to be

formed and deployed. The naval base at Guantanamo had to be

reinforced against possible attack and prepared for

counterattacks or other offensive operations. For the

quarantine to be effective, an invasion force had to be

ready. The chapters which follow present these deployments

by units of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in greater detail.
I

CHAPTER V

"ANCHORS AWEIGH--TO CUBA"

The Quarantine

Naval blockades have been applied by maritime nations

against each other in a variety of contexts with mixed

results. In her formatite period, America was generally

opposed to the rights of the major seafaring powers, notably

Britain, to impose paper or actual blockades upon her

adversaries or rivals. In the golden age of Britain's

seapower when "Britannia ruled the waves," Britain asserted

an aggressive interpretation of the right of blockade.

America, a growing merchantilist nation with no world-power

ulterior motives, asserted the rights of neutral shipping to

freely access the ports of belligerents. In fact Axnerica'was

often the target of Britain's extensive use of the blockade

as a strategy. During the Civil War, however, United States

sea power began to emerge as the Union attempted to blockade

the southern ports with a fair measure of success.

Interference with shipping under neutral flags was later one

of the causum belli for the United States entry into World

War I.

Mahan described the strategy of a naval blockade as:

It is not the taking of individual ships or convoys,

be they few or many, that strikes down the money

power of a nation; it is the possession of that

overbearing power on the sea which drives the enemy's

flag from it, or allows it to appear only as a fugitive; in which by controlling the great common

[the sea], closes the highways by which commerce

75
moves to and from the enemy's shores11. i

This overbearing power can only be exercised by great navi

rn more recent times, blockades have been less efficient th

in the days when the neutral flag did not have its pres

immunity.2 Mahan recognized that a blockade was a v

effective weapon which would sooner or later bring an en

to its knees, but was aware of the grave defects and seri

limitations of the blockade by the tremendous strain it 

upon the blockaders. It was not as effective as 

forthright elimination of the enemy's fleet but 

preferable to seeking out the enemy upon the high seas.3

Blockades have been employed in a variety of strateg

from containing an enemy's fleet in its home harbors 

denying a belligerent's access to world commerce in an eff

to influence a land battle or the prosecution of a l

campaign. The naval quarantine imposed by President Kenn

was similar in some respects to previous blockades 

history, but in many ways was unique to the emerging nucl

age. It was certainly not unusual in history for a ma

maritime power such as the United States had become to emp

its seapower to the detriment of an adversary. But in an 

of instantaneous communication with remote naval units, 

Mahan, Ti I4l-uence 9! § E2!L PP2 !L4a2Y p. 1

Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery, 

182

Livezey, Mahan on Sea Power, pp. 235-6
action in this case was employed more closely than ever to

complement a political and diplomatic strategy. It set the

stage for future military actions to be tightly controlled

directly by the heads of state in their war rooms rather than

by military commanders in the theatre of operations. Perhaps

the most unique aspect of President Kennedy's quarantine was

its objective. Its purpose was not to choke Cuba's commerce,

to deny Cuba's access to military allies, to defeat it

militarily, or to remove Castro from power. Its purpose was

not to contain Cuba's fleet or even to deny total Soviet

naval access to the island. Its stated purpose was strictly

to prohibit the introduction of nuclear weapons into Cuba and

to obtain the withdrawal of those already in place. The

President could, of course, "tighten the screws" by

expanding the orders to American naval forces, but, at least

initially, his military purpose was quite limited in

comparison to previous naval blockades.

The quarantine's onus was its stated intent to interfere

with neutral shipping--the. very objection that America had

first raised in opposition to Britain's frequent employment

of the blockade in her rivalry with France. At that time

America was a neutral merchantilist state desirous of

profiting f rom commerce with all belligerents. Tn the early

1960's the world, although tenaciously, was at peace. But

what has been aptly described as a "Cold War" was certainly

in progress. With the intercontinental reach of the weapons

of war, and the proliferation of conventional armaments, war,

77
whether intended, pre-emptive, or accidental, could 

unleashed with almost no warning and could virtually a

instantaneously annihilate the unlucky target of th

aggressor. Indeed, the situation presented to Presiden

Kennedy was largely without historical precedent

In October of 1962 the United States Navy was th

unquestioned master of the seas. Not only was i

conventional might second to none anywhere in the world, bu

its superiority in the Caribbean theatre was overwhelming

The United States could also hope, if not for the acti

naval intervention of other maritime states such as Britai

at least for the tacit cooperation of other Latin Americ

states in the region.

In anticipation of the presidential proclamation on t

introduction of the delivery of offensive weapons to Cub

the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTF'TJ

issued his operation order 45-62 in which the Second Fle

Commander (COMSECONDFIIT) was designated the quarantine for

commander and CTF 136. The Commander of Anti-Submarine Forc

in the Atlantic (COMASWFORLANT) as CTF 81-83 was directed 

conduct air surveillance as requested by the commander of t

quarantine force. Following the President's proclamation, 

October 24th, after receiving directions by JCS, CINCLANTF

formally issued his blockade order. Later the wor

"quarantine" was substituted for "blockade".

On October 22nd COMSECONDFUT issued operation order l-

establishing TP 136 with himself as commander of the ta
force.4 The following three task groups remained in effect

throughout the quarantine:

CTF 136 COMSECONDFLT ( Relieved on November 13th by

COMCR(JSDESFLOT SIX)

CTF 136.1 COMCRUDESFLOT SIX with 2-Cruisers; 2-DLG;

l-DDG; 9-OD; 2-DDR; l-DDG; and l-EDO assigned

CTG 136.2 COMCARDIV EIGHTEEN with l-CVS and 4-OD assigned

CTG 136.3 CO, USS Elokomin with 2-AO; 1-AE; and 2-DO

assigned

The ships of TG136.1 were given stations initially on

an arc 500 miles from the southeastern tip of Cuba from

latitude 27-30N, longitude 70W to latitude 20N, longitude

65w. There were twelve stations on this arc code named

"Walnut" with 47 miles between stations. CTG 136.2 was

stationed west of the general center of this arc and CTG

136.3 replenished the ships on station. This initial

quarantine line was designed to be outside of the operational

range of Cuban aircraft but later was moved closer to Cuba.

The CINCLANT Historical Account of the Cuban Crisis reports

that this move of the quarantine line was only made when i

was later determined that the Cuban air force was in a poor

state of readiness to launch attacks against the Walnut

stations, but some Administration sources report that the

4. Atlantic Command, Headquarters of the Commander in Chief

CINCLANT Historical account of the Cuban Crisis, U. S. Naval

Base, Norfolk, Virginia 1963. The bulk of the remainder of

this chapter was extracted from this document. Portions

remain classified.

79
President pulled the quarantine back only over th& objection

of the Navy in order to give Khrushchev more time to ac

before shipping reached the line.S The new stations wer

assigned the code name "Chestnut". PF 136 remaine& in thes

general positions throughoût the remainder of the quarantin

operations.

To keep track of the ships sighted, a special quarantin

plot was established in the CINCLANT Operations Contro

Center on October 29th. Directed by Rear Admiral R. r

Rogle, the staff ultimately consisted of thirty officers an

men - The search area of the quarantine arc covered a vas

expanse of ocean. Throughout the operation, an average ot 4

ships, 240 aircraft, and approximately 30,000 personnel wer

directly involved in the effort to locate ships traveling t

and from Cuba. U.S. Air Force RB-SO aircraft operating fro

their bases made daily searches of the ocean out to 400 mile

south of the Azores. Naval aircraft operated from suc

diverse points as Roosevelt Roads, Guantanamo Bay, Bermuda

the Azores Argentia, Jacksonville, Key West, Norfolk, an

Patuxent River. Searching approximately 4,500,000 squar

miles of ocean, the aircraft searches accounted for over 20

sightings of ships of interest to the quarantine plot

Surface ships in the quarantine force accounted fo

5. Schlesinger, Arthur M., A Thousand Days: John F. Kenned

in the White House, Roughton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1965, p

818
approximately 50 sightings. Most of the ships were first

sighted by aircraft and the quarantine ships were vectored

for interception.

The quarantine plot staff utilized the Remington Rand

Univac Sea Surveillance Computer System to track merchant

shipping to and from Cuba. Data concerning the point of

departure, course, and speed for each ship was entered into

the computer, which provided readouts every two hours of the

the latitude and longitude of each ship being monitored.

The quarantine operations may be divided into three

phases. During the first phase, from October 24th until

November 4th, many suspicious ships bound for Cuba stopped in

the water and turned back while some with non-suspicious

cargo proceeded on. While Secretary General U Thant of the

United Nations visited Cuba from October 30-1, 1962, the

quarantine operations were suspended. With specific

presidential authorization CT? 136 directed the

U.S.S. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850) to intercept the

Marucla, a Lebanese steam-driven vessel chartered by the

Soviets. It was by sheer coincidence that the closest United

States naval vessel to the Marucla was named after the

President's father. The U.S.S. Jose2h P. Kennedy, jr.

rendezvoused with the U.S.S. John R. Pierce (0D753) and

intercepted the Marucla at first light on October 26th,

1962.6 At 0610 the Kennedy, by flashing light, requested

6. Commanding Officer, U.S.S. Josph P. Kennedy Jr., Report

of Visit and Search of S.S. Maruc].a on 26 october 1962, U.S.

Naval Archives, Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C.

81
the Marcula to stop and stated its intention to board he

when her sea ladder was ready. At 0630 the Marucla advise

that it was ready to receive the boarding party. At 0632 th

boarding party from the Kennedy proceeded in a whale boat t

the Pierce to pick up her executive officer, LCDR D. G

Osborne, who had extensiveexperience with merchant shippin

as a merchant marine officer. The boarding officer was LCD

K. C. Reynolds, and the assistant boarding officer wa

Ensign E. A. Mass, who also served as a Russian interpreter

Ensign P. W. Sanger served as French interpreter and Paul J

Arnold, RMSN, was communicator. Clad in service dress whit

uniforms, the boarding party was unarmed but maintaine

continuous communications with the Kennedy with a portabl

AN/PRC/lO transceiver. The Kennedy remained alongside th

Marucia's port quarter and was at general quarters. Th

Pierce remained on the Marcula's starboard quarter. Durin

the boarding, the assistant boarding officer and the radi

operator remained on the deck of the Marcula in view of th

Kennedy.

The master of the ship was familar with the presidentia

proclamation, and he and his crew spoke good English and wer

cooperative during the search. The cargo of the ship

verified by bills of lading, consistd generally of sulphur

asbestos, machinery, trucks, lathes, spare automotive parts

emery powder, paper newsprint, cardboard, miscellaneou

tools, etc. All holds had been battened down, but one wa

removed and visibly searched. In the absence of an
suspicions pointing to prohibited materials aboard, and the

impracticality of further search, the boarding officer,

following consultation with the Kennedy, decided that further

search was not warranted. By 0910 the Marcula was cleared to

proceed and the boarding party returned to the Kennedy. By

1235 surveillance of the Marcula was terminated by the task

force commander.

During the second phase, from November 5-11,

CIWCLANTFLT promulgated the code name "Scotch Tape" followed

by a numeral to identify suspected ships. During this phase

"Scotch Tape" ships were observed outbound from Cuba and,

using information furnished to our U.N. delegation by the

Soviets, these ships were intercepted and inspected for

missiles. The information provided to the U.N. delegation

included-the names of nine Soviet ships which would carry the

missiles being removed from Cuba. In response, the United

States, through the Secretary of State, provided the Soviet

delegation with three locations at sea where U.S. navy ships

could rendezvous with the Russian merchant ships for the

agreed upon inspection. The information rovided by the

Soviets contained no course, speed, or route information and

therefore an extensive air and surface search was undertaken

to intercept the nine Soviet ships, which would not have been

necessary had the Soviets lived up to their agreement to

cooperate with a rendezvous. The Soviet ships appeared to

make no effort to pass the designated rendezvous points nor

did they depart from port on the dates specified.

83
Nevertheless, all nine Russian ships were located 

cooperated in varying degrees to allow aerial inspection 

their ships.

During the third phase from November 11-21, TF 136 

dissolved although some additional ships were trailed and 

additional "Scotch Tape" ships were designated.

Throughout the quarantine operations, the only mater

damage sustained was a collision between Wasp and Ho

during an approach by the Holder upon the Wasp for refueli

Neither ship was rendered incapable of continuing 

assigned mission. The special quarantine plot was disba

on November 26, 1962 after the Soviets had not only rem

their missiles, but after they had agreed to remove the IL

aircraft from Cuba within thirty days.

Task Force 135

Naval operations in support of CINCF4ANT OPLAN 

included the reinforcement of Guantanamo, the evacuatio

dependents and non-combatants from Guantanamo, the deploy

by CG FÎ'4FLANT of a four squadron Marine air group to 

West and enough squadrons to establish a three squa

Marine air group at Roosevelt Roads. The naval task forc

H-hour would then strike assigned targets in Cuba and pro

air defense -and close air support of Guantanamo. All 

these operations fell to Task Force 135.

The core of forces for what was later to become 

1'orce 135 was the carrier Independence which set sail 
Norfolk on October 11th for what was thought to be a routine

deployment. It had been scheduled for relief by the

Enterprise on October 27th but both remained at sea.

COMCARDIV SIX was embarked aboard the Enterprise. The

Independence was accompanied by English, Hank, O'Hare and

Corry. COt4SECONDFLT directed this deployment to be in or

south of the t4ayport area in order to reduce reactìon time to

a Cuban contingency at the direction of CINCLANTFLT.

The Enterprise had jufl returned to the United States

from a European deployment on October 11th. She hurriedly

set sail on October 19th, ostensibly to avoid hurricane Ella.

/ The day after the Enterprise set sail, Rush, Hawkins, and

Fiske also set sail to rendezvous with her.

On October 20th CINCLANT issued Operation Order 43-62

which commenced the naval actions in support of CINCLANT

OPLAN 312. The composition of Task Force 135 to implement

the 312 operations was as follows:

INDEPENDENCE with CVG 7

ENTERPRISE with CVG 6

Two destroyer squadrons - One AO

One AE

One MAG (2VMA, i VMF) at Roosevelt Roads

Later on October 20th CINCLANT directed CO4CARDIV's TWO

and SIX to move into position to execute CINCLANT OPLAN 312.

The Enterprise sailed to what it believed to be the most

advantageous position to do so at latitude 25N, longitude

8
75w. The Independence sailed to latitude 23-iON, longitud

72-24w. Also on October 20th CINCLANTFLT directe

COMNAVAIRt.ANT to hold the Enterprise's A-3J aircraft ashor

and to take aboard a twenty plane Marine A-4D squadron i

order to enhance the carrier's close air support capability

With both carriers north of Cuba, the Enterprise wa

assigned to operate between longitude 76-15w and 77-30W an

the Independence was to operate east of longitude76-lSW

They intended to remain north of Cuba until after the firs

day of operations.

s the time set for the President's address to th

nation approached, CINC[IANTFtJT directed the commander of th

naval base at Guantanamo to evacuate all dependents and non

essential personnel. With Task Force 135 now operating a

TG135.l (Independence group) and TG135.2 (Entefprise group)

the Joint Chiefs of Staff established DEFCON 3 worldwide a

of 222300Z. Because of the relatively restricted water

between the Bahamas and the north coast of Cuba, on Octobe

22nd, both the Enterprise and the indepndence with thei

accompanying vessels commenced movement southward through t

Windward Passage. At the request of the Guantanamo ba

commander, commencing on October 24th the carriers alternat

continuous advance early warning patrols over the Windwar

Passage. To be ready for any contingency, arrangements wer

made to refuel daily.

Tensions heightened on the afternoon of October 26

when the Enterprise obtained a radar contact characterist
of an enemy submarine. An A-1H aircraft was maintained over

the contact until relieved by an E-12 which obtained a sinker

at latitude l8-50N longitude 75-26w. Contact was lost the

next day, but, because of the increasing submarine threat,

Task Force 135 was shifted south of 18 degrees latitude,

where the water south and southwest of Jamaica made an ideal

operating area for protection against submarine threats.

Additional precautions included all-night steaming at darken

ship, evasive steering, zig-zagging, and the avoidance of

merchant shipping to the maximum extent feasible. As the

group moved further from the windward Passage, the air patrol

was finally secured on October 29th.

During November aircraft not equipped with identifying

transponders approaching the task force became an increasing

problem. Combat air patrols were frequently launched to

intercept and identify these threats. On November 25th

during the catapult launch of an F-8E aircraft to identify

one of these bogeys, a fatal aircraft accident occurred.

On November 22nd TG135.l was dissolved and the units

were detached for the United States. The Enterprise returned

to Norfolk on December 6th after having been continuously at

sea for 49 days. Task Force 135 continued to operate in the

Caribbean area with one carrier on station and the Lexigon

in CONUS on call from November 30th to December 15th, at

which time the Lexingon was relieved by the Enterprise. The

task force was dissolved in time for all ships to return to

home ports by December 20th.

87
Anti-Submarine Force Operations

During the early part of October, 1962 the Unite« State

Anti-Submarine Force Atläntic (ASWFORLANT), commanded by Vic

Admiral E. R. Taylor and headqua±tered at Norfolk, wa

employed in its normal anti-submarine and surveillanc

operations. This activity included long range patrols

underwater sound surveillance, and HUK (hunter-killer) grou

operations utiliing patrol aircraft operating from bases i

Ireland, Argentia, the Azores, Bermuda, Puerto Rico

Guantanamo, and the continental United States.

When the Cuban situation began to deteriorate

ASWFORLJANT was alerted to the strong possibility of Sovi

submarine activity in the western Atlantic. The MSTS oiler

Xi2g, observed a surface submarine, 135 miles north 

Caracas, Venezuela which it was unable to identify. Wh

DEFCON was set on October 22nd, ASWFORLANT was required 

increase its anti-submarine surveillance and to prepare f

other more active'military measures, including activation 

the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom ASW barrier to preve

the deep water deployment of the Soviet surface a

sutmarine force. On Octo&er 24th, 17 VP aircraft and 

submarines were deployed to the naval station at Argentia 

provide forces for Argentia sub-air barrier. The HUK uni

Task Group 83.2 (Task Group Alpha) was directed to rendezvo

with the carrier Independence to provide ASW protection.

By October 24th CINLANTFrLT was certain that at lea

three known Soviet subtuirines were operating in the nor
ktlantic and, along with the possibility of others, could

reach the quarantine line within a few days. Concern

heightened that the Soviets would conduct submarine

operations as a de1iberte counter against the quarantine

forces.

The U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff offered B-52 aircraft

for aerial surveillance of shipping. On October 25th

Strategic Air Command aircraft sighted the Soviet ship

Grozny. Task Group Alpha identified a Soviet submarine on

the surface as a Foxtrot class submarine on October 28th.

The ASW effort was sg intense that pn the 31st a Soviet

submarine with the number 911 painted on its tail was forced

to surface after 35 hours of contjnuous sonar contact by ASW

surface units. - New sightings of Soviet submarines continued in November

when an Eastern Airlines aircraft observed a submarine

submerging 69 miles north of San Juan. The Soviet submarine

945 was observed surfacing on November 6th and later on the

9th it rendezvoused with the Russian tug Pamir. Surveillance

was so intense that by the 6th it was reported that air

readiness could not be maintained at the present tempo of,

operations. One new submarine contact was also reported on

November 6th and another was made on the l3h. By midNovember Soviet submarine activity in the western Atlantic

was declining so that by the 19th and

the 20th of November ASW forces were primarily employed in

Scotch Tape operations with no significant unidentified

89
submarine activity reported.

The enormity of the air ASW effort during the period o

October 22nd to November 22nd is illustrated by the 8,4

personnel who conducted 4,749 sorties in 23,958 flight hours

Additionally, 6,546 men on four carriers directly support

the ASW effort and U.S. Air Force aircraft flew 87 sorties 

57-1 hours in support of the ASW. Also assisting in the A

effort were reservists from South Weymouth, Mass.; New York

Lakehurst, N.J.; Willow Grove, Penn.; Andrews Air Force Bas

Wash. D.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Jacksonville, Fia.; New Orleans

and Glennview, Ill. They logged over 775 hours in logist

flights and 350 hours of surveillance and sighted a

reported 190 different surface and underwater foreign craf

including Russian trawlers, Russian merchant ships, a Russi

electronic ship and an unfriendly submarine.

South Atlantic Force Operations

United States Navy South Atlantic Forces (SOt.ANT) und

the command of Rear Admiral J. A. Tyree received litt

notice of the impending crisis in Cuba. on the evening 

October 22, 1962 the commmander of the South American For

of the United States Atlantic fleet was in his flagship, t

U.S.S. Mullinnix steaming off the northern coast of Chi

engaged in ASW exercises of Operation Ùnitas III wi

Chilean, Peruvian, and United States forces. The crew w

shocked to hear the Presidentts address over shortwave rad

announcing a strict quarantine of offensive milita
91

equipment under shipment to Cuba. On October 24th COMSOLANT

was directed to return to Trinidad with key members of' his

staff as soon as possible. The senior Chilean and Peruvian

officers in the exercise were transferred to the Mullinnix to

be briefed on the situation. When they returned to their

ships, command of the exercise was pass&d to the senior

officer, Captain tdaza, of the Peruvian Navy and the Mullinnix

left the Unitas III task force for Callao, Peru. Upon

arrival on the morning of the 25th, COMSOLANT and most of the

members of his staff flew to Trinidad, arriving the morning'

of October 26th.

The bulk of the quarantine force was initally deployed

to the northeast of Cuba, allowing free access to the

Caribbean - area through the Lesser Antilles passages, the

island arc in the eastern Caribbean. Initially CINCLANTFLT

designated COMSOLANT as the quarantine force commander of the

southern approaches and directed him to form Task Torce 137

with thé Mullinnix as flagship over such S5uth American

forces as would be assigned. The Organization of American

States agreed to contribute forces but desired to operate 'as' a combined force under the O. A.S. rather than under dire'ct

U.S. command, although they did not object to being placed

under a U.S. commander. Accordingly, CINCLANTFLT cancelThd

his directive and CINCLANT designated COMSOLANT as 'thé'

commander of a combined Latin 1merican'-U.S. quarantina task'

force, CTF 137 to be formed. The Muluinnix arrived in'

Trinidad on November 3rd. previously on October 28th, two
Argentinian Fletcher class destroyers, ARA Rosales (e

U.S.S. Dortch) and ARA Espora, (ex-U.S.S. Stembel), command

by Capt. C. Arguelles sailed from their home port at Puer

Beigrano to join Task Force 137 after an extensive period 

sea with only five days to reassemble. They arrived at t

United States naval station at Trinidad on the morning 

November 8th with a full war complement ready for comb

operations. The South Atlantic staff tripled in size 

accommodate naval officers and men from the Latin xneric

countries including the formation of communication-liais

teams. The Venezuelan destroyers y_ulia, a

also arrived at the U.S. Naval Station 

Trinidad. The Venezuelan submarine ARV Carite (e

U.S.S. Tilefish) remained on call during the operation.

The Argentinian naval attache in Washington, Re

Admiral Grunwaldt, became the first foreign officer attach

to the COt4SOLANT staff, and served as the assistant chief 

staff for Argentine operations. Lieutenant Commander Jo

Ali Ericeno served as the assistant chief of staff f

Venezuelan operations.

The departure of Task Force 137 on November 12, 1962 f

its assigned duties in the quarantine operations marked t

first time that ships of a combined Latin American/Unit

States naval task force had ever set forth together on 

operational mission in defense of the Western Hemisphere. 

was the first time in the Twentieth Century that a unit 

the Argentine Navy had gone into operations outside of i
93

home waters The Venezuelan destroyers, Zulia and Nueva'

Es2árta occupied pátroLstations covering the passage between

Grenada and the mainland of Venezuela; The Rosales patrolled

the passage between the islands of Dominica and Guadaloupe.

The Espârta patrolled two stations, one in the Guadaloupepassage- and the other off the island of Monserrat. The

Mullinnix patrolled the Anegada Passage. During their

patrols, the Argentine destroyers logged 27 contacts,

Venezuelan destroyers logged 71, and the U.S. destroyer

Mullinnix logged 55, for a total of-153 contacts by Task

Force 137.

-- The Dominican Republic offered two frigates, the

Greaarlo Luperon and the Captain Petro Santana, to Task Force

137. They set saiL from Santa Domingo and arrived at San

Juan, Puerto 'Rico on November 15th, but, because of the poor

condition of their -engineering plants, they required

immediate tender availability in order to make them ready for

operations. The quarantine ended before either of these;

ships were put to sea.

Although censorship had been ordered -of quarantine

operations by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for public

affairs, - -word of the solidarity of the free nations of the

Western Hemisphere made news around the world.

Submarine Operations

As late as October 18, 1962 no units of the submarine
force of the Atlantic fleet (SUBLANT) under the command 

Vice Admiral E. W. Grenfell were employed to support Cub

contingency operations. The forces were employed on a norm

peacetime basis in DEFCON 5 polaris submarines were 

station in normally assigned patrol areas.

The first warning of trouble came on October 19th wh

CINCLANTFTJT verbally advised COMSUBLANT that the Greenlan

Iceland-United Kingdom ASW barrier might be implemente

Immediate action to implement the barrier if necessa

commenced. On October 22nd CINCLANTFLT directed COMSUBLA

to disperse all units currently located in Key West 

Charleston, N.C. or further north. Two days later a

submarines were enroute to either Charleston or Norfolk wi

the U.S.S. Marlin and the U.S.S. Sea Cat rendezvousing 

Miami. At that time COMSUBtJANT had 77 attack submarines a

9 ballistic missile submarines employed.

When COMSUBLANT received CINCLANT's message on Octob

22nd raising United States forces to DEFCON 3 alert statu

COMSUBLANT directed all Atlantic submarine units to load wi

a wartime load and to top off in ports earmarked for initi

deployment. Units at sea earmarked for deployment we

directed to return to port, load with wartime torpedos, a

to top off for possible extended operations. Prom this ti

forward all Atlantic submarine force units maintained 

uninterrupted readiness posture at the DEFCON 3 level unt

October 28th when CINCLANT returned United States nav

forces to DEFCON 5.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis the U.S.S. Georg

Washington and the U.S.S. Patrick Henry both served 61 day

patrols. Three diesel attack submarines and one APSS were

earmarked to participate in CINCLANT Cuban contingencies.

COMSUBrJANT also made suhnarines available for the covert

surveillance of Cuba.

Service Force Atlantic Operations.

With the massive naval forces deployed for both the

Cuban contingency operations and the quarantine operations,

massive amounts of replenishment and refueling were required.

Before the Cuban Crisis became public knowledge, Service

Squadron Four of the Atlantic Service Force (SERVLANT) was

already providing mobile logistic support for the previously

planned PHIBRIGLFX-62 exercise. Service Force ships also

evacuated 290 persons from Guantanamo to the continental

United States arriving on October 25th. By October 27th,

35/926 men (excluding Marines) were being supported by

SFJRVLANT ships. The average usage of fuel was 42,000 barrels

and this was expected to increase by 5,000 barrels upon the

arrival of Pacific Command forces. From October 31st to

November 19th when all ships had arrived at their assigned

quarantine stations, daily underway refueling schedules were

arranged so as to maintain ships with at least 70% burnable

fuel on board at all times. As of November 14th the total

afloat population in all task forces including troops being

transported was estimated at 100,000 in 184 ships. A total

95
of 648 ships were refueled by fleet oilers, and service force

units transferred 1,024 personnel by either helicopter or

high line between ships.

The primary focus of research from original sources for

this paper has been the deployment of U.S. Marine forces in

response to the Cuban contingency. The following chapter

summarizes much of the intelligence information provided to

U.S. forces about their potential adversary. Subsequent

chapters analyze the foundation of Marine expeditioinary

forces from their peacetime garrison stations and their

transportation to the Cuban theater for potential commitment

to battle.
CHAPTER VI

"TITE CUBAN THREAT"

If America ever had to go to war, 1962 was the time and

Cuba was the piace for victory. The United States was ready

for war and Cuba was not. It had just been a scant three

years earlier that the guerilla army of Fidel Castro had

defeated the regular Cuban army of the dictator Fulgencio

Batista in a two year campaign in which the Cuban army

mobilized some thirty thousand men yet lost only about two

hundred flA's before it collapsed.l The Cuban

revolutionaries had never faced a formidable conventional

foeì and the purging of internal opposition had delayed the

effective consolidation of the Castro-communist regime in the

country. The influx of Soviet bloc military aid had

increased the Castro regime's military preparedness, but its

military capability in the fall of 1962 was certainly

questionable. In fact in the preceding century none of Latin

America had experienced large scale conventional combat.'

Weather, Terrain, and Inhabitants

The climate of Cuba is generally hot, dry, and well

suited for military operations. Except for the fall and

spring when rainfall is plentiful, most of the year is

relatively dry with the average annual rainfall in the

1. Pimlott, John, Ed., Guerilla Warfare, The Military Press,

Boston, 1985, p. 108

97
Guantanamo area at 26.67 inches.2 By contrast the mountai

areas have an annual precipitation of over 70 inches wit

most of the lowland areas from 35 to 55 inches annually

The average temperature in the country varies from 70 degree

Fahrenheit to 81 degrees with annual variances of only 

degrees in the semi-tropical or temperate climate. Cuba 

located in the hurricane belt (Figure 4), and even thoug

they may not actually strike the island, seeral will affec

the area weather each year.

Half of the island is flat or rolling terrain and th

remainder is hilly or mountainous. The Oriente Provence 

which the Guantanamo Naval Base is located is dominated 

the Sierra Maestra Mountains culminated by the Pico Turquri

(6,562 feet). The largest river, the Cauta, flows westwar

for 200 miles north of the Sierra Maestras but is. ûsed ve

little for navigation. The terrain immediately surroundin

the naval base is generally hilly or mountainous with sem

desert vegetation, especially on the eastern and the wester

flanks of the base. The country has over 5,000 miles of all

weather roads with a central highway (the Carretera Centra

which extends for 777 miles from Guane in the west 

Commander Guantanamo Sector Caribbean Sea Frontier

Operation Pian 316-62. On file at the Marine Corp

Historical Archives at the Washington Navy Yard 

Washington, D. C. and recently declassified, much of th

intelligence data in this chapter is derived from th

document.

Barron, Louis, Ed. ,Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations

americas, Harper & Row, New York, 1965, p. 101

i:

t.
FIGURE 4
l

Guantanamo in the east. Connecting all major cities, this

highway provides the network for an extensive truck and bus

service for the transporation of passengers and freight. Two

nationalized railways connect both ends of the island with a

total of over 14,000 miles of industrial and passenger track

miles. Land use population, density, and economic activity

are depicted in Figures 5 and 6.

The Cuban coastline is marked by bays, keys, reefs, and

islets. Long stretches of lowlands and swamps dominate the

southern coast. Guantanamo Bay, the site of the naval base,

is one of the best harbors in the world with good protection

from storms and depths sufficient for handling deep draft

shipping. lthough the northern portion of the bay is

shallow, the depth of the water falls off rapidly outside of

the mouth of the harbor. The mouth of the harbor reaches 100

fathoms and the thousand fathom curve falls between 8,000

and 9,000 yards fromthe bay entrance. Neither of the two

rivers in the immediat area, the Guantanamo or Yateras, is

navigable. Fresh water for the base is obtained from the

Yateras River. Most of population surrounding the naval base

are either Negroid or mixed Negroid and Caucasian. Many are

of Jamaican descent. The once powerful middle and upper

socio-economic groups were practically eliminated by the

Castro regime, most of whose supporters were from the lower

economic classes. Most of the Cuban population were of the

Catholic faith with many in Oriente Province mingling their

Christian faith with voodoo and other primitive beliefs. The
L.

SU G A ft

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

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gleciti _ IOoIwt.i

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FIGURE 5

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Manopla

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MINING

UI tthtl4tl

Cu Coppel

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Mn MantL.,eS.

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yo,

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t

URBAN POPULAIIOI'4

(Icot) o °.' t oua

$ t00000 lo 200 000

0 50 000 I (00 000

POPULATIOÑ

RURAL POPULAtOr'4 DtUSIIY

¿1963)

U 'J 'n d'a

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çLAND UTILIZATION

POPULATION AND LAND USE

FIGURE 6

e. C,.i.

;

;';

s. Ciba

t Vil Iii till te.. is I

SI., ita Mid fl alI*,sd till

Sw 'hip 4HIJ jitad iIi

Savione jaIl si Itablt.,t bud bi ¿IltiitI pjIlttt oS Albo

UIio.it 14 II t I i',tIi M b I trI iiI piI' Iit ut st esiti seid p isltits
previous influence of the Catholic church has been eliminated

by Castro's deportation of lrge numbers of Catholic

priests.

The primary economic base of the country is agriculture,

with about 80 percent of its total area of 28 million acres

in farmland, and 52 percent of the cultivated land in sugar

cane. The United States had historically been the country's

largest purchaser of its sugar cane exports-until the Castro

regime embraced the communist bloc. The second most

important crop, tobacco, is grown on small farms requiring

intensive labor cultivation. Cuban coffee is grown in the

highland of Oriente Province. Also important to the country

is its production of cattle, hogs, and poultry and a growing

fishing industry. The third most valuable of Cuba's exports

are minerals including nickel, chrome, copper, iron, and

manganese. Most of the nickel deposits and plants are also

located in Oriente Province. Acute shortages in consumer

goods and economic deprivation of the population under the

Castro regime have been partially ameliorated by foreign aid

from the communist bloc, especially the Soviet Union.

Cuban Naval Forces

Cuba was divided into three naval districts each of

which had a district headquarters and posts and sub-poàts

under their control. The northern naval district includes

the northern coast of Cuba from Cabo de San Antonio to Punta

de Practicos with a headquarters at Mariel. The headquarters

103
of the eastern naval district located iu Santiago de Cuba

extends on the coast from Punta de Practicos to Punta

Sevilla. Cienfuegos houses the headquarters of the southern

naval district which extends along the coastline from Punta

Sevilla to Cabo de San Antonio. The Castro regime inherited

from the Batista regime a number of patrol-sized craft and

former Coast Guard cutters. An exact listing of these craft

as set forth in the Guantanamo Ready Battalion's Plan are i

Appendix 2.

In addition to the obsolete U.S. supplied vessels, from

January 15th to March 26th, various Soviet merchant ship

delivered a total of twelve P-6 class PT5 (Komar "class" fas

attack missile craft) and six Kronstadt class patrol boats.

The first Komar class craft were completed in 1961, and wer

equipped with two 21 inch torpedo tubes, twelve dept

charges, and four 25 millimeter anti-aircraft guns. At 6

tons fully loaded, they were capable of a maximum speed of 45

knots and a maximum range of 545 nautical miles. At 22 knot

they were capable of 1,400 nautical miles range.5 Althoug

small, the Komars were a significant threat to the Unite

States Navy ships which would support any offensive o

defensive operation in the Guantanamo area. An Egyptian Nav

Commander in Chief Atlantic Command, CINCLANT Historical

Account of the Cuban Crisiá, Headquarters of the Commander

in Chief, Norfolk, Va., i363, p. 7

Moore, John E., Capt. Ed., Jane's

Franklin Watts, Inc., New York, 1975, p. 565
105

Komar craft made naval history on July 12, 1967 by being the

first naval ship in the world to sink an enemy ship with a

guided missile. The West was stunned when the «ornar sank the

Israeli flagship destroyer Eat with three Soviet Styx

missiles at a range of over twelve miles in the Six Day War.6

On October 18th four of the «ornar craft ordinarily stationed

at Mariel were transfered to the Port at Banes, about 75

miles northwest of the Guantanamo Naval Base.

Cuban Air Forces

There are significant disparities between the

intelligence disseminated to the Guantanamo ground forces on

the Cuban air forces 7 and that apparently available to the

U.S. Navy. 8 The Guantanarno ground forces were informed that

there were over thirty major airfields in Cuba, but only ten

of these were Class I airfields capable of handling jet

aircraft. Two of these airfields, San Antonio and Holguin,

were within 100 nautical miles striking distance of

Guantanamo. By contrast, U.S. Navy records indicate that

twenty airfields were capable of supporting MIG fighter

operations.

O'Ballance, Edgar, No Ylct9fL 2 Yagì!4aP4ì. Th

Kp2er Wars, Presidio Press, San Rafael, Calif. 1978, pp.

308-10. See also Herzog, Chaim, The Arab-Israeli Wars: War

and Peace in the Middle East, Vintage Books, New York, 1984,

pp .197-8.

CG ist Marine Div., "Operation Pian 141-62 Ready BLT",

pp. J-II-i-4, on file at the Marine Corps Historical Center,

Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

CINCLANT Historical Account of the Cuban Crisis, pp. 7-8
I 10

Appendix 3 contains the enemy aircraft inventory

provided to Guantanamo ground forces. Significantly absent'

from this inventory is any listing for the MIG 21 "Fishbed"

fighters identified to be in Cuba on September 10, 1962.

Other intelligence sources have identified the number of MIG

21's to be 42.9 The older MIG-l5 "Fagpt" was the Soviet air.

f ''ce's first real entry into the jet age and was christened

with fire in Koreajn 1950.10

The tUG-21's were the front-line Soviet fighters in 1961

and were the first Soviet production aircraft to have a delta

wing form. They also posed a significant threat to all

contemplated United States military operations in th&

Guantanamo area.

Some Cuban naval aircraft had been stationed at Mariel

Naval Air Station primarily equipped for anti-submarine

warfare patrols. The Cubáns possessed some old PSY

Catalinas, the large ocean patrol flying boats that serve1

the allies well in a variety of functions during World War

II, and some old TBMs. Poor maintenance of both types of

CINCLANT Historical Account of the Cuban Crisi!, C.I.A.

reports of October 23 thru 28, 1962, ExComm National Security

Files, JFK Library, Boxes 315-316. C.I.A. reports for

October 1962 are available on microfilm; see Paul

Kesaris, ed., "C.I.A. Reiearch Reports: Latin Pmerica, 1946- 

1976." University Publication, Frederick, Md., (1982).

Portions of the C.I.A. reports of October 21, 25, 26, are in

Dan Caldwell, Missiles in Cuba: A Decision-Making Game

Learning Resources in International Studies, New York,

1979, pp. 5-20

Alexander, Jean, etal. Contributors, !igy2apedia ! M4aA2E Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1977, p. 131
107

aircraft and their electronic equipment limited them to

daylight visual search and they were not considered much of a

threat.

Intelligence also substantiated that approximately 75

Cuban pilots who had received MIG jet fighter training in

Czechoslovakia had returned to Cuba during the summer of

1961. Under Soviet leadership, a pilot training school had

been established near Havana at the San Antonio de Los Banos

airfield.

Also conspicuously absent from the aircraft inventory

provided to the Guantanamo gound forces was any reference to

the IL-28 "Beagle" bombers which were to figure so

prominently in the high level negotiations for their removal

between President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev. With a combat radius of 740 nautical miles and the capability to

deliver nuclear weapons, the "Beagle" could strike deep into

the continental United States and certainly could have posed

a significant threat to Guantanamo operations. Soviet

merchant ships carrying crates on their decks resembling

those of Beagle transport crates were photographed on

September 16, 28, and 29 and on October 2nd. The first bomber

was actually assembled during the week of October 12-17 at

San Julian Airfield. Additional Beagles at Holguín Airfield

were later confirmed for a total of 42 crated bombers. Twenty

were in various stages of assembly before they were shipped

back to the Soviet Union at the insistence of President

Kennedy.
1

Enemy Ground Forces

The implementation of Castro's stated purpose of

creating a major power armed force was in the embryonic

stages in the fall of 1962. Both regular army and

Revolutionary National Militia (reserve and voluntary forces)

reported directly to the Minister of the Armed Forces. Cuba

was divided into six military districts with three areas of

responsibility. Guantanamo was located in the eastern area

consisting only of Oriente Province. Caxnaguey and Las Villas

Provinces composed the central area and Matanzas, La Habana,

and Pinar del Rio Provinces composed the western area.

The army and the militia were considered to be the

backbone of the Cuban armed forces and had been employed

against counter-revolutionaries, but nevertheless lacked

organization and training above the battalion level.

Artillery training under the guidance of Soviet bloc advisors

had been integrated to the extent that there was a limited

capability of utilizing battery fire with forward observers.

Guantanamo ground forces estimated that the Cuban army and

militia had the weapons and equipment set forth in Appepdix

4.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis 48 Cuban divisions and

300 battalions, some of which were subordinate to the

divisions, were identified. Although not listed in the

Guantanaino ground forces schedule of weapons and equipment,

other sources estimated there to be 35 to 40 modern Soviet

T-54 medium tanks, many of which were confirmed to be a
Santiago de Las Vegas.11 The Cubans also had the PT--76

amphibious tanks which were 1aer to confront U.S. forces in

Vietnam - who were surprised to f iiìd their adversary fielding

an athored force.

Söviet ground forces drawn troni elite guard units were

statióned rimari1y at four locations in Cuba: Artemisa,

Santiago de Las Vegas, Remedios, and Holguin. Approximately

l,O'00 to 1,500 Soviét personnel organized into regimental

task forces er stationed at each camp. Each task force

consisted' of a medium tank battalion (32 medium tanks), an

armored réòonnaissance company, an armored infantry company

(orS possibly battalion), a multiple rocket launcher battery,

a nuctdar capable FROG (free rocket over ground) artillery

battalion (Óf 'a least two launchers) and a Snapper anti-tank

company-- withbòut nine triple launchers. The FROG1s and

snape'rs werd

' thought to be ñthintained principally under

Soviet control at th'e four camps;

When Cuban army forces were mobilized around the 22nd or

23rd of October, they demonstrated that their Soviet bloc

trainfhg had paid off. They mobilized and assumed their

defensive positions quickly with a minimum of confusion

despite 'continuing logistic deficiencies. The Cuban army

still lacked motor transport, proper individual field

clothing and equipment, and adequate provisions for feeding

troops -in the field. There were unverified reports that

11. Note 9,

109
11

several Cuban army units left their field positions when they

experienced hardship due to lack of food and proper rainwear.

Demobilization was completed about a month later on November

25th.

Also during the early part of September 1962, Soviet

surface to air missiles in Cuba were detected. Seven SA-2

Guideline SAM sites were detected on September 1, 1962

capable of hitting targets up to 60,000 feet with a slant

range capability of about 25 miles. Additional limited

capability extended to 80,000 feet. Construction of these

sites was rapid, and by September 6th the number of

confirmed sites had risen to 10. Three weeks later on

October ist the count had risen to 24. On September i9th

cruise missiles with ranges of 25 to 35 nautical miles were

detected at Banes. Two more were located on September 28th

and by the middle of October there were five. All defensive

missile sites were manned by Soviet personnel and were

expected to remain so for at least a year since adequate

training for Cubans would take at least that length of time.
CHAPTER VII

'THE BIG PICTURE"

Although the United States Marine Corps is a maritime

service with many Marines stationed at overseas bases and

deployed afloat on Navy ships, by far the greatest majority

of the total force is stationed within the continental United

States. Troops in garrison, are assigned to dividion, wing,

and force service support group units. Ground units are

subdivided into regiments, battalions, companies, and

platoons. On the west coast the 1st Marine Division is

stationed at Camp Pendleton, California and the 3rd Marine

Air Wing (MAW) is stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station

at El Toro, California. Ori the east coast the 2nd Marine

Division is stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and

the 2nd Marine Air Wing is stationed at the Marine Corps Air

Station, New River, North Carolina. Both east and west

coasts have Force Service Support Groups to which armor,

amphibious assault, and artillery units are assigned. The

component units of these commands can be flexibly assembled

into larger or smaller expeditionary task forces to meet

needed contingencies. Smaller combinations are also often

deployed in peacetime.l (Figures 7 and 8)

Both the east coast and west coast units are organized

under the general umbrella commands of a Three Star General

i. Pleet Marine Forces Organization, Education Center, Marine

Corps Development and Education Command, Quantico, Virginia

1980, pp. l-10

111
li

i;

t

A Fleet Marine Force is a balanced force of combined air and ground arms

primarily trained, organized, and equipped for offensive amphibious employment

lt may consist of a headquarters, Force Service Support Group (FSSG), one or more

Marine divisions, one or more Marine aircraft wings, and may include one or more

Marine brigades. At the present ime there are two such forces in existence: Fleet

Marine Force, Atlantic (FMFLANT), wich headquarters at Norfolk, Virginia, and

Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, (FMFPAC), with headquarters at Camp H M SMITH, Hawaii. As an example, the administrative, and training organization of Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, is shown schematically , while Fleet Marine

Force, Pacific is not shown, it should be noted that FMFLANT and FMFPAC

differ considerably in organization.

Zd MARINE

DIVISION

Zd RADIO

BN

EIGHT COMM

BN

FLEET MARIHE FORCE. ATLANTIC

ld MARINE

AIRCRAFT WING

FLEET MARINE FORCE

FMF LAN T

M4958

BATTALION

N OTE

1 00 00 INDICATES A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP 'EXPLAINED 8ELOV

2. SECOND RADIO BN OPCO' TO FMFLANT ADCON SECOND SSG

J EIGHT COMM BN OPCON TO ENFLANT ADCON SECOND FSSG

4 SECOND FORCE RECON CO. OPCON AOCON. SECOND FSSG OPERATIONAL

TASKING FROM CG ENFLANT VIA SECOND FSSG

5. SECOND AI4GLICO -OPCON AOCUN SECOND FSSG: OPERATIONAL TASKING

FROM CE FMFLANT VIA SECOND FSSG

Reprinted from Fleet Marine Force

Organization 1980, Education Center,

Marihe Corps Development and

Education Command, Quantico, Virgitha

FIGURE 7

2d FORCE SERVICE

SUPPoeT GROUP (REINI

Q

o

o

0 00 00 0000000000000 0000000 0000

2d FORCE

RECON. CO

SECO NO

A NG LIC O
REGRIENTA L

LANDING TEAM

MAY INC LUDE MORE

THAN ONE GROUND

COMBAT ELEMENT

MARINE AMPHIBIOUS BRIGADE 113

&tAB *

CO&ThND ELEMENT

PROVISIONAL MARINE

AIRCRAFT GROUP

CONTAINS ATTACK1

HELICOPTER, AND

ANTIAIR-WARFARE

CAPABILITIES.

CAPABLE OF

ESTA B LIS HME NT

ASHORE.

MAY BE EMPLOYED SEPARATELY OR AS AN ADVANCE FORCE OF A MAF

Reprinted from Fleet Narine Force

Organization 1980, Education -Center,

Marine Corps Development and

Education Command, Quantico, Virginia

FIGURE 8

(BRIGADIER GENERAL. CaMuo{NG

BRIGADE SERVICE

SUPPORT GROUP

FORMED FROM

FORCE SERVICE

SUPPORT GROUP,

DIVISION AND

WING. &AY INCLUDE

NAVY ELEMENTS.
as Fleet Marine Forces Atlantic or Pacific, respectively

When a force larger than regimental size is contemplated fo

either a deployment or to meet an actual contingency, it i

usually task organized into a force formed for the occasio

and dubbed "expeditionary". Regiments are composed of thre

battalions and, if deployed in an amphibious mode, called 

regimental landing team (Rlfl). When deployed aboat

amphibious shippìng, battalion-sized units are referred to a

battalion landing teams (BLT). A battalion is the smalles

Marine unit ordinarily designed for independent amphibiou

operation.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis the headquarters of th

Fleet Marine Force Atlantic (FMFLANT) remained at it

permanent statton at Norfolk, Virginia, and also remaine

subject to its ordinarily assigned chain of command under th

Commander in Chief of Atlantic Naval Forces.

As the Cuban situation began to deteriorate, FMFLAN

entered what has been characterized as the increase

readiness phase, from October 1-18, 1962. The deploymen

phase in which Marine amphibious forces were enroute t

perform assigned actual or contingency missions was th

deployment phase from October 19th through the 30th. Th

prolonged alert phase was from October 31st to November 28th

and the stand down phase during which units were redeploye

to their home stations was from November 29th throug

December l5th.2

2. Atlantic Command, Headquarters of the Commander in Chief
During the increased readiness phase, Marine forces

began planning to execute CINCtJANT OPLANS 312-62, 314-62, and

31-62. primarily this involved the prepositioning of

certain aviation ground support equipment for the use of

Marine air units at the Naval Air Station at Rooseelt

Roads, Puerto Rico, and the Naval Air Station at Key West,

Florida.

Within two days of the discovery of the medium range

ballistic missiles in Cuba, FMFLANT deployed, 2nd MAW to

Roosevelt Roads, Key West, and the aircraft carrier U.S.S.

Enterprise. A 2nd Marine Division infantry battalion was

deployed to the Guantanamo Naval Base airlifted by 2nd MAW

transport aircraft. A battalion landing team from Caribbean

amphibipus exercises then in progress was landed by the U.S.

Navy ships of PHIBROÑ-8, and a reinforced battalion from the

1st Marine Division was airlifted to Guantanamo by the

Military' Air Transit Servi?e (MATS).

The day after President .Kennedy announced to the nation

and the world the imposition of a naval quarantine around

Cuba, the Commanding General of FMFLANT activated the 2nd

Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEE) and, as its commanding

general, reported to the Commander of Amphibious Task Force

128 for embarkation. Within seven days ground units of the

2. cont. CINCLANT Historical Account of the Cubàn drisis,

U.S. Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia, 1963, pp. 153-61;.

Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, Command

Diary of Headguarters FMFLANT and II MEE, Norfolk, Virginia,

1963, pp. 1-14. Both are available from the Marine Corps

Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, Wash. D.0

115
Headquarters FMFLant

2d Marine Division (-)

RL T-8

ELT 3/8

BEST 2/8

BLT 3/6

BLT 2/2

BLT 2/6

BEST 1/2

4th MEE C-)

Headquarters RLT 6

1 Bn 22 Mar

2d MAW C-)

1/MA 331(-)

VM? 333

HqSqFMFLANT

Rt.T 2

BLT 2/2

BIST 1/6

BEST 3/2

3DBN(-), 10th Mar

MAG 26 (-) (Reinf)

VMA 331

1/MF 333

HMM 261

MMM 264

Sub Unit HMM 262

MAG 26C-)

Force Troops FMFLANT

3. CG FMFLANT, Command Diary g. !&&thT and II ME!,

l-3-b-1-2

2nd Marine Division, aviation command elements, 

helicopter units completed their embarkation. Pacific F

Marine Forces (FMFPAC) supplied two fixed wing jet at

squadrons, six G-V aircraft and the 3rd Light Anti-ircr

Missile (LAAM) battalion. The reassignment was accompli

by "chopping" the units from their ordinary chain of com

in FMFPAC to the operational command of the II 

Assignment of operational control in this manner can 

accomplished without physically moving the unit in quest

but, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, all of these wer

fact deployed to the east coast except VMA-223, a gr

attack squadron normally assigned to 3rd MAW.

The following units were deployed to the 2nd Ma

Expeditionary Force in response to the Cuban Missile Cris
By the time EMPLANT entered t'ne third phase of its

response to the Cuban Missile Crisis, more than 25,000

Märines were enroute to the Cuban theater with logistic

support adequate for at least 15 days of combat. Additional

logistic support was ready for shipment.

On November 29, 1962, the Commander in Chief of the

Atlantic Fleet directed a withdrawal of forces from the Cuban

contingency. A relaxation of readiness measures followed and

the deployed units were returned to their own stations. Most

were home by December 15th.

Preliminary plans for the embarkation of the II MET had

originally contemplated that the commanding general would

embark on the U.S.S. Mt. McKinley. The 4th Marine

Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) had previously been deployed to

the Caribbean to conduct routine amphibious exercises dubbed

PHIBRIGLEX-62. Its amphibious command ship was the

U.S.S. Francis Marion. At that time there were insufficient

command and control ships for the magnitude of the operations

planned as the commanding generals of the 4th MEB and of the

II MEF both required an amphibious command and control ship

from which to command their anticipated operations.

The U.S.S. Pocono, an amphibious command ship, was hurriedly

recalled from the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean to serve

as a command ship for the Commanding General of the II MET

and his staff. However, during the crisis the CG II MET and

his staff remained in garrison at Norfolk because of superior

communication facilities ashore.

117
The Fleet Marine Forces in the Atlantic and the I

performed a variety of operations during the crisis from 

evacuation of dependents from the Guantanamo Naval Ba

flying reconnaissance flights over Cuban territory. 

prepared for the defense of Guantanamo, for limited 

attacks on specified military targets in Cuba, and pr

to conduct an amphibious assault by the II bIEF in 

operations with other services to seize Cuba.

The Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Divisio

his headquarters which was to serve as the command elem

Landing Group West embarked aboard the U.S.S. Mt. McKin

October 30th. On the same day the headquarters of th

MEE which had been afloat for the PHIBRIGLEX-62 exercis

deactivated and its personnel and equipment were ab

into the headquarters of Landing Group West.

The following chapters depict in greater detai

specific operations of many of the units involve

especially the tasks which they undertook. The m

response required of the United States Marine Corps t

Cuban Missile Crisis was much larger than any tr

deployment would ever have been in peacetime. Seldo

contingency plans and operating procedures put to the 

test" that occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

few brief tension-filled days of the Cuban Missile C

the United States Marine Corps demonstrated its capabil

muster and project massive combat amphibious forc

support of the foreign policy of the country's na
119

command authority, the President of the United States.
120

CHAPTER VIII

"THE REINFORCEMENT OF GUANTANAMO"

For decades the United States Naval Base at Guantan

tv, Bay on the southeastern tip of Cuba had been a United Sta

naval base whose presence had been welcomed by the h

government. Consequently there had been no external threat 

challenge to its security. By treaty with Cuba, the Uni

States' right to the use of the five by nine mile base co

only be terminated by the United States' abandoning the a

or by mutual agreement. Since it was originally bui

advances in the operating range of naval and merchant vess

lessened its strategic military importance. But at the t

of the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was a major command of 

10th Naval District in the Caribbean Sea frontier capable 

providing medium base facilities for the accomplishment 

training missions. There were seven component activities 

the base, the naval station, naval air station, Mar

barracks, hospital, dental clinic, supply clinic, and pub

works, and two fleet commands, the Fleet Training Group 

Utility Squadron Ten, permanently stationed the

Approximately 4,000 military personnel and 280 U.S. civil

personnel, as well as 2,700 dependents and 2,500 indigen

personnel were normally assigned to Guantanamo.

The Marine barracks was also augmented by a t

pltoon, an artillery battery, a selt-propelled artill

platoon from Camp Lejeune, and a rifle company from 

Caribbean contingency battalion. Routinely the for
121

conducted exercises in which they took positions along the

main lines of resistance under simulated combat conditions.

However, these exercises usually lasted less than twelve

hours and were held during daylight. It would not be easy,

however, in the face of determined military opposition to

maintain the base. The base was vulnerable to an external

threat such as that which was amassing beyond its boundaries

in the fall of 1961.

Almost overnight, with the rise to power of a communist

dictator in the country, the peaceful surroundings of the

base began to change. From a naval outpost in a friendly

host country, it became the target of government-sponsored

anti-American sentiment. The removal of the base also became

a political objective of the host government. Furthermore,

hostile Cuban and Soviet troops and military equipment began

deploying in its vicinity. By October, 1962, Guantanamo was

a beachhead in hostile territory.

As such it presented a delicate challenge in an era of

Cold War confrontation. The Soviets had only recently

attempted to employ their military muscle to force the allies

out of Berlin, and it was reasonable to expect similar

challenges elsewhere whenever and wherever the Soviets

perceived a possibility of success. The base thus became a

"two-edged sword" in America's hand. On one hand, it could

become a dangerous pawn in super-power military and

political conflict that might require a military commitment

not commensurate with its strategic value as a military
installation. At the same time it could be a base 

which to launch offensive operations against Cuba should 

need arise.

In the Cold War world of the early 1960's any sign 

weakness by the West was a target for exploitation by 

communists parries. Because Castro's demands for Nue

withdrawal from the base were bolstered by Soviet rhe

and at least some degree of military support, to 

acquiesced would have demonstrated Nuerica's lack of re

and would have undermined the confidence and support of 

allies, particularly in Europe. To have allowed the ba

be used as a bargaining chip in confrontations 

negotiations in other parts of the world would also 

demonstrated a willingness to withdraw in the fac

pressure.

The commander of the Naval Antilles Defense Comman

normally assigned responsibility by the Commander in Chi

the Atlantic Fleet for the overall coordination and de

of the Guantanamo Naval Base. Studies completed in 

1962 delineated a number of deficiencies in the de

capability of Guantanamo should there be a sudden conc

attack by Cuban- forces.

A variety of effort had already been initiate

improve defenses. Air search radar capabilities had b

serious deficiency and the Commanding General of Fleet M

Force Atlantic Forces was directed to provide the pers

and equipment necessary to support a TPS-lS air search r
This was completed by October 22, 1962.

As late as October 6th the only anti-air warfare

capability available to the base was provided by flU aircraft

of Utility Squadron 10 as well as ships undergoing refresher

training in the area. tt was also recognized that Hawk or

Redeye missiles systems were needed for defense against no

warning, low level air strikes. With the influx of Soviet SA2 radar, the KOMAR guidance system, and surface to surface

missiles, it became apparent that there was a lack of

intelligence data to actively counter these threats. Much of

this data could only be obtained from sources outside usual

naval intelligence channels, and an aggressive effort to do

so was instituted. - Two mobile construction battalions in September

commenced work improving ground defense fortifications. A

list of targets posing a direct threat to the Guantanamo

Naval Base was forwarded from the Antilles Defense Command to

be incorporated into the OPLAN 312 target list and

assignments on October 18th.

Water for the base was normally provided front the

Yateras water plant north of the base which was under Cuban

government control. In the event this source was eliminated,

plans were made to have naval auxiliary oilers and tankers

readied to haul water when required. Base defense plans were

to include an attack to the northeast to capture the water

plant should tI%e need arise. Additionally, two surgical

teams carrying fifty pints of whole blood were transferred

123
r

from New York and Bethesda to Guantanamo, arriving on Octob

2 3rd.

Another major problem was the-presence of almost 3,

non-combatants, including the dependent families of milit

personnel stationed aboard Guantanamo. By mid-afternoon 

October 21st the situation had deteoriated sufficiently t

the evacuation of these dependents was ordered. Amphibio

landing ships were enroute to Guantanamo, and these shi

along with aircraft bringing in additional Marine com

units were directed to evacuate the civilians. Most w

evacuated by the UIISS U.S.S. Hydes, U.S

Duxbur1 Bay and tJ.S.S. DeSoto County. Air and sea esc

for the ships transporting non-combatants was provided 

COMCARIBSEAFRON.

One of the most critical deficiencies in the defense 

the base was the size of the ground defense force. A Mar

Barracks consisting of four companies of Marines was norma

assigned to the naval base, which, at the time of the Crisi

was commanded by Col. George W. Killen. This force alone 

totally inadequate to defend the base against a concer

attack, especially considering that the bay almost divi

the base in half. This split the defense force into 

virtually non-supporting elements. However, by October 1

the entire combat capability of the Atlantic Command of 

United States Navy was concentrated on the Cuban contingen

In order to accommodate the large influx of incom

battalions into Guantanamo, it was necessary to establis
more extensive command structure than was routinely stationed

aboard the base. The chief of staff of Joint Task Force 4 at

Fort Monroe, Virginia was Marine Brigadier General W. R.

Collins. On October 19th he received orders from the

Commander in Chief of tlantic Forces to report to Guantanamo

by the following day for duty as the ground forces commander.

On the same day he received his orders, he organized a

skeleton provisional staff with personnel drawn from east

coast Marine installations. The newly organized staff

composed of eleven officers and twelve enlisted men assembled

at the headquarters of FMFLANT in Norfolk, Virginia- on

Saturday morning and, aftera short briefing, took a flight

which landed at McCalla airfield at Guantanamo that

afternoon. Upon their arrival, the base was in DEFCON 3 set

by the commander of the Antilles Defense Command located at

San Juan, Puerto Rico.l

Prior to the arrival of reinforcements, Companies A and

B of the Marine Barracks and Company C (Mobile Construction

Battalion-4) supported by an artillery battery and a selfpropelled artillery platoon manned the eastern perimeter and

comprised the windward force.2 The Caribbean conting'ency

company stationed on the base at the time was Company E of

CINCLANT Historical Account -of the Cuban Crisis, pp. 90-

102. Much of this chapter is extracted from this source.

Commanding General, Command Diary of Ground Forces,

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 19 October - 12 December 1962;- Commander

Guantanamo Sector Caribbean Sea Frontier, O2eration Plan 316-

1962. Both are on file at the Marine Corps Historical

Center, Washington Navy Yard, Wash. D.C., pp. l-12. Much of

this chapter was also extracted from these sources.

125
2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines (2/2). Reinforced with a tan

platoon, artillery battery, 106 mm recoilless rifles, and 8

mm mortars manned by Seabees, they occupied the wester

perimeter and comprised the leeward force. General Collin

immediately conducted a helicopter reconaissance of the bas

to plan for the employment of reinforcements which wer

expected to begin arriving the following morning.

The challenge facing General Collins was intense. Hi

mission was to defend the base and be prepared to eipand th

defensive perimeter, including the seizure and control of th

Yateras water plant. It was also critical to hold the vita

Leeward 7\irfield with a runway capable of accommodating je

aircraft to preserve the access of reinforcements by air

Its seizure would severely cripple efforts to rapidl

reinforce the base, as would any mortar, rocket, or artiller

attack upon either of the airfield complexes.

General Collins made the on the spot decision to sen

the initial airlifted company from the west coast t

reinforce the Caribbean contingèncy company already presen

on the leeward main line of resistance in order to bette

defend that airfield.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff directed late on October 18th

that aircraft from the Military Air Transit Service (MATS

transport a reinforced infantry battalion landing team (BLT

from the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) on the we

coast to Guantanamo. This had not been anticipated 

previous contingency planning, but after rapid coordination
127

the Second Battalion of the First Marines (ELT 2/1) commanded

by Lieutenant Colonel William Geftman, was selected and was

prepared to embark from El Toro, California on the evening of

October 19th. The organic units of the battalion were

formally alerted at 0730 that morning and with striking speed

were ready to depart by 1600 that afternoon. All attached

units were ready to move out by 2000 that night. A delay of

thirty hours at El Toro for the arrival of MATS aircraft was

due in part to difficulty at MATS headquarters in

understanding the 1st Marine Division's message which

transmitted the airlift requirements. The first increment

departed El Toro on the morning of the 21st and the last

increment arrived at Guantanamo late in the evening of

October 22nd. The airlift involved 1,797 personnel and

130,222 pounds of cargo flown in 89 MATS sorties.3

When BLT 2/1 landed, Company E was originally moved into

a position on the leeward main line of resistance in order to

provide additional security for arriving reinforcements at

Leeward Airfield. The remainder of the battalion, F,G, and H

companies, were immediately ferried across the bay to the

sea-plane landing on Fisherman's Point where Lieutenant

Colonel Huntingtont s Marines had landed in 1898. From there

they were placed in positions along the windward thain line of

3. Commanding Officer, Command jy 2g ELT 2/1, 1963, pp. 1-

9 and Commanding Off icer, Ready BLT 2/1 Operation Plan 141-

62, pp.1-2. Both are on file at the Marine Corps Historical

Center, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
resistance where they relieved the Marine barrack's compani

and the Mobile Construction Battalion-4 Company.

The 2nd Marine Division always maintains one battali

in a advanced state of alert at all times for airlift

contingencies. On Friday, October l9 1962 the Fir

Battalion of the Eighth Marines (1/8) commanded by Lieutena

Colonel 3ames E. Wilson made a routine exchange of ale

responsibilities between the division's battalions. Ev

though it was the division's "ready battalion," 1/8 did n

have any reinforcing or combat service support element

which would later necessitate a redistribution of t

resources dedicated to other units to make it sel

sufficient. But on Saturday, October 20th, the alert was n

a drill and Company B departed Camp Lejeune for Cherry Po

and arrived in Guantanamo on the following evening. 

Company was placed under the operational control of BLT 2/

moved across the bay, and phased in along the windward ma

line of resistance. As other companies of 1/8 arrived by a

at Leeward Airfield, companies of BLT. 2/1 were moved acro

the bay into positions on the windward main line 

resistance in order to defend the vital area of the bas

Immediately after landing, companies C, D and Lof 1/8 we

moved into tactical positions to provide security aroun& t

aLrfield for further arrivals, while H&S Company unload

incoming aircraft.

With all the hurried planning that the Cuban contingen

required, the Guantanamo defenders were due for a stroke 
good luck. A large amphibious exercise dubbed PHIBRIGLEX-62

had long been planned in the Caribbean to land a regimental

landing team (RLT) on Vieques Island in Puerto Rico to be

opposed by composite companies of approximately 500 aggressor

troops from the Schools Demonstration Troops normally

stationed at Quant ico, Virginia and a force reconnaissance

company. A regimental headquarters was already deployed on

Vieques as the control group. The exercise was quickly

cancelled, freeing the units involved for the "real thing."

At the same time on October 21st that CINCtIANT was directed

to airlift a battalion from Camp Lejuene to Guantanamo, he

was also directed to land the Caribbean Ready Battalion at

Guantanarno. That battalion, BLT 2/2, had been participating

in PHIBRIGLEX-62. Instead of rendezvousing with other

amphibious shipping for the Vieques landing, it embarked in

PHIBRON-8, continued to sail west, and arrived at the mouth

of Guantanamo Bay on Monday morning, October 22nd.

At 0915 the command was given to command to "land the

landing force" and in less than an hour Lieutenant Colonel

David Brewster Sr.'s Marines were ashore to the rear of the

leeward main line of resistance. From there they moved

forward and relieved in place the companies of 1/8, freeing

them to be whisked across the bay into reserve blocking

positions behind BLT 2/1. When the Marines-of BLT 2/2 were

ashore, the Navy ships on which they had been embarked took

on many of the base's dependents and set sail for the United

States. With the evacuation of these dependents, the base

129
was truly on a combat footing, functioning as an advan

naval base under the security of U.S. Marine forces.

The headquarters battery of the Second Battalion of t

Tenth Marines (2/10) commanded by Major T.B. White, jr. al

landed at Leeward Point Airfield on the morning of Octob

22nd. A fire support coordination center was th

established for the ground forces on the windward side in 

bomb shelter in the vicinity of McCalla Field. Also in pla

on the windward side were 105 mm howitzer batteries of 

Battery, 1/11, X battery, and some personnel from K Batte

of 4/lo. Since August, K Battery of 4/10 with six 155 

howitzers and a platoon of 155 'mn self-propelled guns fr

the Second Field Artillery Group of Force Troops of FMFLA

had also augmented the fire support capability on t

windward side. The 105 mm howitzers of I Battery of 3/lo a

the 4.2 mm mortars of D Battery of 1/11 provided fire suppo

for the .leeward side.

Since 1/8 had arrived with no artillery support, 

artillery forward observer teams, a liaison team, and 

shore-fire control party to direct naval gunfire we

assigned to them. The survey of both sides of the bay w

initiated immediately under the supervision of Wi

Lieutenant 11.14. Snook to assist in the registration 

artillery fires.. Together these artillery batteries formed 

provisional artillery group with a command post establis

in an evacuated ammunition bunker situated near the gro

forces headquarters in the Cuzco valley. Nearby was 
131

famous Cuzco well, which had been an objective of the Marines

in the 1898 campaign.

The headquarters of the Sixth Marines (RLT-6) commanded

by Colonel R.W.L. Bross was originally to form the umpire

control group for PuIBRIGrEX-62. They had been off-loaded at

Vieques Island, but they were redeployèd by airlift to

Guantanamo where they assumed control of the windward forces,

by then composed of BrJT 2/1, 1/8, and the provisional

artillery group.

As reinforcements began arriving, Mobile Construction

Battalions 4 and 7 began the construction of front line

positions, access roads, bunkers, command posts, and troop

facilities. Initially, communication was a problem, but by

October 26th all radio networks were backed up by parallel

wire communication.

Marine Air Group (MAG) 32 commanded by Colonel T. L.

Bronleewee, Jr. had been tasked with providing air support

for PHIBRIGLEX-62. Its headquarters, however, deployed to

Guantanamo on October 23rd and assumed operational control of

VMF 333 and WA 331 which had previously been positioned at

Roosevelt Roads for PHIBRIGLBX-62. Also assigned to MAG 32

were detachments of VCMJ-2 and MASS-1 and four KCLl3OFs

which provided in-flight refueling between Roosevelt Roads

and eastern Cuba. When Colonel Bronleewee's headquarters

arrived in Guantanamo, a direct air support center was set up

in the bomb shelter at McCalla Field which by then had been

vacated by the provisional artillery group's fire support
coordination center. Additionally, on October 21st, VMA

was deployed by CINtJANTFLT to the U.S.S. Ente!prise wher

remained on alert until December 5th.

Earlier on October 18th, CINCLANT had requested 

Joint Chiefs of Staff to transfer a light anti-airc

missile battalion of Hawk missiles from the Pacific Com

to the Atlantic Command. The Third Light Anti-Airc

Missile (LAAM) Battalion at Twenty-Nine Palms equipped 

Hawk surface to air missiles was designated and 

Commandant of the Marine Corps directed on October 20th 

this unit deploy to Guantanamo. The battalion staged 

George Air Force and, in 92 MATS sorties, 522 personnel, 

2,539,500 pounds of cargo were transported beginning on 

23rd and ending with the last aircraft landing at the Ma

Corps kir Station at Cherry Point, North Carolina on 

25th; But when liaison officers reviewed maps of 

Guantanamo area, they agreed that only one battery of 

missiles could be effectively utilized in the small are

the naval base. Charlie Battery of 3rd LAAM Battalion 

selected to go on to Guantanamo and was airlifted in 

sorties of KC-l3OF's along with 48 Hawk missiles. 

arrival it was chopped to MAG 32 arid emplaced on John 

Jones Hill. Within a few hours it was operational. 

remainder of 3rd LA.AM Battalion remained at Cherry P

under the operational control of the Second Marine Air W

By the 1st of November the positions of the Mar

defending the naval base wére well consolidated. BtJT 2/
133

1/8 had assumed control of all sentry points along the main

line of resistance on the windward side. Bt.T 2/2 had

assigned its reconnaissance platoon the mission of

maintaining sentry posts along the leeward fence line as well

as patrolling the Guantanamo River and the area forward of

the main line of resistance but still within the boundary

lines of the base. Naval gunfire support was provided by

five destroyers. Three were always on station in three fire

support areas designated southwest of the base, southeast of

the base, and in the upper harbor area. The crews practiced

fire control drills with the shore fire control parties in

support of the front line position and a constant watch was

maintained on the fire control nets.

The following weeks found the Marines dug in at

Guantanamo hosting a number of VIP visits. On October 31st

the commanding general of the Second Marine Air Wing, Major

General R.C. Mangrum, visited, followed on November 7th by

Rear Admiral N. Johnson, the commander of Amphibious Group

III, and Brigadier General W.T. Fairbourn, the commanding

general of the Fifth Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEE). By

then the 5th MEE had passed through the Panama Canal and

was in the Caribbean within striking distance oÇ Cuba.

4. Commanding Officer, Report of operations of 3rd Light

Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion, 1962, pp.1-2. This document

is also on file at the Marine Corps Historical Center,

Washington Navy Yard, Washington, b.c.
The 187th birthday of the Marine Corps on November 10t

found most Guantanamo Marines eating birthday cake on th

front lines. However, 50% of the officers met at th

Off icer's Club for a birthday celebration hosted by Rea

Admiral E.J. O'Donnell, the commander of the naval base an

Brigadier General Collins, the commanding general of th

ground forces. Three days later the Commandant of the Marin

Corps, General David M. Shoup, Major General t..F. Chapman

the G-4 of the Marine Corps, and Rear Admiral Wendt arrive

by A3D jet at Leeward Point Airfield. Admiral R. L

Dennison, the Commander in Chief of all Atlantic Naval Force

and his Deputy Chief of Staff for contingency plans

Lieutenant General L.W. Truman of the United States Army

arrived at McCalla Airfield on November 15th.

The commanding general of Fleet Marine Forces in th

Atlantic, Lieutenant General R.B. Luckey, accompanied by Vic

Admiral H. Rievero, the commander of amphibious forces in t

Atlantic, and Major General R.C. Mangrum, the commandin

general of the Second Marine Air Wing, arrived on Novembe

20th. The Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Pred Korth, arrived o

Thanksgiving Day and joined the Marines in a field mess f

Thanksgiving dinner. Senator Margaret Chase Smith, 

republican from Vermont, arrived on Saturday evening

December 1st.

Guantanamo had been quickly reinforced by both air a

sealif t "when the balloon went up." When the order w

given to redeploy back to the United States, the withdraw
J-35

of forces occurred almost as quickly. On November 28th the

message was received from the Commander in Chief of the

Atlantic Fleet to return BLT 2/1 to Camp Pendleton. It was

relieved in place by 1/8 and staged at Ferry Landing to await

the arrival of amphibious shipping. Its battalion commander,

Lieutenant Colonel Geftman, was presented a letter of

commendation for the outstanding performance of his unit by

the commanding general of ground forces, Brigadier General

Collins. By December 3rd all of of BLT 2/1 was aboard

amphibious shipping and ready to proceed to the Panama Canal.

The message from CINCLANTFrJT directing the redeployment of

BLT 2/2 and 1/8 and the Headquarters RLT-6 to the United

States aboard PHIBRON 8 shipping and Marine aircraft was

received on December 6th.

By December 12th all of the reinforcing battalions had

redeployed by either air or sealif t, and one of the most

unique Marine Corps operations since World War II was over.

It marked the first time since World War II that east and

west coast Marines had manned lines side by side and the

first Marine Corps operational deployment in which a triple

combination of delivery means, MATS aircraft, Marine

aircraft, and amphibious shipping, had been utilized to mass

forces into a single combat area.

The following chapter contains more detail' - of- the

assembly of west coast Marines into an expeditionary brigade

which sailed to the aid of their fellow Marines on the east

coast.
CHAPTER IX

11G0 EAST, MARINE"

The 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEE) was

originally organized as a cadre unit designated to be

activated only upon the execution of the first phases of the

Cuban contingency plans. Tables of organization for the

brigade headquarters and the headquarters company were

approved on April 12, 1962. During the period of cadre

status, the members of the 5th MEE staff familiarized

themselves with the appropriate contingency plans. The

commanding general, Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force Pacific, was

assigned responsibility for filling the required troop

commitments for the 5th MEE upon activation. The major west

coast commands maintained up to date rosters of personnel

who were to be assigned to the 5th MEB upon activation.

Each of the units which would comprise the 5th MEE were

well-trained and all had participated in many unit, and

battalion-sized exercises with some having participated in

regimental level training.l

On October 19, 1962 the ist Marine Division received 

dispatch from the commanding generai of Fleet Marine Force

in the Pacific forwarding a directive from the Joint Chief

of Staff that, a reinforced infantry battalion be chopped i

place to the Commander in Chief of Atlantic Naval ?orces

1. Commanding General, Command Diari of the Fifth Marin

Expeditionar1 Brigade 18 Oct-5 Nov 1962, on file at th

Marine Corps tflstorical Center, Washington Navy Yard

Washington D.C. The majority of the chapter covering thi

time period was extracted from this source.

136
137

The monitor staff of the 5th MEB was alerted to the possible

activation and future deployment of the brigade. As the 1st

Marine Division carried out the mount out to proviae the

requested reinforced infantry battalion, the 5th MEB staff

monitored the action for the purpose of determining the

probable activation and deployment of their unit.

Shortly after the receipt of the JCS directive, the

commanding general of the 5th MEB, Brigadier General W. T.

Fairbourn, sent for the pre-assigned members of the brigade

staff to assemble at Camp Pendleton for an orientation

conference to further familiarize them with their staff

assignments, the mission and task of the brigade, its status,

and the probability of its activation. The next day the

order was received directing the activation of the 5th MEB

headquarters.

One of the battalions which had been committed to the

5th MEB was the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marines (BtJT 2/1)

which was the unit chopped to CINCLANT. Since no directive

was received specifying a replacement for Bt.T 2/1, General

Fairbourn directed that plans proceed for activation and

deployment of the brigade based on the assumption that a

replacement would be assigned and the full complement of

four battalions and combat service supports would be

available to execute the Cuban contingency plans. Planning

also assumed that the 5th MEB would depart from its point

of embarkation with a full complement of allocated shipping.

By noon on October 22, 1962 virtually all of the
personnel assigned to the brigade headquarters and

headquarters company had reported for duty. By this time thê

Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet had directed the

assembly of naval shipping which would be required to move

the 5th MEL All designated shipping was directed to proceed

to the naval station at San Diego from which the brigade

would embark.

The administrative effort to form the brigade was

formidable. Each individual reporting Marine had to be

identified, assigned, accounted for, paid, and fed

Additional medical personnel were obtained from the Bureau o

Medicine and Surgery bringing the brigade to full strength

The brigade legal section sent contact teams to each of th

battalions assigned to the brigade to prepare wills, power

of attorney, and other legal assistance for the deployin

Marines. Interrogator/translator teams were assigned to each

battalion and the regimental headquarters. The intelligenc

section unpacked, inventoried, and delivered to appropriat

units a total of 247,000 maps necessary to meet the brigadet

requirements.

The brigade was formally activated by message on Octobe

23, 1962 which ordered that it was to be completely embarke

within 96 hours. Additional planning and embarkatio

proceeded at an accelerated pace in order to meet th

deadline. The 1st Battalion of the 7th- Marines (u/7) wa

assigned to replace ELT 2/1. At the time of embarkation th

brigade consisted of Regimental Landing Team-1 (RLT-l), th
'39

ist Marine Regiment of the ist Marine Division, and the 3rd

Battalion of the 7th Marines (3/7). The reconstituted

battalion, 1/7, was assigned to be the Landing Group East

Reserve in brigade planning.

Late on October 23rd, the brigade was informed that the

II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) was activated for

planning and embarkation for Cuban contingency operations and

that the task organization in ti MEF's operations plans

included the 5th MES as Landing Group East.

fly the following evening almost all of the classes of

supplies had been transported to the point of embarkation

with the exception of class V and V A stocks (certain types

of ammuflition). The request was made to expedite the delivery

of these supplies and a 100 man working party was sent to

assist in their loading. Nevertheless, because the supplies

did not arrive on time, there were complications with the

loading of the ships and the balancing of supplies ib the

embarked ships. Loading of amphibious shipping at the

embarkation stage is critical, because, once it is loaded,

very little can be shifted around while at sea. The last

thing in is the first thing out, and this must be what would

be needed in the first assault wave.

In spite of difficulties, the brigade and all of its

assigned units were completely embarked on naval shipping and

set sail under the temporary operational control of-CINCLANT

within the assigned 96 hour deadline. The brigade attempted

to maintain secrecy by issuing no press releases and replying
y

I]

II 

to inquiries only that the forces were sailing on maneuvers.

In order to transport units of the brigade to the point

of embarkation, 476 vehicles of all types were augmented to

brigade use and drove an estimated 70,000 miles. They

transported 6,211 personnel with their personal and combat

equipment, 13,620 tons of bulk cargo and ammunition, and 158

pieces of special use and heavy equipment. The organic

equipment of the brigade was transported from as far as the

Marine Corps Base at Twenty-Nine Palms, California. The

brigade's organic units traveled an estimated 49,500 miles

towing their 155mm howitzers and carrying their basic load of

155mm howitzer anìmunition. In the total of almost 120,000

miles driven, only one minor traffic accident occurred.

The first ship to commence loading the brigade was th

U.S.S. Bayfield, an amphibious transport assigned t

kmphibious Group '(PHIBGRU) III. The command ship for the 5th

MEB was the tJ.S.S. Eldorado. However, due to the ship'

limited billeting space, many members of the brigade'

headquarters were embarked on other ships which hampere

staff coordination and supervision. Nevertheless, the morale

of 5th MEB Marines, now officially assigned the designato

Task Group 53.2, was excellent. Their estimated time o

arrival at Balboa, Panama, the Pacific point of entry to th

Pânama Canal, was November 5, 1962.2

2. commanding General, Command Diary of the Fifth Marin

Expeditionary Brigade 5-30 November 1962, on file at th
141

s the task group proceeded south toward the Panama

Canal, the Navy implemented security precautions usually

associated only with wartime 6r other sailing requiring

maximum alert. knti-submarine warfare operations

intensified, and at night the ships sailed at darken ship

with radio security and a host of other security precautions

undertaken. While in transit the 5th MEB staff continued to

update its operations plans for the Cuban contingency. With

the addition of the 5th MES, a near simultaneous assault

capability with two landing groups in eastern Cuba or at any

of several other locations was possible. The staff also

prépared to assume operational control of the aviation

command element which was to be assigned as the task force

neared the objective area.

1s -the task -force closed upon the Panama Canal,

international tensions related to the Cuban crisis began to

subside. Many began to doubt whether the execution phase of

the operation plans would ever take place. The command also

had to contend with-the additional possibility of long

periods of deployment at sea in a ready status. The definite

possibility existed that the required deployment might exceed

sixty days and General Luckey requested an estimate of how

long the 5th MES could maintain its current maximum readiness

posture and of the time required to regain this posture after

2. cont. Marine Corps Historical Center, Washington Navy

Yard, Wash. D.C. The majority of the remainder of this

chapter covering this time period was extracted from this

source.
1

having to "stand down" for maintenance and training. General

Fairbourn replied that the maximum state of readiness

existing at the time of embarkation could be maintained for

sixty days, provided that fifty percent of the command at a

time be allowed to conduct training ashore on Vieques.

Training ashore at Vieques was even more imperative because

the brigade had never before trained together as a unit, and,

because of the imposed radio silence, it was impossible to

conduct communication checks of radio equipment.

The task force arrived in Balboa, Panama on the

afternoon of November 5th and was dissolved in order to be

reorganized. With some changes to the escort shipping, the

remainder of the task group was reactivated the same

afternoon as Task Group 44.9 and was chopped to the Naval

Atlantic Command. The west coast Marines were soon to join

their east coast counterparts in a rare joint operational

deployment.

With the exception of the command ship, the U.S.S.

fl242 and the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, the newly designated task

force began to immediately transit the canal. The Iwo Jima

required special rigging for passing through the canal while

the Eldorado docked on the Atlantic side.

While docked the 5th MEB took on the headquarters of

four U.S. Army Civil Affairs platoons for operational

control. While the shipping passed through the canal, the

commanding general of the 5th MEB, the commander of Naval

Amphibious Group III upon which the brigade was embarked, and
143

selected members of the their staffs departed for Norfolk to

attend a conference planned by the Naval Commander of

ktlantic Nnphibious Forces. From there they went to General

Luckey's headquarters for further briefings. They then went

on to Guantanamo to receive another detailed briefing,

including an orientation of port facilities, staging areas,

logistical support areas, and assembly areas available in the

event the 5th MEE was directed to reinforce the ground

defense forces at Guantanamo. By the time these briefings

were completed on November 9th, the Eldorado, along with the

remainder of Task Group 44.9, had completed transit through

the canal and was steaming northeast in the Caribbean. At

the same time that General Fairbourn was picked up at

Kingston, Jamaica, the command group of Landing Group East

Aviation was also picked up and their control was chopped

from the 2nd Marine Air Wing to the 5th MEE.

Orders were received that half of the amphibious forces

were to be maintained in a ready status within 24 hours

steaming distance of Guantanamo and the remainder of the task

group was authorized to conduct landing exercises on Vieques

Island. Instructions were also received to suspend all

preparations to implement OPLAN 314-61 with the exception of

those portions which were applicable to OPLAN 316-62. Also,

as a result of the conference in Norfolk, detailed plans were

undertaken for possible operations in the Mariel and Matanzas

areas of Cuba, both east and west of Havana.

In order to facilitate periods of maintenance and
training as well as occasional liberty, the' brigade was

divided into an Alpha Unit and a Bravo Unit. Alpha Unit was

designated Task Unit 129.2.1 and consisted of the RLT-

headquarters, ELT 1/1 and BLT 1/7. The Bravo Unit wa

designated Task Unit 129.2.2 and consisted of the logistica

support group, BLT 3/1, and BLT 3/7. Both were roughlyequa

in nature and little alteration of the loading or tas

organization was necessary to implement the contingency plans

of either. Each infantry battalion was instructed to conduc

a landing exercise at Vieques Island, although the heavy

logistical support vehicles and landing force supplies 7wer

not to be landed.

During this period the troops were authorized to'bepaid

aboard ship. A branch post office was established- a

Guantanamo with units at Roosevelt Roads and Camp Garcia t

improve the widely dispersed postal delivery. The embarke

Marines celebrated the 187th birthday of the U.S. Marin

Corps on November 10th by cake cutting ceremonies hel

aboard all ships and, in most cases, special holiday meal

were served. The brigade staff, however, continued to refin

operational plans for the contingencies of Guantanamo defens

and Mariel and Matanzas operations. Also on November 10th

General Luckey assigned the 5th MEB to b the reserve forc

of the IT MEF, portions of which were already ashore a

Guantanamo and afloat in other amphibious shipping in th

Caribbean.

Shortly after noon on November 15th the command shi
docked at the naval base at San Juan, Puerto Rico, while

flpha Unit conducted its training ashore at Vieques. By

November 20th the training ashore had been completed and

1pha Unit backloaded its amphibious shipping over the

Vieques beaches and steamed off to assume its on-station

position. Meanwhile the Bravo Unit had been on-station with

50% of its personnel in a ready-liberty status at Kingston,

Jamaica.

- Two days prior to Thanksgiving it was Bravo Unit's turn

to commence the planning and execution of its training ashore

at Vieques. The actual landings by Bravo Unit actually

commenced at 0500 on November 24th. Helicopter landings

followed at 1100 and by 1330 all personnel and equipment were

ashore. Bravo Unit's training ashore included the direction

by BLT 3/7 of naval gunfire exercises on Culebra Island on

November 28th. Backloading of the Bravo group also commenced

during this time.

Also on November 28th a message was received directing

that- the 5th MEB amphibious shipping consider taking BLT 2/1

aboard from Guantanamo for transit back to its home base in

California and that further consideration be given to sending

BLT 1/7 back to the west coast for further deployment to the

western Pacific. This was the first indication received by

5th MEB received that plans were being made to return it to

the west coast. The next day formal orders were received

directing Naval Amphibious Group III to proceed to Guantanamo

and to pick up as much personnel and equipment of Bt.T 2/1 as

145
L T

I

it could hold, sail them to Panama, transit the canal, 

return to the operational control of the Pacific fleet. 

same message directed the rest of the group to return hom

increments and directed VMA-l21 to return to its home sta

and the operational control of the Pacific fleet. 

remainder of ELT 2/1 that could not be boarded in amphib

shipping was to be returned by air to Camp Pendleton but, 

it turned out, this was unnecessary, as all were able t

accomodated aboard available shipping.

Finally on November 30th the word was passed that 

5th MEE would be returned to its home base with the Pac

forces. During the night, the U.S.S. Okanoaan, U.S.S. Be

and the U.S.S. Union arrived in Guantanamo, but, becaus

was so late, they waited until the next day to begin loa

troops for transportation back to the Pacific. During 

Cuban contingency two officers and 53 enlisted were lost 

the brigade because of emergency leave and hospitalizat

and one Marine was lost overboard and subsequently decl

dead. As the amphibious shipping steamed away 

Guantanamo, the operational control ¿f the 5th MEE 

Landing Group East aviation was terminiated and 

commanding officer of HMM-361 was directed to assume 

remaining responsibilities of Landing Group East aviation

By the end of November, the west coast Marines of 

5th Narine Expeditionary Brigade were well on their way 

return to Camp Pendleton, California. In only four 

days they had organized from "scratch" into a cohe
147

fighting unit and had embarked their necessary personnel,

equipment, and supplies aboard ship and were prepared to

conduct amphibious combat operations in the Cuban Missile

Crisis that their country needed for its defense.
CHAPTER X

"AVIATION"

The fundamental characteristic that makes the Unite

States Marine Corps unique from other military services o

the United States is its mission and training to project ou

naval power ashore. Organization, training, and doctrin

concentrate upon the ability to launch combat units an

equipment from naval shipping to shore. The success of an

amphibious operation depends upon the ability of th

assaulting force to gain and maintain air superiority becaus

of its vulnerability during the assault stage. The succes

of Marine Corps amphibious doctrine is largely due to th

incorporation of aviation assets into the Marine Corps

organizational structure. Aircraft capable of ground attack

aerial strike, defense, and vertical assault are organic t

the Marine Corps. Additionally, having its own air arm no

only enhances the Marine Corps' readiness and flexibility i

responding to contingencies, but also enhances the comraderi

among Marines on the ground and those in the air supportin

them.

The Marine Corps aviation assets are organized int

squadrons, groups, and wings. A squadron is roughl

equivalent in size and deployability to an infantr

battalion, It is generally the smallest size aviation uni

capable of self-sustaining independent deployment. Containe

within every squadron is the maintenance and repai

capability to sustain air operations. If more than on

148
squadron is deployed, a coordinating command similar to an

infantry regimental staff is also deployed, known as a

group. In addition to the aircraft squadrons, a group

typically contains intermediate maintenance facilities and

air traffic control capabilities. All aviation assets are

organized into three active service wings, roughly equivalent

to infantry divisions, and one reserve wing. The squadrons,

groups, and wings are designed for task organizing into

expeditionary forces -since most Marine Corps operations

consist of either amphibious assaults or ground operations

ashore. Because the Marine Corps mission is the projection

of naval force ashore, even the aviation assets in a task

force are placed under the overall command of a ground

commander who in turn is subject to the command of a naval

officer.

The month of October 1962 found much of the Marine Corps

aviation assets engaged in routine peacetime deployments.

Marine Air Group (MAG) 26 was deployed with the 4th MEB as

the air support for the PHIBRIGLEX-62 exercises off Vieques

Island in Puerto Rico. Medium lift helicopter squadrons HMM264 and HMM-261 were deployed with the group along with

detachments from fixed wing observation squadron VMO-1 and

heavy lift helicopter squadron HMH-461. These elements were

deployed aboard the U.S.S. Okinawa and the U.S.S.Thetis Bay,

amphibious assault ships capable of landing aircraft on their

J-49

decks. Fixed wing ground attack squadron VMA-33l and

fixed wing fighter squadron VMF-333 were deployed at
Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico. Other Marine Corps aviation

units which would take part in the Cuban Missile Crisis were

deployed at their home bases on either the east or the west

coasts .1

On the first of October the Commander in Chief of

Jthlantic Forces of the United States Navy directed that by

October 20th all feasible means be taken to insure maximum

readiness to execute CINCLANT OPLAN 312-62 providing for air

operations to strike selected Cuban targets on short notice.

Prepositioning of ordnance and aviation support equipment

was authorized and undertaken. Three days later the order

was issued for six F8U aircraft to be deployed to the naval

air station at Key West on October 19th. This assignment was

to be rotated between the CG of FMFLANT and the commander of

naval air forces in the Atlantic on a monthly basis. MAG-26

had only recently returned to its home base at New River,

North Carolina on October 11th after operations in Tennessee

with army troops in support of the suppression of a civil

disorder.

When deployments in support of actual Cuban operations

began on the 18th and 19th of October, it became apparent

that adequate air basing facilities were not within range of

1. The primary source for this chapter is Commanding General,

Command Diari of Headguarters, FMFLANT and II Mfl, 1962 with

some portions from the CINCLANT Historical Account of the

cuban crisis. Both are available at the Marine Corps

Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C.

1
the Cuban theatre to provide the effective air support and

strike capability that would be needed to perform OPLAN 312-

62 operations. It had always been assumed in the planning

for those operations that the airfield on the tiny island of

Mayaguana would be available for American use, but

unfortunately, its use was denied at the time of the crisis.

Negotiations were in progress to be allowed to use Jamaican

airfields, but these also were not made available. Basing

all available aircraft at Guantanamo itself was an

unacceptable risk. Finally, at the request of CINC[JANTFLT,

the Dominican Republic allowed United States forces to

utilize San Isidro Airfield as a staging base in the

furtherance of inter-American relations. The disadvantage

was that this airfield was over 350 miles from Guantanamo

and, for aircraft to have sufficient time on station for

operational missions, it was necessary to refuel them with

«C-130F (GV-l) refuelers. Air operations could have been

conducted from the aircraft carriers U.S.S. Lexinqton and

U.S.S. Saratoga only after they completed an accelerated

overhaul, and the rigid alert requirements of the Cuban

Missile Crisis precluded the time required to prepare

squadrons for carrier duty. Two aircraft carriers, the

U.S.S. Independence and the U.S.S. Fnterprise, were, however,

made available to support the defense of Guantanamo. It was

finally decided to deploy four attack squadrons upon the

available carriers.

On October 20th it was also decided that one Marine air

151
group consisting of one fighter and three attack sq

would be assigned to CINCAFrJANT for planning and one w

deployed to Key West asSigned to CINCAFEJANT. O

consisting of two attack and one fighter squadrons cu

stationed at Roosevelt Roads would be chopped in pl

Task Force 135. Also on the 20th, the Commanding Gen

FMFLANT requestéd that two attack squadrons from the 

forces be chopped in place to FMFLANT.

The next day on October 21st, a detachment of 

reconnaissance aircraft were deployed to particip

reconnaissance missions over Cuba. Thediversion of 

reconnaissance assets to missions other than amp

landing and Guantanamo defense reconnaissance would 

become a source of friction and exasperation for the p

of amphibious landings because of their inability to 

adequate beach intelligence with which to plan their l

and for the Guantanamo defense forces because of 

limited ability to "see" beyond base boundaries. Also 

21st, VMk-225 flew aboard the carrier U.S.S. Enterpri

MCAS Cherry Point where it remained until December 5th

On October 22nd MAG-14 arrived at Key West to 

under the command of Naval Air Atlantic Forces. 

headquarters of MAG-32 was also directed to dep

Roosevelt Roads to assume operational control of V

VMF-333, and the detachments of reconnaissance aircraf

had been assigned to 4th MEB. All of these forces we
15

chopped to Naval Task Force 135.

When MAG-14 reported to CINCAFLANT on october 23rd, it

had with it a detachment from its Headquarters and

Maintenance Squadron (H&MS), a detchment from MPABS (Marine

Air Base Squadron), VMA-324, VMA-533, VMA-242, VMF-l22, and a

detachment from VMCJ-2 (reconnaissance aircraft). The

deployment of MAG-14 to Key West included VMF(AW)-122, an

all-weather fighter squadron, VMA-242, VNA-324, VMA-553, and

a detachment of VNCJ-2. By the 24th it was completely in

place and ready for air operations in western Cuba under the

direction of CTNCAFTJANT. The deployment was supported by

MATS aircraft in 36 sorties of 9 C-135, 14 c-133, and 13 C124 flights.. Second MAW aircraft also supported the

deployment with 7 C-147, 1 C-54C and S C-119F sorties. By

the time they had reached Key West, 1,345 personnel and

1,710,278 pounds of cargo had been airlifted.

By October 24th MAG-32 was in position at two locations

in two separate elements. Part of the headquarters was

assigned to Guantanamo under the operational control of Task

Force 135 and assumed control over all FMFLANT air

augmentation units. Another section of MAG-32's headquarters

deployed to Roosevelt Roads and assumed control of all MAG-32

elements there. Also on that day Atlantic Fleet air assets

were beefed up by the addition of VNA-12l and 'v?4A-223 from

the 3rd Marine Air Wing. They were placed on 36 hour notice

to deploy to the east coast or Caribbean bases. VMA-12l was
later on November 14th deployed to the naval air station 

Cecil Field, Florida to replace a Navy CkG (CVG-lO uni

there. Ten KC-l3OF's from VMGR-352 supported th

deployment.

By October 27th the commander of Naval Task orce 1

was so concerned about the air defense of Guantanamo that 

recommended the redeployment of the entire VMA-333 squadr

from Roosevelt Roads to Guantanamo. The CG of R4FLA

objected, fearing that the aircraft on the ground would 

too vulnerable, coosidering they would be in unreveted a

unprotected positions at the base. It was finally decid

that eight fighters and four attack aircraft would 

redeployed from VMF-333 and VMA-33l to Guantanamo.

The stand-down phase began on November 29th, the d

after the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic fleet set DEFC

5 in the Atlantic for all forces except those at Key Wes

Guantanamo, and Naval Task Force 135. VMA-l2l, MAG-l4 a

the detachment from VMF-235 were the first aviation units 

receive their orders to return to their home bases. VMF-l

replaced the detachment from VMF-235 as the sixth pla

commitment at Key West. On December 4th VMF-llS deployed 

Guantanamo to relieve VMF-333 and on the follwing d

CINCLANPFLT set DEFCON 5 for all Atlantic Fleet Forces ev

in the Key West area. The following day amphibious shippi

piàked up the remainer of MAC-32 deployed at Guantanam

except for VMF-l15, to return them to their home stations 

December 15th.
By the end of the stand-down phase on December 15th, the

only FMFLANT or II MEW contingency deployments remaining were

portions of MAG-14 and MAG-32 which had been placed on 48

hour reaction for portions of OPLAN 312.

Much of the air strategy, tactics, and operations

pertaining to the Cuban Missile Crisis remains classified.

It is known, however, that -MAC-14 devised approach and attack

tactics against the Cuban surface to air missile sites which

reduced the exposure time to their radars to less than six

seconds. Their A4D Skyhawks were to run in at a minimum

altitude to a known initial point where a pop-up maneuver wai

to be executed at high G's to an altitude of about 5,000

feet, execute a half roll, and pull through in the inverted

position where the pilot visually sighted the target. He

would then roll out and glide bomb run onto the SAM site.

The massive air deployments of the Cuban Missile Crisis

were all completed in less than the time assigned to them.

The units involved and their assigned Marines could certainly

look back with pride that they were ready to move out when

their ground counterparts needed their support.

155
CHAPTER XI

"STAFF PLANNING"

The famed "Desert Fox", Field Marshall Erwin Rommel

once said that quartermasters determine the outcome of wa

before they start. That assessment was accurate, at least 

his north African campaign in 1942, for it was certainly n

superior tactics of his adversaries that drove his Afri

Korps from the sands of the Sahara. In October of 19

there was no war with which to test the "skill" of t

opposing quartermasters. However, the l1⁄2merican response 

the Cuban Missile Crisis was massive and so was the logisti

and staff planning and functioning required to support th

response.

What are now recognized staff functions were perform

by generals' personal staffs at the beginning of t

development of modern armies. But as modern armies evolve

staff functions and responsibilities became more formalize

many of them modeling the Prussian models which had proven 

be so efficient in two world wars and in other smaller sca

conflicts. Since World War II, general staffs have be

assigned to every division, and the functions have be

designated "G-1" for administration, "G-2" for intelligenc

"G-3" for operations, and "G-4" for supply and combat servi

support. At the battalion level the same functions exist 

a smaller scale, and are designated executive-staff with t

abbreviations of "S-l", etc. Space limitations permit only 

156
157

brief summary of the highlights of each of the levels of

stiff functioning of the units participating in the Cuban

Missile Crisis.1

G-1 Adiñinistration

At the beginning of the period of the Cuban contingency,

on October 1, 1962 II NEF totaled over 38,000 enlisted

personnel, including over 1,100 United States Navy personnel.

ft was led by over 2,800 Marine officers and over 200 naval

officers. In order to insure the minimum turnover in

personnel and to stabilize the units which would be involved

in the operatiois, the Commandant of the Marine Corps on

October 24th issued an order providing for the involuntary

extension of active duty personnel and also authorized the

cancellation upon request of major unit commanders of all

permanent change of station orders issued to personnel in

FMFtJANP. These quick actions assisted in filling critical

personnel shortages in order to attain the maximum possible

personnel readiness under the circumstances.

1. Command Diary of the 9eadguarters PMFTJANT and TI NEF. The

bulk of the detail of staff functioning contained in this

chapter is summarized from the staff reports in this document.
CINCLANP OPLAN 314-61 which was initially in t

planning stages provided for civil affairs support from t

41st Civil Affairs Company of the United States Ar

stationed Port Gordon, Georgia to support the II MEF. At t

beginning of the period, that company had an on boa

strength of 35 officers and 83 enlisted of which 13 office

and 24 enlisted were embarked with the 4th MEB participati

in PHIBRIBLEX 62. When the "balloon went up," the Marin

wanted to retain the Civil Affairs personnel, but their cor

commander insisted that they be returned to his command. 

exchange of messages resulted in a captain being assigned 

the Marine headquarters as liaison officer. The incident w

a pre-cursor to the problems which have recently be

associated with joint service operations such as the Grenad

rescue mission and the Iranian hostage mission of rece

years .2

G-2 Intelljaence

One of the biggest problems plaguing the Marines duri

the Cuban Missile Crises was the lack of adequa

intelligence with which to plan their operation

Intelligence gathering at Guantanamo was hampered by 

inadequate number of trained intelligence personnel upon t

staff, restriction on over-flights in the vicinity of 

base, and the prohibition of ground reconnaissance beyond t

2. Gabriel, Richard A., Military Incoetence: Why 

American Military Doesn't Win, Hill and Wang, New York, 198

pp. 85-116, 149-86
159

base perimeter. Because the Guantanamo intelligence staff was

so small, intelligence specialists from the augmented

battalion landing teams were assigned to the intelligence

section of the Marine barracks headquarters. Some

information was obtained by the counter-intelligence and

interrogation/translation teams in debriefing informants and

defectors and in translating Spanish documents. They also

employed tactical air observers for perimeter aerial

reconnaissance and received intelligence reports from

FMFFJANT.

The II MEF also had difficulty obtaining its requested

aerial photography. It urgently needed aerial photographs of

Tarara Beach and other areas at which either amphibious

landings or aerial inserts were planned. Of the meager

amount of aerial photography provided, most was of such poor

quality that detailed interpretation was precluded. It was

not until November 10th, for example, that the first largescale vertical Tarara Beach photography was received that was

considered adequate to perform detailed interpretation. The

reason for the unsatisfactory aerial photo support was the

higher priority assigned to the squadrons capable of

providing this support to fly other missions, probably of the

missile sites and other military installations and targets.

Overall, however, the other intelligence support provided by

higher commands was excellent.

Most electronic warfare planning was performed by Marine

Composite Reconnaissance Squadron-2 (VMCJ-2). In October
h

1962 it had assigned to it six EF-lOB (formerly F3D-2Q

aircraft. The unit began planning for electroni

intelligence missions to be flown against Cuba in July o

1960. almost immediately the possibility of Soviet equipmen

in Cuba became apparent, and by September of 1960 the progra

was as much operational as it was training. By October o

1960 the unit was flying an average of 12 missions a mont

and was the principal agency involved in establishing

developing, and maintaining the radar order of battle i

Cuba. Five Marine pilots of VCMJ-2 were awarded th

distinguished flying cross for their actions during the Cuba

Missile Crisis.

zî

Because most of the operational planning in support o

the Cuban Missle Crisis has been covered in previou

chapters, this section will be limited to special problems o

the operational section, particularly in the area of fir

support.

One of the major weaknesses in the Guantanamo defen

posture was the amount of fire support available compare

with the Cuban artillery in the vicinity. t the start 

the period only two 155mm self-propelled guns, six 155

howitzers, and four 105mm howitzers were positioned 

Guantanamo. Four destroyers were available for naval gunfi

support, and two additional destroyers were in Guantana

undergoing training. 1l nuclear, biological, and chemic
161

warfare capability was in the continental United States. At

the peak of PMFLANT's deployments, in the Guantanamo Bay area

the government of Cuba had forty-three field artlillery pieces

with the following ranges:

122mm howitzer M-1938 (Bloc) 12,904 yds

122mm gun M-1931/1937 (Bloc) 24,000 yds

152mm gun-howitzer M-1937 (Bloc) 18,880 yds

37mm gun M-6 (US) - 57mm anti-tank gun M-1943 (Bloc) 5,486 yds

130mm field gun 30,000 yds

Assault gun, SU-100 (Bloc) 15,316 yds

Frog 40-50,000 yds

Snapper 2,675 yds

(The breakdown of types was not known.)

After augmentation the United States had available to it

the following artillery pieces:

155mm gun (self-propelled) 25,700 yds

155mm howitzers 16,350 yds

105mm howitzers 12,330 yds

4.2mm mortars 6,500 yds

Not only were United States forces outgunned, but the

Cubans had the added opportunity to deploy their artillery

over a much more widely dispersed area and to move into new

positions under the cover of darkness, whereas U.S. artillery

positions were few and relatively immobile. But by October

25th naval gunfire had been augmented to include two heavy

cruisers and fourteen destroyers of various classes in the

immediate area. The range of the five inch guns of the

destroyers were 25,900 yards and that of the three inch guns

was 13,000 yards. The eight inch guns of the heavy crusiers

could "reach out and touch someone" at 31,000 yards (almost 6

miles) away. Even this range, however, would not have been

sufficient to reach targets from the sea north of the naval
station's boundary unless the crusiers were actually in t

restricted area of the bay. The western landing group h

one heavy cruiser and five destroyers to provide nav

gunfire and the eastern landing group had one heavy cruis

and three destroyers.

Much of the naval gunfire support that would otherwi

have been available to Guantanaino was given instead 

support the planned Tarara Beach landings. There the 10

Marines, reinforced by the 2nd Field Artillery Group had o

155mm self-propelled gun battery and one eight inch howitz

battery with four guns each. On the day after D-day, it w

planned that two U.S. Army 105mm howitzer batteries and t

155mm howitzer batteries would have landed and temporari

reinforced Marine artillery.

The 5th MEB requested assignment of heavy artillery 

support it, but all general support artillery was attached 

the 2nd Marine Division. If the 5th MEB had been committ

to -an objective other than Tarara or Guantanamo, cruis

gunfire support and artillery support could have be

provided only at the expense of support in the Tarara area.

à serious deficiency therefore existed in hea

artillery support for Marine ground and amphibious force

EvQn if air strikes could have destroyed many artille

targets in the Guantanamo area, much of the survivi

artillery could probably have out-ranged our own artiller

In -order to adequately have prevented artillery attacks up

Guantanamo, it would have been necessary to occupy and/
163

control a beachhead out to approximately 24,000 yards (aiound

4 1/2 miles). Naval gunfire support during the first four

days of the execution of OPIlAN 312 would probably have -been

adequate, but then the cruiser support would have been

shifted to the Havana area, leaving none for Guantanamo. It

would therefore have been necessary to secure this radius by

that time, or the base would have been subject to artillery

attacks which could have been suppressed only by air.

The II MEF was ordered to be prepared to utilize

nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons only when directed

by higher authority. Nuclear munitions were carried aboard

fleet shipping for both aircraft and ground delivery, but

biological and chemical agents and munitions were not

prepositioned or carried aboard fleet shipping during the

crisis, -except for smoke,- incendiaries, and riot control

agents. - Much of the specific special warfare operations planning

remains classified. Generally, however, the mission of these

units was - to organize guerilla warfare in the key terrain

areas of Cuba to cut enemy communication lines, especially at

night when the effect of our air superiority would decrease.

This would also have required the enemy to divert troops to

contain the guerilla forces at the expense of- defending

against the attacking regular invading forces.

FMFLkNT normally has no units designed for conducting

psychological warfare through such means as radio - transmission, airborne leaflet distribution, loud- speakex' -
teams and artillery-distributed leaflets. The onl

possibilities considered by the Marines during the crisi

were the latter two, and even this capability was no

achieved prior to the stand-down phase.

The commander of the amphibious task force did devise 

plan to conduct deception operations in the event of actua

amphibious landings. A beach jumper unit was planned t

conduct a deception at Veradero approximately 70 miles eas

of Havanna. After the 5th MEB arrived in the Caribbean, i

was proposed that it conduct a feint at. Veradero and that th

beach jumper unit conduct deception operations in th

Cienfuegos/Trinidad area. However, neither of the two plan

had been approved by thetiine of the stand down.

G-4 Suppiy and Combat Service Support

Had Rommel's "battle of quartermasters" occurred, th

Marines' logisticians and their naval support would have bee

hard to beat. By October 31st over 25,000 Marines wer

enroute to the objective area with supplies and equipmen

adequate for at least fifteen days of sustained combat

About 4,500 personnel were stationed at Guantanamo wit

thirty days of combat supplies either positioned at o

enroute to the base. Enough ammunition had been positione

at the air bases which would have supported the Cuba

contingency operation, primarily at Key West, Roosevel

Roads, Guantanamo, and naval support shipping, to suppor

1,800 sorties each offixed-wing fighter and attack aircraft
165

11 necessary supplies for both aviation and ground units

were either being moved to the, east coast or were held in a

state of readiness for shipment. MSTS shipping was

programmed and confirmed. Emergency air delivery capability

at Key West for support of the landing groups was essentiaily

complete. The Marines were transported aboard thirty-seven

assault ships organized ints one amphibious group (PHIEGRU)

for the 5th MEE and five amphibious squadrons (PHIBRON).

The combat service support provided by the Navy to the

Marines during the crisis was exceptional. In addition to

the Marine combat engineers augmented into II ME?, naval

construction forces also became a part of II ME? for the

deployment. The Navy also provided two surgical teams for the

support of landing group west, one for the support of

landing group east, and positioned 325 units of whole blood

on amphibious shipping which was based upon casualty

estimates for the period of D-day to D+lO. Additionally 69

medical officers and 1,000 Navy corpsmen were assigned to

FMFLANT at the start of the period on October 1962.

s might be expected in an operation of this magnitude

the communication and message distribution center was

stretched to its capacity. There were so many classified

messages, includIng top secret ones which required special

handling, that internal processing of them became a serious

problem. The communications center traffic load of FMFLANT

normally averaged approximately 150 messages a day. During

the 61 day period of the Cuban Missile Crisis from dctober
ist through December 15th, a totai of 24,304 messages 

processed, of which 15,089 were classified. This was 

average of almost 400 messages a day, over 2 1/2 times 

normal traffic load.

In Rommel's day it might have been the quartermas

who decided the wars. In Gramm and Rudman's day it w

certainly be the comptrollers. In President Kennedy's d

was probably a happy medium between the two. It wa

mistake for the missiles to have been placed in Cuba in 

first place. But it was certainly equally poor planning 

Castro and Khrushchev to have let the "balloon go up" at 

beginning of the United States government's fiscal year 

the military's comptrollers' coffers were full. Init

the crisis was financed by deferring many plans 

associated with the crisis and by reprogramming to meet 

emergency requirements. The initial funding was ther

accomplished with moneys on hand. By December 15th 

accumulated unprogrammed costs for the Marines 

$1,333,116.00 and future costs were estimated to 

$331,016.00. At least as far as wars go, the Cuban Mi

Crisis was "fought" "on the cheap

But, regardless of the cost, did the massive effort of 

forces to quarantine Cuba and prepare for an invasion of 

Soviets' communist satellite make a difference to Soviet lea

The next chapter analyzes what effects the preparations fo

invasion by the American military had on the decisions mad

Soviet leaders during the crisis.
CHAPTER XII

"SOVIET ANMYSIS OF' THE CARIBBEAN CRISIS"

Why did the Soviets decide to challenge the United

States in an area so close to its borders and in a country

where American influence had been predominant for over half a

century? Why did the Soviets decide to make that challenge

so deadly by using nuclear force? Did the Soviets intend to

push the world to the brink of nuclear war? And why, when

they themselves were challenged, did the Soviets so readily

accede to American demands?

These questions and hundreds of others about Soviet

intentions and motivations during the crisis may never be

known. tn a country which stifles rather than encourages

public thought and discussion, it is difficult to probe the

minds of the national decision makers.l And in a country

which perpetually preserves the secrets of its historical

archives, it is even more difficult to analyze the internal

machinery of its government.

There are, however, some Soviet sources from which some

light can be shed upon the dual mystery of what and why the

Soviets did what they did. There is also some incongruence

between what they did and what they said they did to both the

Soviet public and to the high echelons of the- Soviet

1. An excellent analysis of the governmental decision-making

process, although it cannot be considered a source, is

Allison, Graham T., Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban

Missile Crisis, Little, Brown, and Company, Boston 1971

167
1

government. The sources, though limited, are diverse.

Although the crisis was of earth-shaking proportions in the

West, particularly the United States, it received relatively

scant coverage in the Soviet press. After the crisis

Khrushchev addressed the Supreme Soviet, attempting to

construe success from his withdrawal. After his fall, he

wrote his memoirs, rambling about his actions, but offering

little critical analysis. One official Soviet study of the

crisis has been authorized, and there is sporadic coverage of

the crisis by dissidents and defectors. Even a cursory study

of the crisis, however, leaves the reader with a sense of

pessimism of the prospects of our two countries ever

satisfactorily understanding each other.

The Soviets preferred referring to the Cuban Missile

Crisis as the "Caribbean Crisis" in what Soviet literature

there is on the subject, probably to remove any connotation

that their missiles had anything to do with precipitating the

crisis. They have two principal commentators upon the

crisis, both of whom are hardly likely to be objective.

Shortly after the crisis on December 12, 1962, Nikita

Khrushchev addressed the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet on the Cuban

Missile Crisis 2 and later commented upon it in what is

generally accepted as his authentic memoirs.3 The son of

The full context of the speech with commentary is

contained in Pope, Ronald R., ed., Soviet Views on the Cuban

Missile Crisis: Myth and Reality in Foreign Policy Analygis,

University Press of America, New York, 1982 at pp. 71-107

Talbott, Strobe, ed., Khrushchev Remembers, Little, Brown,

and Company, Boston, 1970, pp. 488-505
Andrei Gromyko, the long-time Soviet foreign minister, who

served in that capacity during the Cuban Missile Crisis, is

Anatolii Gromyko, who has himself served as the head of the

section for general trends in U.S. foreign policy at the

Academy of Science Institute for the United States of America

and Canada in Moscow. Both considered themselves to be good

admit upon behalf of

leaders to any major

analysis, however, does

make it relatively clear that the Soviet Union made important

concessions to end the crisis, a fact which virtually escapes

attention by the younger Gromyko.

In Khrushchev's Supreme Soviet speech which the Soviet

editors state was punctuated with "prolonged applause,"

"stormy applause," and "stirs in the hall," and which was

bristling with anti-American rhetoric, he proclaimed that "at

the request of the Cuban government we shipped arms there,"

and "our purpose was only the defense of Cuba." Fie claimed

that the Soviets thought that if the [American imperialists]

"really dared to invade, would feel that the war they

threatened was on their own borders, so that they would have

a more real awareness of the danger of tnermo-nuclear war to

themselves. "4

Khrushchev went on to state to his comrades that on the

morning of October 27, 1962, intelligence information from

4. Pope, ed.Soviet Views on the Cuban Missile Crisis, pp 81--

3

169

Marxist-Leninists, who cannot

themselves or their fellow Soviet

miscalculations. Khrushchev in his
17

Cuba and elsewhere indicated that an attack against Cuba

would be carried out within the next two or three days. It

was only the Soviet government's prompt and immediate action

which extinguished the "wick of war that had already begun

to smolder" by offering to remove the weapons which the

United States called offensive if the United States pledged

not to invade Cuba and to restrain its other allies f röm

doing so. Michael Tatu speculates that many in the Kremlin

did not really believe the Americans would actually invade

Cuba, but it is true that the issue of an invasion was the

catalyst for some conciliatory action by the Soviets.5

President Kennedy publicly accepted the Soviet government's

conditions and, since the weapons were sent to Cuba to

prevent an attack upon her, there was no longer any ncessity

for them to remain, and they were withdrawn. The United

States, for its part, on November 21st lifted the naval

blockade of Cuba, recalled its warships, withdrew the force

concentration in the Florida area, demobilized its called-up

reserves, and withdrew the additional troops sent to

Guantanamo.

It is common for governments to blame others for

problems in international relations, but Soviet leaders have

a tendency to carry this to an extreme. Khrushchev did,

admit, however, that "both sides made concessions" and that

the side of "reason won, that the cause of peace in and that

5. Tatu, Michel, Power in the Kremlìn from Khrushchev to

Kosygin, The Viking Press, New York, 1969, pp. 265-75
171

the security of nations won."6 He accused his critics in

albania who had called the solution a retreat of "acting

like those silly boys." Although he claimed that history did

show instances of xuerica's violating its treaties, he

defended his actions by arguing that if one proceeded on this

basis alone, the only prospect for resolution of a crisis was

mutual destruction. He even commended our government by

stating that "in the decisive moment of crisis the U.S.

government displayed prudence."7

Despite all the stormy and prolonged applause that his

speech supposedly received, less than two years later on

October 16, 1964, Pravda briefly announced that Khrushchev at

his own request had been relieved of all his party and

government duties because of his advanced age and poor

health. In fact he had been ousted from power whileon a

working vacation at his government dacha on the Black Sea.

His policy failures and hair-brained schemes had finally

caught up with him and he was forced out of power. With this

action Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader not to die

in office. Surprisingly, however, in his retirement he was

allowed to prepare and later publish his memoirs under the

title of Khrushchev Remembers. Khrushchev was more candid,

if not contradictory, in his memoirs. He admitted that it

was during a trip to Bulgaria that he formulated the idea of

Pope, ed., Soviet Views on the Cuban Missile Crisis, pp.

90-1

Ibid., pp. 104-5
172

installing nuclear missiles in Cuba without letting the

United States find out they were there until it was too late

to do anything about them. Not only would this be a

deterrent to American interference in the Caribbean, but it

would equalize the balance of power and counter the American

missiles aimed against them in Turkey, Italy, and West

Germany. He claimed that by putting the ballistic missiles

in Cuba he had no desire to start a war and that, on the

contrary, his principal aim was only to deter America f röm

starting a war.8

Khrushchev acknowledged that Castro was angry that the

Soviets had removed the missiles and admitted that Soviet

relations with Cuba deteriorated so much that Castro even

stopped receiving the Soviet ambassador. The veteran Soviet

diplomat who had originally established Soviet relations with

Cuba, . I. Mikoyan, was sent to Cuba to smooth over the

problems. Khrushchev seemed to be proud that his compromise

over Cuba had indeed secured Cuba's stability even though

Castro might not have realized it. After Kennedy's death the

Cuban compromise was honored by his successor, President

Lyndon B. Johnson, who reaffirmed Kennedy's promise not to

invade Cuba. Incidentally, Khrushchev asserted that the

order to open fire on the U-2 reconnaissance plane in which

Major Rudolph Anderson, Jr. was killed on October 27, 1962

was given by Cuba.9

Talbott, Khrushchev Remembers, p. 495

Ibid., p. 499
Press, Metuchen, N.J. 1971, pp. 157-8

173

The principal Soviet academic commentator upon the Cuban

Missile Crisis is Anatolii Gromyko, born in 1932 while his

father, Andrei Gromyko, was attending the Lenin Agriculture

Institute in Minsk.lO At the age of seven he moved to

Washington, D.C. when his father was appointed counselor at

the Soviet embassy. Later his father became Soviet

anthassador to the United States (1943-6) and permanent

Soviet representative in the U.N. Security Council (1946-8).

During his youthful years in Washington, he attended a school

for the children of Soviet diplomats where he learned English

but which would have kept him partially insulated from

American society. During the early 1950's Anatolii Gromyko

attended the Soviet Foreign Ministry's prestigious Institute

of International Relations and received the rough equivalent

of an American PhD. Shortly after his father became the

Soviet Foreign Minister in 1957, he was appointed the first

Secretary at the Soviet Embassy in London. He has served in

various other prominent positions and in December 1976 was

appointed director of the Academy of Sciences African

Institute in Moscow. In April 1973 the senior Gromyko became

a full member of the Politiburo.

Except for Pravda and Izvestia accounts at the time,

very little has been written in the Soviet Union since the

Cuban Missile Crisis by any Soviet academician except

Anatolii Gromyko. His work contains information which has

10. Portraits of Prominent U.S.S.R. Personalities, Scarecrow
i'

led observers to speculate that he had access to the Sovie

archives in preparing his works. The most definitiv

and detailed discussion of the crisis by Gromyko wa

originally printed in a two-part article in Vopros

Istorii reprinted in Soviet Views on the Cuban Missil

Crisis: Myth and Reality in Foreign Policy Analy!is.1

This article is the only reference on the entry "Cuban Crisi

(1962)" contained in the Great Soviet Encycloedia.l2 Hi

bias in this and the other references which will be discusse

is apparent not only from his relation to his prominen

father but also in such subtleties as his complete failure t

mention the name of Khrushchev and in his quotation to Rober

Kennedy's book Thirteen Day: A Memoir of the Cuban Missil

Crisis by omitting the word "missile" from the cited titl

referenced. Another glaring omission is his continue

Eailure to analyze the question of the presence of the Sovie

missiles in Cuba which was at least one cause of th

confrontation with the United States.

In Part One of his essay upon the United State

government's "preparation" of the Caribbean Crisis, Gromyk

lays the blame for the crisis at the foot of the Kenned

administration in preparing to attack Cuba. His premise 

based upon President Kennedy's request on September 7, 196

Pope, ed., Soviet Views on the Cuban Missile Crisis, pp

161-226

Great Soviet Encyclo2edia, MacMillian, Inc. New York

Vol. li, 1976, pp. 237-8. See also entries under "Nava

Blockade" at Volume 3, pp. 726-7 and "United States 

America" at Volume 24, p. 654.
175

to Congress for authorization to call up 150,000 reservists,

for the U-2 overflights of Cuban territory violating its

sovereignty, the Caribbean military exercises utilized to

camouflage the movement of 40,000 'Marines in the close

proximity of Guantanamo, the concentration of 100,000 U.S.

forces in Florida, and the alert of the 82nd and 101st

Airborne Divisions. These actions did in fact occur, but

most were after the Soviet decision to send missiles to Cuba

had been taken.

In Part Two of his article analyzing the diplomatic

efforts of the U.S.S.R. to end the crisis, he predictably

takes credit for the Soviet Union in resolving the crisis.

He does give some credit, however, to President Kennedy in

standing up to the powerful pressures placed upon him by the

United States military to invade Cuba. He also lauds the

Cuban government's efforts to seek peaceful paths for

settling the Caribbean Crisis, although he is somewhat vague

as to what concrete actions Cuba took to assist in the

resolution of the criáis. In actuality, as stated

previously, Cuba's intransigence almost derailed the

peaceful settlement which was worked out by President Kennedy

and Khrushchev. The general conclusion of Gromyko's article

is that the Soviet Union assisted Cuba for purely moral

reasons to resist United States aggression. He refuses to

accept even partial responsibility on behalf of his country

for the crisis. For all practical purposes Gromyko's version

currently is the only point of view available to most
lit 

Soviets, especially students, because of the tendency 

Soviet educators to present only a single point of view 

controversial issues.13 They believe that to do 'other

would only confuse their young people.

The younger Gromyko is also the author of two o

works worthy of note. Tn 1973 he published a history of 

Kennedy administration, Through Eys:Presi

Kennedy's 1036 Days.14 In it he reiterated his prev

contention that the U.S.S.R. and Cuba were guided exclusi

by peaceful aims in agreeing to deliver Soviet medium r

missiles to Cuba for "defensive" purposes only when 

danger of renewed znerican aggression against Cuba 

sharply escalated. Again citing the U.S. mili

preparations in response to the discovery of the missiles

states that the concoction of the concept of the missile

being "offensive" was only à convenient Pmerican pretext 

place its entire war machine in motion. Once the Un

States unleashed the genie from the bottle of nuc

confrontation, it was put back only with the peac

proposals advanced by th Soviet government. Thus, Mo

offered Washington peace instead of thermo-nuclear 

Again, the principal distortions are that the missiles 

stationed to address the imbalance of power and the Un

Pope, ed. Soviet Views on the Cuban Missile Crisis, 

240-1

Gromyko, Anatoli Andreievich, Through Russian E

President Kennedy's 1036 Day, International Library I

Washington, D.C., 1973, pp. 168-81
17

States military preparations were undertaken in response to

the discovery of the missiles rather than vice versa.

k third work by the younger Gromyko is even more

misleading. In two 'pages devoted to the crisis in the

History of Soviet Foreign Policy (1945-1970), he makes no

mention whatsoever of missiles.15 Again he states that, in

response to the threat of invasion hanging over Cuba by

American land forces after the failure of the Bay of Pigs

invasion, in the summer of 1962, cuba requested additional

assistance from the Soviet Union and agreemenj was quickly

reached to strengthen Cuba's defense capabiLities. Again he

claims that the crisis "was resolved thanks to the Soviet

government's firm and flexible stând, the determination of

the Cuban people to defend their country's independence, and

the support that the just cause received from the Warsaw

Treaty states." The word "missile" never once appears in the

passage.

The prominent Soviet dissidents, Roy and Zhores

Medvedev, in their study Khrushchev: The Years In Power, give

the crisis only very brief mention.16 Even though Khrushchev

had actually capitulated to President Kennedy, they state he

nevertheless received full approval as the peacemaker for the

Cuban missile confrontation in 1962.

15. Gromyko, A., ed.,History of Soviet Pore.jn Policy (1945-

Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1973, pp. 422-3

16 Medvedev, Roy A. and Zhores A., Khrushchev: The Years in

2!' W.W. Norton & Co., New York,, 1978, p. 84
17

The highest ranking Soviet offical to ever defect to the

United States, Arkady N. Shevchenko, was at the time the

Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. The

fascinating tale of his cooperation with United States

intelligence and of his ultimate defection, Breaking With

Moscow, contains several references to the Cuban Missile

Crisis which shed more candid light upon some of -the

questions left unanswered by his former Soviet colleagues.17

Shevchenko was a Soviet diplomat at the time stationed in the

United States. For thirteen days, according to him, the

Soviet mission held its breath along with the rest of the

world, completely ignorant of Moscow's thinking. They liad

been told nothing of Khrushchev's plans to place missiles in

Cuba and could not explain Soviet policy to Western

negotiators or Soviet bloc allies. He later found out

Khrushchev's intentions were to create a better balance of

power between the United States and the U.S.S.R. by the use

of a "cheap nuclear rocket deterrent". By instilling the

missiles rapidly and secretly, Khrushchev could confront the

United States with a fiat accompli against which the United

States would not dare strike a blow. After the Bay of Pigs

invasion and the Vienna summit, Khrushchev thought President

Kennedy was "wishy washy" and did not have a strong backbone

nor the courage to stand up to a serious challenge. That

impression was prevalent among Soviet leaders generally.

17. Shevchenko, krkady, N., Breaking With Moscow, Ballantine

Books, New York, 1985, pp. 150-6
179

According to Shevchenko, Khrushchev imposed the

arbitrary decision to secretly implace the missiles on his

political and military leaders who preferred solid, longrange programs to achieve parity and later surpass America in

both quantity and quality of strategic nuclear arsenals.

There were no contingency plans in the event the Cuban

operation failed and, by establishing a naval quarantine,

Kennedy had presented Khrushchev with a fiat accompli rather

than the other way around. Khrushchev was thus faced with

either a nuclear war or a limited war in which the United

States was much better prepared by local conventional

superiority in a region in which the Americans had the

preferred geographical position. Under such circumstances

the Soviets could not penetrate the blockade or defend their

ships. After the crisis it was clear that the world had not

been on the brink of nuclear war, because neither Khrushchev

nor anyone else in Moscow intended to use nuclear weapons

against the United States. When the crisis broke, -Soviet

leaders were preoccupied almost exclusively with how to

extricate themselves from a difficult situation with a

minimum loss of prestige and face.

k question that has always perplexed Western analysts is

why the Soviet Foreign Minister, Andrei Gromyko, and the

Soviet Ambassador, knatoly Dobrynin, assured the Kennedy

administration immediately prior to the breaking of the

crisis that no such missiles had been installed in Cuba.

Although it is somewhat speculative on Shevchenko's part, he
1

believes that neither Gromyko nor Dobrynjn themselves knew

what Khrushchevs true plans in Cuba were.18 It is very

possible that at least Dobrynin knew nothing about the

missiles, because even throughout the crisis, according to

Robert Kennedy, he seemed very shaken, out of the picture,

and unaware of any instructions regarding either the

emplacement of the missiles 19 or response to the

quarantine .20

ka interesting corollary to the Soviet analysis of the

Cuban Missile Crisis is the nature of the reporting of the

crisis to the Soviet public. klthough the Soviet Union

vehemently denies that it is engaged in censorship, it is

generally recognized that Soviet censorship is designed to

prevent the appearance of "harmful" printed matter, restrict

the circulation of partly objectionable works, and to purge

publications of undesirable passages.21 In a February 19,

1962 pravda article criticizing the foreign policy of the

United States toward Cuba, the author stated that there were

no Soviet military bases in Cuba and there never were. This

was at least partially truthful at the time it was written

Ibid., pp. 204, 263

Kennedy, Robert F., Thirteen Days: k Memoir of the Cuban

Missile Crisis, pp.52-3

Schlesinger, Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the

White Rouse, pp. 817-20

Pedersen, John G., Lt. Cmdr. USM, "Soviet Reporting of

the Cuban Crisis," Naval Institute Proceedis, Vol. 91, No.

lO, October 1965, pp. 54-63
because the buildup of Soviet combat power to a total of

approximately 22,000 military personnel, equipment, and

offensive weapons did not reach its peak influx until midJuly 1962. During the peak of the Soviet arms build-up, both

Pravda and Izvestia on September 12th published front page

articles headlined "Put an end to the policy of provocation"

in which they argued what the Soviet ambassador to the U.N.

later also proclaimed that the Soviet Union's missiles were

so powerful that there was no need to seek sites for them

outside the boundaries of the Soviet Union. tater in

reporting the news of President Kennedy's October 22nd public

imposition of a quarantine around Cuba to prevent the

introduction of offensive weapons, especially missiles, the

Soviet press still did not even mention the question of

Soviet missiles and bases in Cuba. During the following

days, however, Pravda printed large slogans throughout its

pages, possibly to orient the Soviet people's thinking toward

war:

'Bridle the high-handed xnerican aggressors!"

"Hands off Cuba!"

'Frustrate the criminal intentions of the enemies of peace!"

"We ere with you Cuban brothers!"

"Stop this dangerous game with fire!"

"The imperialist warmongers will meet crushing resistance!"

"Messrs Imperialist, do not thrust your heads into fire!"

"The ire of kolkhoz peasantry--the angry voice of millions!"

'Defend and strengthen peace on earth!" - "In the interest of all nations, in the name of general

peace--remove the danger of war!"

"?ngry words from the Soviet people!"

"The peoples of the world angrily denounce merican

adventures!"

"Hands-of f Cuba!"

"We will defend peace on earth!"
182

By Friday, October 26th, however, the slogans in

appeared to presage the coming turnaround in Soviet policy:

"Do everything to prevent war! Reason must triumph!"

Broadcasts on the Soviet radio, Moscow Domestic Service,

gave only occasional reference to the Cuban affair until the

latter part of September. During latter September and until

October 26th the broadcasts included a daily diet of

denouncing U.S. aggressive actions toward Cuba. The

Organization of American States was described as being under

U.S. pressure to become its accomplice in interfering in

Cuba's internal affairs. The economic blockade of Cuba was

to "starve seven million Cubans just because they don't want

to be Yankee slaves." After October 23rd, listeners were

inundated with the theme of a planned U.S. attack on Cuba

and, when the Soviet Union could no longer- conceal its

actions without great difficulty, brief reference was made to

a "mythical concentration of communist rockets in Cuba,"

which nevertheless stoutly maintained that "our country bas

not sent and is not sending Cuba any offensive type

weapons.' After the confrontation was over by October 30-1,

and Isvestia were congratulating the Soviet government

for the calm and wisdom it had shown in resolving the crisis

and claimed that:

In an hour of trial mankind saw once more that the

Soviet Union unswervingly follows the Leninist policy

of preserving and strengthening peace, and that this

policy has become a powerful barrier to aggressors..."

Gradually the Cuban crisis worked its way to the back pages
183

of the Soviet newspapers. It is therefore apparent that not

only the common Soviet citizen, but also the student, the

scholar, and even the diplomat, have at least until perhaps

very recently been denied objective news reporting and a

reasonably full access to the facts from which objective

study and analysis could begin.

There are signs that the Soviet Union may be permitting

a more objective and open analysis of the crisis to try to

learn from it. Ori the twenty-fifth anniversary of the crisis

in October of 1987 under the auspices of the John F. Kennedy

School of Government at Harvard University, key Soviet

scholars met with their Mterican counterparts and actual

participants in the crisis.22 More recently in February of

1989 under the cautious relaxation of restraint under Mikhail

Gorbachev's perestroika, senior U.S., Soviet, and Cuban

diplomats met in Moscow to reconstruct the crisis.23

Conferences such as those have highlighted the gross

misperceptions that each side had of the other. 1-Tow deep an

inquiry will be allowed by perestroika into the Soviet

military and diplomatic archives on the management of the

crisis remains to be seen.

Both sides have certainly learned that crises such as

the one of October 1962 must be avoided. The lack of a

Garthof f, Refections on the Cuban Missile Crisis, pp. 

127-8

McNamara, Robert S., 1tThe Lessons of October: an Insider

Recalls the Cuban Crisis»' Newsweek Feb. 13, 1989, p.47
1

similar one of such serious magnitude for over a quarter of a

century gives some cause for optimism that perhaps ,both sides

have indeed learned some lessons from this perilous moment of

h i story.
CHAPTER XIII

"CONCLUSION"

The principal focus of the foregoing chapters has been

to provide the response of the United States Marine Corps to

the Cuban Missile Crisis in some operational detail. Some

background has also been given of the Navy's extensive

participation in the crisis. Very little treatment has been

given to the quite extensive participation of both the United

States Air Parce arid the United States Army, although they

also were key players in the drama. Some additional

historical background has also been provided to assist the

reader in placing the Cuban Missile Crisis in the context of

Cuba's historical relationship with the United States as well

as in its historical context within the Cold War which

emerged between East and West following World War II.

If any reader has been loyal enough to continue the

narrative to this point, he or she must by now have the same

questions that Mierican military planners had, including

particularly the National Command Authority. Would the

defense of Guantanamo have been successful? Would an air

strike and/or invasion of Cuban have been successful? Would

military action have been successful in deposing Castro and--

perhaps the gravest question of all-- would the military

attack upon Cuba have precipitated a nuclear exchange between

the United States and the U.S.S.R.?

If the reader can muster but a little more patience, I

185
186

will attempt to address each of these questions, beginning

with the defense of Guantanamo. Nestled between the Sierra

Maestra and the Sierra Del Maguey mountains in the

southeastern tip of Cuba, it is difficult to conceive of a

more strategically inappropriate place from which to commence

ground operations. The transportation network connecting the

opposing ends of the island were meager at best. The

distance between Havana, the capital, and Guantanamo is

approximately five to six hundred miles. Any attacking

military force would be vulnerable to interdiction' along

practically every single one of those miles by Cuban and

Soviet forces. Even if Cuban regular forces had been

neutralized, many of Castro's supporters woul&no ddubt have

reverted to the same guerrilla operations which originally

propelled them to power. In fact Castro's original base of

operations was in the Sierra Maestra - mountains immediately

west of Guantanamo. The naval base is an excellent port

facility, however, and might have had some use as an

airfield, if it could have been made reasonably secure.

Even as an airfield, however, bases in the continental

United States would have been closer to the Havana area than

would Guantanamo. The use of these Florida bases, however,

would have invited retaliatory strikés from not on1î the

ballistic missiles but- also from the It.-28 Beag] bombers and

MIG aircraft. Although most of the discussion in this book

has centered on the defense of Guantanamo, had large scale

military operations been initiated, the Guantanamo - itheatre
187

would have been of secondary importance. In fact,

strategically it might not have even been worth the military

effort that would have been required for its defense.

The primary strategic objective in any large scale

military ground operation against Cuba would have been the

capital city. Havana is a port city, a scant ninety miles

from Florida and is the principal industrial base of the

country. Most of the rest of the country is comprised of

agricultural and mining regions. Although little space has

been devoted to the subject in this paper since it was beyond

the scope of this paper, significant preparations were made

for United States Army airborne and armored forces to seize

the Havana/Mariel area. The II NEF' and the 5th MEB, unless

they were absolutely necessary at Guantanamo, would have been

best utilized to establish a beachhead in the objective areas

of Havana or Matanzas from which follow-on armored forces of

the United States Army could be landed. This plan was not

without its difficulty, however, as there was a shortage of

armored divisions and shipping which were scheduled for the

invasion had it been ordered.l Additional army forces were

also scheduled for selective assaults against ballistic

missile sites.

Returning, however, to the specific problem of the

defense of Guantanamo, there were several other weaknesses

1. CINCLANT Historical Account of the Cuban Crisis, pp. 58-

85; Moenk, Jean R., USCONkRC parEicipation in the Cuban

Crisis 1962, Headquarters U.S. Continental Army Command, Ft.

Monroe, Virginia 1962, pp.126-30
188

in its defense which could never have been remedied without

launching offensive operations from it. The principal

problem was its small size, only S z 9 miles, which

effectively prevented any defense in depth. That tiny size

was further bisected by Guantanamo Bay making mutual

reinforcement of forces on opposing sides of the bay

extremely difficult. Furthermore, particularly on the east

side of the base, the base coùld always be under observation

and was vulnerable from attack from higher key terrain to the

east.

Guantanamo was equipped with two good airfields, but

these would also have been vulnerable to ground, air, and

artillery attack. Even artillery or rocket fire alone could

have completely incapacitated both airfields, thereby

severely hampering resupply efforts.

nother major problem was the lack of adequate fi-re

support. Previous chapters have detailed the relative

weaknesses of the Marines' available fire support. There was

significant naval gunfire support available, but, except for

the cruisers, its range at least north of the base was

limited without steaming into the relatively confined water

of Guantanamo Bay. The air support available from fixed

bases in the east, from Guantanamo Ltsplf, and from the

carriers offshore would have been formidable, and would

undoubtedly have drastically reduced the fire support

available to the enemy.
Because of all of these factors, Guantanamo was

vulnerable to a determined attack. s the reinforcement

progressed, however, this vulnerability decreased. In

order to adequately secure the base, it would probably have

been necessary to expand its defensive perimeter by limited

offensive operations. But to use even an expanded Guantanamo

defense area as a base for larger scale offensive operations

against Cuba would have been a diversion of critical combat

power away from the most strategic theatre at Havana.

The Guantanamo defensive operation did, however, have

some "chips." The rapid reinforcement of the base, the

evacuation of civilian dependents, and the rapid placement on

a war footing were indispensable to Guantanamo's effective

defense. Its greatest asset was its high degree of moral

and political commitment by the President, Congress, and the

nation. Support was also strong among our western allies as

well as among the members of the Organization of merican

States and many other tWird world countries. It is an of tdebated question whether international support would have

continued had offensive military action been undertaken

against Cuba. International and domestic support would

probably have remained buoyant for a reasonably successful

military operation to have been completed if the Havana area

were fairly rapidly secured.

In any sustained action against Cuba the United States

Navy could have effectively isolated the island from thé

outside world. The quarantine which was put into effect

189
1

prohibited the introduction of offensive weapons only, but in

the event of war the "screws" could have been "tightened".

Furthermore any offensive action against Cuba would almostcertainly have been preceded by massive premptive air

strikes against not only the ballistic missile sites, but

also the airfields hosting Soviet MIGs and IL-28 bombers and

the tiny Cuban naval bases at Banes and Mariel. The Soviet

navy would have been virtually powerless and alone to attempt

to prevent any significant action. Its only practical naval

capability was its submarines. They might have scored some

successes, but the anti-submarine capability of the U.S.

Navy, as demonstrated during the crisis, was impressive, and

while it would have been difficult to completely eliminate

any submarine threat, the threat would have been greatly

minimized.

Another significant factor would have been the large

emigre base which was then available and eager to be utilized

in operations to liberate their homeland from Castro's grip.

Not only could they have been employed in unconventional

warfare operations, but they could also have provided some

moral justification for an invasion in the form of a

government-in-exile or as the core of a "revived" Brigade

2506 around which to rally and recruit support from other

Cubans.

Morale in the United States military at that time was

very high. Throughout all of the records reviewed, there are

references to the excitement and high state of morale of the
191

Marines involved as they were being called upon to

participate in an actual mission to combat a direct security

threat to their Nuerican homeland. Tn 1962 there was no

"Vietnam syndrome" hesitation which continually plagues our

country in any contemplated military response to current

contingencies. One must wonder, incidentially, whether a

"bloody nose" in Cuba, even if the island had been secured,

would have given the country a distaste to intervene in

Vietnam because of fear of "another Cuba."

In reviewing all of the factors, it is difficult to see

how the defense of Guantanamo could ever have been a military

defeat. There was certainly confusion in establishing the

initial reinforcement of the base prior to President

Kennedy's announcement of the quarantine, but, overall, the

reinforcement operation itself was remarkably successful and

well coordinated. The naval and air supremacy and the close

proximity to the continential United States makes it

difficult to conceive of Guantanamo ever being anything worse

than another Pusan Perimeter. It might have become bloodied

or beleaguered but ultimately would certainly have been

victorious.

Related to the specific question of the defense of

Guantanamo is the broader question of whether a military

response was proper at all following the discovery ofballistic missiles in Cuba. At the recent conference in

Moscow in February, 1989 attended by such senior Soviet, -

Cuban, and United States officials who had participated in--
the Cuban Missile Crisis, including such men as former Soviet

oreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, Fidel Castro's politiburo

member Risket Valdez, and Robert McNamara, the Secretary of

Defense during the Kennedy administration, all agreed that

both sides drastically misjudged the other. znerica

misjudged Soviet intentions on the original emplacement of

the missiles. The Soviets believed they could secretly

introduce the missiles and that when they were installed, we

would not respond. The Soviets and Cubans believed that the

United States intended to invade Cuba prior to the crisis,

but we had no such intent.2 With the misinformation and

history of mistrust, the recipe was disaster.

If the Soviets intended to address the strategic nuclear

balance, their Cuban plans were a failure. As twenty-five

more years of history have demonstrated, nuclear war has

been averted without the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

If the Soviets' intentìon was to deter an invasion, their

plans could then be considered to be a success, although it

is doubtful that a conventional military operation would have

been undertaken against Cuba even if the missiles had never

been emplaced or discovered.

owever, it is curious to note that in a number of

places in the sources researched, indications were found that

the U.S. Navy was at least planning to be ready to implement

2. McNamara, Robert S., "The Lessons of October: An Insider

Recalls the Cuban Crisis," Newsweek, February 13, 1989, p.47

the Cuban Missile Crisis, including such men as former Soviet 

Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, Fidel Castro's politiburo 

member Risket Valdez, and Robert McNamara, the Secretary of 

Defense during the Kennedy administration, all agreed that 

both sides drastically misjudged the other. ~erica

misjudged Soviet intentions on the original emplacement of 

the missiles. The Soviets believed they could secretly 

introduce the missiles and that when they were installed, we 

would not respond. The Soviets and Cubans believed that the 

United States intended to invade Cuba prior to the crisis, 

but we had no such intent.2 With the misinformation and 

history of mistrust, the recipe was disaster. 

If the Soviets intended to address the strategic nuclear 

balance, their Cuban plans were a failure. As twenty-five 

more years of history have demonstrated, nuclear war has 

been averted without the presence of Soviet missiles in cuba. 

If the Soviets' intention was to deter an invasion, their 

plans could then be considered to be a success, although it 

is doubtful that a conventional military operation would have 

been undertaken against Cuba even if the missiles had never 

been emplaced or discovered. 

However, it is curious to note that in a number of 

places in the sources researched, indications were found that 

the U.S. Navy was at least planning to be ready to implement 

2. McNamara, Robert S., liThe Lessons of OCtober: An Insider 

'ii Recalls the Cuban Crisis," N~\0113week, February 13, 1989, p.47 
193

CINCLANT OPTJAN 312 as early as the latter part of September

or the early part of October 1962. This is significant

because the presence of the missiles was not discovered until

October 16th and the President was not informed until the

morning of October 17, 1962. It is not surprising that the

military had drafted contingency plans for the attack of

Cuba, but it is unusual that the military, apparently upon

its own analysis of international events, began undertaking

specific plans to be ready to implement a contingency plan to

the extent of prepositioning equipment and supplies in the

anticipated theatre of operations. More specific research on

this question was beyond the scope of this paper

concentrating on the participation of the U.S. Marine Corps

in the crisis.

It is probable that, had the Soviets not escalated the

Cuban Crisis to the nuclear level, there would have been

tremendous pressure upon President Kennedy to "do" something

about Cuba from the more conservative elements of Congress,

the military, and the country. Although there does not appear

to be any evidence of specific plans being undertaken to

mount another Brigade 2506 type invasion, it was certainly an

option. If given even limited conventional military

assistance in the form of air or naval support, a second

attempt might have been much more successful. Although a

"deal" was reached which provided for the removal of the

missiles in exchange for a non-invasion pledge, the agreement

was never formally implemented because one provision was the

193 

CINCLANT OPLAN 312 as early as the latter part of September 

or the early part of October 1962. This is significant 

because the presence of the missiles was not discovered until 

October 16th and the President was not infonned until the 

morning of October 17, 1962. It is not surprising that the 

military had drafted contingency plans for the attack of 

Cuba, but it is unusual that the military, apparently upon 

its own analysis of international events, began undertaking 

specific plans to be ready to implement a contingency plan to 

the extent of prepositioning equipment and supplies in the 

anticipated theatre of operations. More specific research on 

this question was beyond the scope of this paper 

concentrating on the participation of the u.s. Marine Corps 

in the crisis. 

It is probable that, had the Soviets not escalated the 

Cuban Crisis to the nuclear level, there would have been 

tremendous pressure upon President Kennedy to "do" something 

about Cuba from the more conservative elements of Congress, 

the military, and the country. Although there does not appear 

to be any evidence of specific plans being undertaken to 

mount another Brigade 2506 type invasion, it was certainly an 

option. If given even limited conventional military 

assistance in the form of air or naval support, a second 

attempt might have been much more successful. Although a 

"deal" was reached which provided for the removal of the 

missiles in exchange for a non-invasion pledge, the agreement 

was never formally implemented because one provision was the 
194

inspection by U.N. officials of the site and Castro refused

to permit this. Nevertheless, as a practical matter the

United States pledge of non-invasion was honored, even

through successive presidential administrations. It is

possible that, given the withdrawal of the "military option"

following the missile crisis, President Kennedy and his

advisors opted for a covert solution, the assassination of

Fidel Castro.3

The discovery of the missiles did give the United States

a higher level of moral justification to employ a military

option to obtain either their removal and/or the overthrow of

the Castro government. But was the United States justified

in imposing the quarantine and in ordering pre-invasion

preparations to be actually implemented? President Kennedy's

decision to impose the naval quarantine was undoubtedly one

of the most difficult decisions in the post-war era.

Particularly in the early days of the Cold War, the

U.S./Soviet relationship was very unstable and the likelihood

of war was a very present danger. The United States had at

least a measure of early warning of a nuclear attack at that

time, by the DEW (Distant Early Warning) line in the Arctic

Circle. There would have been no warning whatsoever of

missiles launched from Cuba which, if targeted at our

retaliatory capability, could have destroyed our ballistic

3. Marchetti, Victor and Marks, John D. The C.I.A. and the

Cult of Intelliqence, Dell Publishing Co., New York, 1980,

p.260
195

missile and bomber forces on the ground before they could be

launched. The United States should not have been expected to

leave itself permanently vulnerable to such a surprise

attack.

The quarantine decision was a demonstration of restraint

by a super-power, showing a significant amount of reluctance

to utilize vastly superior military force against a weak

neighbor, even if that neighbor was openly antagonistic. The

quarantine was a measured use of force, which left the way

open for escalation, but did not require the United States to

"fire the first shot," unless the Soviets chose not to honor

the blockade. The only military capability that the Soviets

would have to force through the quarantine line were a few

submarines. While those subuarines could have inflicted some

damage upon the United States fleet, any attacking suhuarine

would very likely have been itself destroyed. Any cargo upon

any ship, including nuclear warheads, would probably have

been seized intact rather than sunk. The quarantine thus

left the Soviets with few choices, since they could not

reasonably attempt to "run" the blockade.

The quarantine decision, however, was not without its

disadvantages. The quarantine left the Soviets free to

complete construction of the missile sites. t any time any

completed missile could be launched against the continential

United States. If the Soviets had wanted war with America,

that would have been the time to have almost guaranteed the

destruction of Washington, New York City, or any other
196

targets within range. President Kennedy did minimize this

risk by decreeing that any missile attack launched from Cuba

would be considered as one launched from the Soviet Union,

justifying a retaliatory response. That statement alone,

however, could have proved to be disastrous. If a site were

about to be overrun by an invading force, would the site

crews have launched rather than allowing their missiles to be

overtaken by their enemy? Or could Cuban crews have

overtaken the sites and launched the missiles themselves,

even against the Soviets' wishes, as apparently was the case

with the downing of Major Anderson's U-2? It is entirely

conceivable that, if Castro perceived his government to be in

danger of overthrow, he would have "pushed the button" if he

had any way to do so. If President Kennedy had followed

through with his threat, then he would have been bound to

have retaliated against the Soviet Union for what might not

have been an attack ordered by the Soviet national command

authority.

Another weakness of the quarantine decision was its

forfeiture of the element of surprise. The Soviets did not

know that we had discovered the presence of their missiles.

After the announcement of their discovery, the alert status

of their air defense crews no doubt was raised. That

forfeiture of surprise, however, had a collateral benefit.

Khrushchev's greatest "hold card" during the crisis was his

conventional superiority to attack Berlin or some other

European target where the West would have been vulnerable.

196 

targets within range. President Kennedy did minimize this 

risk decreeing that any missile attack launched from Cuba 

would be considered as one launched from the Soviet Union, 

justifying a retaliatory response. That statement alone, 

however, could have proved to be disastrous. If a site were 

about to be overrun by an invading force, would the site 

crews have launched rather than allowing their missiles to be 

overtaken by their enemy? Or could Cuban crews have 

overtaken the sites and launched the missiles themselves, 

even against the Soviets' wishes, as apparently was the case 

with the downing of Major Anderson's U-2? It is entirely 

conceivable that, if Castro perceived his government to be in 

danger of overthrow, he would have "pushed the button" if he 

had any way to do so. If President Kennedy had followed 

through with his threat, then he would have been bound to 

have retaliated against the Soviet Union for what might not 

have been an attack ordered by the Soviet national command 

authority. 

Another weakness of the quarantine decision was its 

forfeiture of the element of surprise. The Soviets did not 

know that we had discovered the presence of their missiles. 

After the announcement of their discovery, the alert status 

of their air defense crews no doubt was raised. That 

forfeiture of surprise, however, had a collateral benefit. 

Khrushchev's greatest "hold card" during the crisis was his 

conventional superiority to attack Berlin or some other 

Ii European target where the West would have been vulnerable. il 
197

By forfeiting the element of surprise, Khrushchev was

maneuvered into a position of being an attacker or aggressor

himself had he chosen this option.

The concern expressed by many military officers during

the quarantine debate within Excomm was its inability to

obtain the actual removal of the missiles. Its objective was

the voluntary removal of the missiles by the Soviets and, it

must be admitted, the West at that time had not been very

successful in obtaining the voluntary cooperation of the

Soviets to do much of anything.

This is where the importance of the Marines came into

play. President Kennedy warned that the quarantine was only

the first step. s several of the sources in the previous

chapter indicate, the motivating factor for Khrushchev to

finally make the decision to voluntarily remove the missiles

was his knowledge that an actual invasion of Cuba was

eminent. and, by that time, Khrushchev was correct than an

invasion was eminent. Within hours of the receipt of an order

of the President of the United States to do so, over 25,000

fully supplied and equipped Marines could have stormed ashore

at any of several points in Cuba. airborne forces would have

dropped nearby, and air strike forces would have streaked

across the skies of Khrushchev's tiny remote ally, destroying

much of the assets that it did have with which to wage war.

Forces at Guantanamo could have attacked out of their base.

The U.S. military response to the Cuban Missile Crisis

totaled a quarter of a million personnel, more than the total

197 

By forfeiting the element of surprise, Khrushchev was 

maneuvered into a position of being an attacker or aggressor 

himself had he chosen this option. 

The concern expressed by many military officers during 

the quarantine debate within Excomm was its inability to 

obtain the actual removal of the missiles. Its objective was 

the voluntary removal of the missiles by the Soviets and, it 

must be admitted, the West at that time had not been very 

successful in obtaining the voluntary cooperation of the 

Soviets to do much of anything. 

This is where the importance of the Marines came into 

play. President Kennedy warned that the quarantine was only 

the first step. As several of the sources in the previous 

chapter indicate, the motivating factor for Khrushchev to 

finally make the decision to voluntarily remove the missiles 

was his knowledge that an actual invasion of Cuba was 

eminent. And, by that time, Khrushchev was correct than an 

invasion was eminent. Within hours of the receipt of an order 

of the President of the United States to do so, over 25,000 

fully supplied and equipped Marines could have stormed ashore 

at any of several points in Cuba. Airborne forces would have 

dropped nearby, and air strike forces would have streaked 

across the skies of Khrushchev's tiny remote ally, destroying 

much of the assets that it did have with which to wage war. 

Forces at Guantanamo could have attacked out of their base. 

The U.S. military response to the Cuban Missile Crisis 

totaled a quarter of a million personnel, more than the total 
198

which landed on D-Day on the coast of France on June 6, 1944.

As Sun Tzu observed centuries ago, the most successful armyis the one that never has to fight--its enemies are deterred

from waging war with it.

The men and women of all branches of the United States -

Armed Forces who responded on behalf of their country during

the Cuban Missile Crisis can be very proud that the

appearance of their combined force "cowered" an aggressive

adversary and forced his submission to their country's

demands. The immediate result was that what could have been

a deadly war ended up being a massive embarkation exercise.

With the threat of an eminent invasion, the Soviets

certainly did "blink." But, as Luttwak has noted, the

quarantine may have exceeded the "culminating point of

success."4 In other words, it might have been so successful

in the short term that it motivated the adversary to work

harder to "win" the next time, with the result that

ultimately the adversary is much stronger as a result of the

incident rather than weaker. The best historical example is

the defeat of Germany in World War I. The humiliation of the

peace treaty was the catalyst for the growth of the National

Socialist Party in the inter-war years. In Cuba the Soviet

naval "defeat" is given by Soviet naval experts as the

motiviation for the construction of a deep water navy which

began to be deployed in the latter sixties and now rivals or

4. Luttwak, Edward N. Strategy: The Logic of War and peace,

Eelknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.,

1987
199

exceeds in size the United States Navy.5 It would certainly

be much more difficult to quarantine Cuba now against the

Soviet naval threat than it was in 1962.6 It seems also to

have motivated the Soviets to adopt a "flexible response"

capability of their own which would not be so dependent on a

massive' nuclear response.7

Another broader question in the Cuban context is the

propriety of the use of military force in dealing with Latin

merican problems. It is certainly a laudable goal to try to

keep communism out of Latin imerica. For the more recent

part of Castro's 30+ year regime, there seems to have been

little internal opposition raised against him. That in and

of itself is not a real test of internal satisfaction with

his rule, as there is rarely word of internal dissatisfaction

with most communist regimes until it erupts into a Hungary of

1956, a Czechoslovakia of 1967, or a Polish Solidarity

level. It should be remembered, however, that much of

Castro's opposition was allowed to escape to freedom in the

United States and was at times certainly encouraged by Castro

himself to leave. He was thereby relieved of the burden of

significant internal opposition. Although there are now

Mitchell, Donald W., A History of Russian and Soviet Sea

Power, Naciuillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1974, pp.

519-20

Gorshkov, Sergei G. Red Star Risma At Sea, United States

Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, 1974, pp. 145-6

MccGwire, Michael, Miltary Objectives in Soviet Forefl

Policy, The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. 1987, pp.

3-4, 361-2
200

signs of some latent dissatisfaction, for decades as a result

of United States inaction, hundreds of thousands of people

have not enjoyed the freedoms we as well as many others in

Latin America take for granted.

But should that be a basis for initiating a war to stop

it? Additionally, as a partial result of Cuban-sponsored

subversion there is now a communist government in nearby

Nicaragua. While Castro was struggling to consolidate his

own regime, he was not concerned with exporting his

revolution. As merica gave up on military opposition to

Cuba, Castro was allowed to consolidate his regime in peace

to the extent of becoming a moderate third world power which

has even sent troops to Africa to fight. Tiny Grenada also

feil prey to Cuba's exported revolution, but in that instance

swift United States military action averted what could have

been decades of terror and lack of freedom under communist

rule.8 While the United States decision to invade Grenada

was unpopular internationally, it appears now to have been a

wise move with little long-term international fallout which

even the Soviets appear to have taken in stride. At least

the issue does not appear to have damaged the larger issues

of Soviet/American relations such as nuclear arms reductions.

The final chapter on Cuba has prqbably not yet been

written. The real battle for Cuba is a battle for all of the

western hemisphere. America is very fortunate to have

8. Anderson, Kenneth, U.S. Military Q2erations: 1945-1985,

Crown Publishers Inc., New York, 1984, pp. 181-3
201

secure, unarmed borders with friendly neighbors. The only

near term threat to this benefit is from creeping communist

subversion in Latin America. In 1962 cuba may have seemed to

be a tolerable "thorn in the flesh." Fifteen years later

Nicaragua's fall to the Sandinistas is now courting a similar

tolerance. What about Mexico in another fifteen years?

Certain characterists always seem to follow the rise of

communist governments to power. True communist governments

are never voted into power by elected bodies or by the

people. They are always installed by military force.

Admittedly, however, the communist insurgencies have often

toppled regimes that needed to be overthrown which were

oppressive to the people and corrupt. Almost immediately

floods of refugees exit the country fearing the oppression

that usually follows. Simultaneously a massive military

buildup also follows that the already shattered economy can

ill afford. Ostensively the new military machine is to

defend against external aggression from the West, but more

often than not, it is a tool to deter or suppress ixiternal

opposition. The most critical stage for the new communist

leadership is the consolidation phase when internal

opposition is still present, much of it having been used to

overthrow the previous government.

At any rate, if this process begins in Mexico as a

direct or indirect result of Cuba's subversion, the United

States would have a very dangerous social and security

problem on its hands. If that occurs we might look wistfully
20

back to 1962 and wish we had "bloodied our nose" then, rather

than have the problems of Mexico multiplied many times more

than Cuba has been. This is not however, an attempt to put

the blame for all of Latin America's problems upon Cuba.

There are many destabilizing social, political, and economic

problems that are endemic of our southern neighbors.

No, the last chapter has not yet been written. But our

policies today must insure that, when it is written, military

force is an option rather than a necessity. Our military

capability to respond must be massive, swift, and flexible,

and above all, ready. To be writing about the "Cuban't

Missile Crisis is bad enough--may it never be necessary to

write about the "Mexican" Missile Crisis.
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208
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t:t'Ml.kIlQC.Y. fl ' 'ttrtana Sank (cil) / At

SCALE N STATUTE MILES FOR OSaRaIS or LATINOS

t' S.c-flit, flank (O.?) /

- L' \c. t / 3't ' tA

0 50 100 200

(tatto Osons. Q4r.

t-t t

lt-I

't ''E-a-' _'_'t'ttí

MAP OF TUE

GULF, CARIBBEAN AND ATLANTIC COAST AREA

t rrI talA j

,

t

t-' 2

24 20 I'.

ta

loot o
Overatioa flaü

COMNAVBASS GTMQY4' No. 316-62

o. Strength.ìtd>-b tosition:

Call

Dis t. Sign Type Remarks

West CMXA AG PF size cruizer buil

in 191k; modernized

and. u.ze&.primarily f

training.. Some port

possibly Havana. CO

Carlos. Marta Tappea

(Jaa .62)

Ex-USS EUGENE (2F-40

Rone..port p.ossibly

Havana

Ex-USE PEORIA (2F-67

Home port possibly

Havana

Ex-USE GRAND ISLAND

(py-1k). Home port

possibly Eavana

FIx-USE PCE. 872.. Rom

port possibly Car.den

Ex-USE PÇE 893. Rom

port possibly Bataban

Sunk 19 April 1961. 

porta& raised, and. nu

repair.

110 foot coast guard

patzcl boat; crew of 

offlcer and 18 men.

Possible home port

Antifla or Banes C

Lt Antonin.VeMert

Manama.. (Mar 61)

210

Tha-operatiomaL -

APPENDIX Z

Y-301 - JOSE MARTI West C1'IZA PF

F-30a AflONIO MACEO West CMZL PF

P-303 MÁXIMO GOMEZ West CMZC PF

2E-201 CARIBE West . C.MZD PCE

2E-202 SIBONEY Weit CMZII PCE

2E-203 BAISE Unk CMXB PGM

GC- Unk East C4XC TI

G C-10 a DONATIVO Unk C}L TP

Hullj&mhar Name

Ùnk CUBA
veratioa Plan

COMNAVEASE GTMO/CTG. 8k.9 No. 316-6L

T-t-3

Remarks

211

100 foot auxiliary coast

guard patrol boat; reactivated 8 Dec Go. Possible

home port Oien.fu.egos.

Ex-1155 SC10O0. Rome port

possibly Batabanc. CO - ENS

Manuel DeL Pino Roque.

Ex-USS 50-1001; no recent

status report.

Hijacked hy OIR; Jan 62.

Returned to Ouba.

Ex-1153 50-1291. Some port

tink. Last reported. Santiago

for repairs. (Oct 61)

Ex-US 50-1301

Ex-U&. CG(-: 3351 (0G-11 to ik

are 83 foot wood coast guard

(ctitters) 0erating west

Naval Distnct (Nov 60)

¿Ex-US CGO-. &3386 n recent

nt-u.s report.

lx.-US CGO 833585. Home port

pesi bly b-8O.

Ex-US CGO 83395. Rome port

posssbly Qq1 "n.

Xx-U&-.CGC 65189; (GO-31 to 3k

are 83 foot wood. coast guard

ClLtters;. same .size as GO-iL

to 1k class, but have speed ia kts vice 18 kts); n.a recent

status reports.

1flWSE1!&D i

Ca1]

Hull Number Name Dist. Sign. Tyns

GC-103 MATANZAS Central SMXJ IP

GO-10k ORIENTE West OMTh IP

GO-105 CAMAGUE! Unk CMXR IP

GO-106 LAS 'VILLAS West 011X1 IP

GO-107 HABANA East CL IP

GO-108 PINAR DEL Uit CMXK IP

RIO

GO-a link link OMXU IP

GO-ÌZ Unk link. CMXV 12

ßC-13 link East CMXW IP

GO-1k link We.st. CMXI IP

GO-31 link link CMZI 12
0neratidnPst'&

COMNAVZASE G t

Hull Number Nazie

112

Call

Sign Tyoe Reniarks

Ex-US CGC 56191; no

recent status report.

Ex-US COC 56190; operating. No recent status

report.

Ex-US CGC 56192. Possible

home port Santiago.

SV-i to 6 are 32 foot

auxiliary patrol craft, speed i8 kts; no recent status report SV-i. Prob- ably operatLonal.

No recent status report. Eowe port possibly Bata- bano.

Possible home port Bata- bano.

No recent status report.

2ossthl home port Santiago.

Possible howe port Santiago.

2V-7 to 10 are kO foot

auxiliary patrol craft. Speed. 25 kts. Possible home port Antilla.

No recent status report.

No recent status report.

Present status unknown.

SIT_a link link Y?

2V-3 link -West IP

2V-k- link link IP

£V5 link East IP

sv-6 link East IP

EV-7 link East TP

sv-8 link link TP

SV9 link link TP

SV-lo link West TP

GC-32 Unk link. CMZJ Y?

GC-33 Unk link CMZK Y?

GC-3k Unic East CMZL IP

SV-i. Unk link Y?
Oneration Plan

COMNAVBASE GTMO/CTa Bk.9 No. -316-62

Hull

Call

213

Number Name fist. Sign.. Remarks. - SV-li Unk East TP Home port unk. Last report operating Antilla

area. (Nov 61)

3V-12 Unk West TP Present status unknown.

5V-13 Unk Unk TP No recent status report.

SV-iS Unk- Unk IP No recent status report.

5V-15 Unk- - Unk TP No recent status report.

3V-16 Unk Unk TP No recent status report.

R-41 Unk Unk. CMZM IP Ex-US PT 715; no recent

status report.

R-2 Unk West CMZN IP Ex-US PT mG; home port

possibly Batabano.

RS-210 10 DE OCTOBEE West CMXN ATR Thc-US ATR 5k, possible

honte port Havana.

25-211 20 DE MATO Unk CMXE ATR Ex-US ATR-3; no recent

status report.

None ENRIQUE COLLAZO Unk CMXO AG Ex-uterchantman fitted as

lighthouse and buoytender;

no recent status report.
Oteration Plan

COMNAVEASE GTMO/CTG 84.9 No. 316-62

APPENDIX II TO ANNEX J

Enemy Air Forces

Organization: There are indications that the Cubait Air Force (FAR)

may be subordinated to the Army. Within the Air Force the Chief of th

FAR at San Antonio de Los Sanos as the operational commander maintains

direct control over the air ar wtthout delegating command authority to

the varous base commanders.

Airfields: There are more than thirty major- airfields in- Cuba. r

of these are class L fields capable of handling jet aircraft. These ar

at follows:

Airfields Coordinates Remarks

Los Canoe 20-02N CommerciaL field for75-08W Guantanamo. 8ioo foot

runway.

Antonio Maceo 19-58M CommercaL field for

75-52w Santiago. B-26 and Se

Fury aircraft have been

sighted. here in. the-pas

Recently no military ai

craft present. 7000 fo

runway.

Coronel Pasqual

Cawaguey International

Kolguin.

- {1nr-T-;i gpc'-'1⁄4tlt..?',!i npL _:._:rIi

San. Antonio de los Sanos

APPENDIX 3

JItL

214

Covw, mier Guatanao. Sector

Caribbean Sea $ontier

Commander-, Tr NavaL Base-

- Guantanamo Bay-, .CtLba - - and.

Commander Task Grout Bk,9

23-08M 7400 foot runway.

21-25M CommerciaL field for

77-51V Camaguey. 8000 foot

runway-.

20-531T Eartiafly completed.-

76-15W present runvar length.

8000 feet p1us (Feb La

22-53M Major base for Air Torc

82-32w 7220 foot runway.
Airfield

Santa Clara International

Oteratjcn Plan

C0MNAVBAS GT}fO/CTta 34.9 No. 316-Ga

Coordinates

22-29N

79-35W

Jose Karti (Ranco Boyeros) 23OlN

82-2kw

EL Jiqui

Campo libertad

3. Aircraft Inventory:

Sea Pury

B-26

22-13N

81-07'I

23-05 N

32-26W

.1r-rr-a

Re marks

Commercial field. 9600

foot runway.

Commercial field for

Havana. 7060 foot runway.

8koü foot runway

Eeadquarters for FAR. 6790

foot runway.

215

3-.50--cal.

4- Prop fighter/bomber; speed 390 kts/20,000 f t;

..Mnge 915 nautical miles/245 kts; armament 4-.2Omm, 12-2" rockets; 2-500 lb. bombs.

10-15 Pop attack bomber; twin engine; speed- 250 kts/

5,000 f t; range Lk90 nauticaL miles/lBS kts; armament fl-.50 cal.

Tyte Number Descrittion

141G 15 3°-150 Jet fighter; speed 572/sea level; range £30

miles. Max. alt. 50,000 It; armament 1-37mm,

2-23mni.

141G 17 Unk Jetfighter; speed 625/sea level; range 1,100 miles; max. alt. unic; armament 1-37mm, 2-23mnz.

141G 19 1-lo Jetfighter; speed 675/sea level; ränge i,koo miles; max. alt. 55,000 It; armament 2-33mm.

T-33 5-lo Jetfighter trainer;:speed 50k/7,000 It; range

i3O86 nautica]: miles/381 kts; armament 2-.50 cal.

F-51 1 Prop fighter; speed k25 kts/22,700 It; range 1,720 nau.tical miles/236 kts; armament G-. 50

cal.

F-47 3 Prop fignter/bomber; speed 390/kts/35,000 It; range 2,020 nautcal niles/2k4 Icts; armament
Oteratjon Plan

COMNAYBASE GTMO/CTG 8k.9 No. 316-62

Type Number Descriotion

TBM 35

IL-11F

(Crate)

PBY-3A

AN-2

(Colt)

(R5D

L-20

(Beaver)

E-19

(ERS)

6 Prop ASW aircraft; speed 235 kts/16,500 Lt;

range 1,510 nautical miles/128 kts; armament

3-,50 cal; l-.30 cal.

12 soviet transport type: speed 265; range 1500

utiles.

2 Thin engtne seaplane: speed 160 kts/l7,000 It

range 2,21k nautical miles/l02 icts; armament

3-,50 cal; 2-.30 cal.

9 Soviet prop transport: speed 150; range 900

miles.

2 Four engine transport.

7 Twin engine transport.

If Twin engtne transport.

1 Light prop plane.

i Sikorsky helicopter.

POlED

CESSNA 310 2 Small twin engine light plane; low wing

HOUND 12 Soviet made helicopter; similar to ERS.

XMl-k)

HARE 10 Soviet made helicopter.

k. Naval Aircraft: The Naval air arm bas been absorbed by the Revolutiot

ary Air Iorce. -Naval aircraft were formerly based at Martel Naval Air

Station. (23-01« 62-46w). The TBMtS and. PEt's were equipped for- ASW patr

but poer--maantenance of aircraft and electronic equipment limits them to

daylight visual search.

5. Strength anti Weakness:

a. Strength:

Jt'-5

21
Ot-eration Plan

COMNAVEASE GTMO/CTG 84.9 No, 316-Ga

Large number of dispersed airfields for potential operation

of present aircraft.

Soviet Bloc assistance.

b. Weakness

Inadequate logistics on U. S. made equipment.

Lack of experienced technical personnel.

Lack of highly trained pilots.

AUTSiENTICATED:

Administrative- Aide JIt-4-

E. J. O'DONNELL

Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy

Commander U. S. Naval Base

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

and

Commander Task Group 8k.9

2.17

IIFII!LI
Commander Guantanagia Sector

Caribbean Sea Frontier

Commander, U. S. Naval Base

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

and.

Cotnrnander Task Group 8k.9

Operation Plan

COMNAVBASE GTMO/CTG 84.9 No. 316-62

APPENDIX III TO ANNEX J

Enemy Ground Forces

1. Ornnization: Cuba's ground forces have been in a continuous state

of reorganization and resubordination. This was especially true during

the latter half of 1961. The trend of these changes has been in the

direction of CASTRO'S stated purpose of creating an armed force along t

lines of that of a major power. Internal organization follows the usua

lines of subordination. There is evidence however, that the armed forc

gen.eraLstaff has either been done away with or at least stripped of ma

of its controflfunctions. The army and militia now report directly to 

Minister of the Armed Forces. The division between the tactical combat

forces (the regular army) and the Revolutionary National Militia (the

reserve and 'colunteer forces) is becoming more and more nebulous.

a. Cuba is divided into six military districts. These roughly

follow the same lines of d.emarkation as the provinces. These divisions

&re believed to be for purposes of administration, rather than for any

tactica1 concepts. Ta'tically the Island of Cuba is broken into three

areas of responsibility. These are as follows:

Eastern Area - Oriente Province

Central Area - Camaguey and Las Villas Provinces

Western Area - Matanzas, Habana and. Pinar del Rio Provinces

b. The exact boundaries of these zones of responsibility are not

known.

2. Weanons and Eouinmenf: The Cuban Army and militia have more arms th

can be efficiently absorbed by her arme& forces soldiers. During 1960-

Cuba received a great many tanks, artillery pieces, mortars, machine gu

and small arms from the Soviet Bloc. Major items are:

Estimate Item Descrivtion

25 ;s-a Heavy tank Mounts 122mm gun; 51 tons; identified 

wheels and muzzle brake.

APPENDIX 4
Oteration Plan

COMNAYBASS GTMO/CTG 84.9 No. 316-Ga

Estimate Item Descrivtion

10k T-3k Medium tank Mounts 85mw gun; weighs 35 tons;

identified by five wheels and absence

of muzzle brakes.

50 SU-100 sell pro- 100mm anti-tank gun mounted on T-3k

pelled guns chapsis; weighs 35 tons; identified by

five twheels, boè shated crew compartment vice turret, absence of muzzle

brake.

50 122mm gun Powerful long range (22,74»? yds) gun;

identified by long tube and absence of

muzzle brake; mounted on dual wheels.

Trails of carriage are brought together

and two front wheels attached to provide

four wheel carriage for traveling.

50 122mm Howitzer Rangé 13,000 yds. Recoil mechanism

carried in crate below tube, recuperator

above tube. Same carriage as the l52nain

Howitzer M 1943.

72 85mm anti-tank Powerful, lightweight, dual purpose

gun weapon designed for field and anti-tank

roles. Fitted with double baffle muzzle

brakes. Range i8,000 yards.

120 76mm Lightweight weapon designed for field and

anti-tank roles. Double baffle muzzle

brake. Range ik,4 yards.

30 37mm AA gun. Single 37mm manual drive gun mounted on

four wheel carriage. Vertical range

19,685 feet; horizontal range 8,748 yds.

200 Quad 12.7= AA Four 12.7 machine guns in quad mount on

gun two wheel trailer. Identified by muzzle

brake.

200 82mm mortars Breaks into three loads for» pack transportation tube, biped and baseplate.

Range 90 to 3,320 yards.

219
Oteration Plan

COMNAYBASE GTMO/CTG 84.9 No. 316-62

220

70 l2Omi« mortars Transportechon jeep or towed. Range 

to 6500 yards.

500 7.62 light ma- Light machine gun fired from should

chine gunDP with barni supported by bipod. Re

ily identified by flat circular ag

- tine moùnted horzonta1ly over barr

220,000 7.62 subctachine Submachtne gun fired from shoulder.

gun PSa-!+i 5eadly identtfe4 by vertical flat

ctrcular magazLne mounted under trie

barrel and by the perforated barrel

guard.

Unknown Czech L-25 sub- Submachine gun fired while hand hel

machine gun Gun. has pistol grip forward of maga

zines as well as aft.

Unknown Czech Model 52 Semi-automatic rifle loaded from cl

rifles just forward of trigger guard. Bay

fblds back along right side of barr

26,000 Belgimn FN(T- Similar in appearance to BAR.

- .8) rifles.

Estimate Item Description
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS

AD - Designation of a destroyer tender ship

AE - Designation of an ammunition replenishment ship

AO - Designation of a replenishment oiler ship

AOE - Designation of a fast combat support ship

AS - Designation of a submarine tender ship

ASW - Anti-submarine warfare

ASWFORLANT - Anti-Submarine Forces, Atlantic

CG - Commanding General

CIA - Central Intelligence Agency

CINC - Commander in Chief

CINCAFtANT - Commander in Chief of Air Forces, Atlantic

CINCARt.ANT - Commander in Chief of U.S. Army Forces, Atlantic

CINCLANT - Commander in Chief of U.S. Navy Forces,

Atlantic

CINCt.ANTFLT - Commander in Chief of U.S. Navy Forces,

Atlantic Fleet

CINCONAD - Commander in Chief of Continental Air Defense

CJTF - Commander, Joint Task Force

CMC - Commandant of the Marine Corps

COMANTDEFCOM - Commander, Antilles Defense Command

COMCARDIV - Commander, Carrier Division

COMCRUDESFLOT - Commander, U.S. Navy Cruiser Sd

Destroyer Flotilla

COMNAVAIRLANT - Commander, U.S. Navy Air Forces,

Atlantic

COMNAVBASE - Commander Naval Base - APPENDIX 5

221
COMSECONDFtJT - Commander, U.S. Navy Second Fleet

COMSERVLANT - Commander, Service Force, Atlantic

COMSOLANT - Commander of U.S. Navy Southern Atlantic

Forces

COMSUBLANT - Commander, Submarine Forces, Atlantic

COMTAC - Commander, Tactical Air Command

CONARC - Continental Army Command

CONUS - Continental United States

CTF - Carrier task force

CVA - Designation for attack carrier

CVN (CVAN) - Designation for nuclear attack carrier

DD (DDG) - Designation of a destroyer

DEFCON - Defense condition

DEW - Distant Early Warning System

ExCormu - Executive Committee of the National Security

Council

FAA - Federal Aviation Administration

FMF - Fleet Marine Force

FMFLANT - Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic

FMFPAC - Fleet Marine Force, Pacific

FROG - Free rocket over ground (a type of Soviet tactical

missile system)

GPMO - Guantanamo Naval Base

H & MS - Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron

HUK - Hunter/killer operations in submarine/antisubmarine warfare

IREM - Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile

JCS - Joint Chiefs of Staf f

JTF - Joint Task Force

222
223

KIA - Killed in action

KOMAR - Designation of a particular Soviet navy fast attack surface

craft

WC - Designation of amphibious assault command ship

LPA - Designation of amphibious assault ship

LPD - Designation of amphibious transport dock ship with

a helicopter deck.

- LP!-! - Designation of amphibious assault ship

LSD - Designation of amphibious dock landing ship

LST - Naphibious assault ship designed to land tanks

MAG - Marine Air Group

MATS - Military Air Transit Service

MAW - Marine Air Wing

MEE - Marine Expeditionary Brigade

MEW - Marine Expeditionary Force

MEZ - Military Emergency Zone

MIA - Missing in action

MIG - Designation of Soviet jet fighters named after

their designers, Arten Ivanovich Mikoyan and

Mikhail Gurevich

MRBM - Medium Range Ballistic Missile

MSTS - Military Surface Transit Service

NAS - Naval air station

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NSC - National Security Council

OPLAN - Operation Plan

OPORDFJR - Operation order

PRIBRIGLEX - Brigade-sized amphibious exercise

PHIBRON - Squadron of amphibious assault ships
SAN - Surface to air missile

SCAT - Security Control of Air Traffic

SECDEF - Secretary of Defense

SSN - Designation of a U.S. nuclear submarine

SP - Self-propelled

Sinker - Colloquialism for a submarine sighting

UN - United Nations

USAF - United States Air Force

USIA - United States Information Agency

USMC - United States Marine Corps

USN - United States Navy - USS - United States ship

USSR - Union of Soviet Socialist Repüblics

VMA - Designation of a Marine fixed wing attack squadron

VMCJ - Designation of a Marine fixed wing reconnaissance

squadron

VHF - Designation of a Marine fixed wing fighter squadron

WIA - Wounded in action

224
225

CHRONOLOGY OF THE CUBAN MISSILE dRISIS

Date Entry

February 24, 1895 Commencement of the Cuban war of

iòdeendence from Spain.

April 25, 1898 The United States declafes war against

Spain,,

June 25, 1898 Col. Huntington's Marines and 40 cubans

secure Guantanamo Bay.

July 1, 1898 Historic batle af. Sán - Juan Hill is

fough

January 1, 1899 U. S. military occupation of Cuba under

the comruarla df 'Generál John Brook

begins the era of Cuban independence.

June 12, 1901 The Platt Pmendment is insertea into the

Cuban Constitution

1903 The Uhited States and Cuba agree to

establish a U. S. Naval Ea!e at

duàiít&nathò

1904 Th& Ro6theé1t Corollaryto he Monroe

Doctrine is established.

May 29, 1934' Th& látttNneàdmen is removed from the

Cuban Constitution.

January 1, 1959 Fidel Castro overthrows the Cuban

dictator Fulgencio Batista.

January 3, 1961 The United States severs diplomatic

relations with Cuba.

January 20, 1961 president Kennedy is briefed on

"Operation Zapata."

April 17, 1961 Brigade 2506 invades Cuba at the Bay of

Pigs.

January 15-

March 26, 1962 Twelve KOMAR fast attack missile craft

and ig KRONSTADP patrol boats are

delivered to Cuba.

APPENDIX 6
April 8, 1962

April 12, 1962

July, 1962

July 19, 1962

September 1, 1962

September 6, 1962

September 18, 1962

September 19, 1962

September 28, 1962

October 1, 1962

October 1-18, 1962

October 6, 1962

October 8, 1962

October 12-17,1962

226

The surviving members of Brigade 2506

are sentenced to thirty years in prison.

Cadre status and organization of 5th MES

is approved.

Russian MIG5 are delivered to Cuba.

The Soviets begin to build up combat

power in Cuba.

Seven SAM sites are detected.

The number of confirmed SAM sites has

risen to ten.

Extensive training exercises are

initiated by CINC[JANT in support of OPtAN

312.

The United States Intelligence Board

issues a national intelligence estimate

concluding that the U.S.S.R. didnot

intend to place offensive missiles in

Cuba.

Cruise missiles with ranges of 25 to 35

nautical miles are detected at Banes.

Two additional cruise missiles with 25 to

35 nautical miles range are detected.

CINCLANT directs that by October 20th all

feasible means be taken to be ready to

execute OPLAN 312.

The total number of confirmed 5kM sites

has risen to twenty-four.

FMFLANT's increased readiness phase.

CINCLANT directs that increased readiness

be maintained to execute OPLANs 312, 314,

and 316.

JCS refers SECDEF memorandum to CINCLANT

outlining contingencies under which

military action against Cuba may be

necessary.

The first IL-28 bomber is assembled at

San Julian airfield.
Missile sites are discovered by a U-2

reconnaissance flight flown by Maj.

Rudolf Anderson, Jr.

President Kennedy is informed that

intelligence analysts have discovered

the construction of missile bases iii Cuba.

CINCLANT requests JCS to transfer a land

battalion from Pacific command to

Atlantic command.

227

October 18-19, Aviation deployments in support of OPiLAN

1962 312 to Florida are well under way.

- Guantanamo ground forces forward a list

of targets posing a direct threat to the

base to the Antilles Defense Command for

incorporation into the OPLAN 312 target

list.

JCS directs MATS to transport a

reinforced EiLT from the 5th MEE to

Guantanaino.

October 19-31, 1962 FMFLANT's deployment phase.

October 19, 1962 ist Marine Division receives message

from FMFP&C directing that a reinforced

infantry battalion be chopped in piace to

CINCLANT.

Marine Brigadier General W. R.

Collins receives orders from CINCLANT to

report to Guantanamo for duty as the

ground forces commander.

BLT 2/i is formally alerted at 0730 to

embark to Guantanamo and is ready to

depart by 1600; all attached units are

ready to depart by 2000.

October 20, 1962 President Kennedy makes the difficult

decision to impose a quarantine of Cuba.

CINCLANT assumes responsibilities as

CJTF-l22.

October 14, 1962

October 16, 1962

October 18, 1962
228

October 20, 1962 CINCr1ANT issues OPORDER 43-62 which

(cont.) commenced the naval action in support of

CINCLANT OP[dN 312; COMCARDIVs Two and

Six are ordered into position to execute

OPt1AN 312

CTF-135 is in position for possible

execution of OPLPSN 312-62.

CMC orders 3rd LAPiN Battalion to deploy

to Guantanamo.

CG FMFtJANT requests that two attack

squadrons from Pacific command be chopped

in place to FMFLPSNT.

One MAG consisting of one fighter and

three attack squadrons will be

assigned to CINCPsFLANT; and one squadron would be deployed to Key West assigned

to CINCAF'LANT.

1st Battalion 8th Marines deployed from

Camp Lejeune to Guantanamo.

October 21, 1962 CINCLANTFLT deploys VMA 225 to the Enterprise from Cherry Point, North Carolina where it remains on alert until

December 5th.

CINCtIANT directs the Battalion (BLT '2/2)

PUIBRIGLEX-62 to make

landing at Guantanamo.

The evacuation of almost

and non-combatants is

Guana tanamo.

Caribbean Ready participating in

an amphibious

3,000 dependents ordered from

October 22, 1962 President Kennedy addresses the nation

announcing the imposition of a naval

quarantine around Cuba.

DEFCON 3 is set.

CINCPAC directs assembly of all naval shipping necessary to deploy the 5th MES.

Virtually all of 5th MES headquarters have reported for duty. CINCLANTFLT

directs COMSUBLANT to disperse all units

in Key West to North Carolina or further north and to load with a war time load.
October 22, 1962 MAG 14 arrives at Key West.

(cont.)

MAG 32 headquarters is directed to deploy

to Roosevelt Roads to assume operational

control of WA 331 and VHF 333 and the

reconnaissance aircraft of 4th MEB

The last increment of BtJT 2/1 arrives at

Guantanamo.

The installation of an advanced air

search radar (TPS-15) at Guantanamo

has been completed.

At 0915 BtJT 2/2 conducts amphibious

landing at Guantanatno in less than

an hour, followed by Headquarters Battery

of 2/10.

October 22-3, 1962 cuban army forces are mobilized.

October 23, 1962

October 24, 1962

229

Debate at the U.N. commences on the U.S.

resolution to dismantle and withdraw the

miss lles.

The O. A. S. unanimously approves a resolution calling for the dismantling

and withdrawal of the missiles.

The 5th MEB is formally activated and

is ordered to embark within 96 hours; 5th

MEB is also notified that jt will be part

of Landing Group East in the Ir MEF.

The headquarters of MAG 32 deploys to

Guantanamo and assumes operational

control of VMF 333, WA 331, VCMJ-2 Wet)

MASS-1 and four 1CC 130F's for inflight

refueling.

MAG 14 reports to CINCAFLANT with H & MS

(Det), MABS (Det), VMA 324, WA 533, VMA

242, WA 122, VMCJ-2 (Det); the MAG 14

deployment to Key West includes VHF (AW)

122, WA 242, WA 324, WA 553, and VMCJ

2 (Det).

Two surgical teams with blood supplies

arrive at Guantanamo.

U.N. Secretary General U Thant sends

identically worded messages to Kennedy

and Khrushchev.
October 24, 1962

(cont.)

23

CINCLANTFEJT formally issues his blockade

order (later modified to quarantine).

Commencement of ist phase of the

quarantine (October 24-November 4) during

which many suspicious Soviet ships

reversed course.

The first Soviet ships reach the blockade

line at approximately 10:30 a.m., but

turn back.

The Enterprise and Independence

alternate continuous advance early

warning patrols over the Windward Passage

at the request of the Guantanamo Base

commander.

Seventeen VP aircraft and ten submarines

are deployed to the naval station at

Argentia to establish the Argentia

sub-air barrier.

By this time CINCLPSNTFrJT has identified

three known submarines operating in the

North Atlantic which could reach the

quarantine line within a few days.

COMSOLANT is directed to return to

Trinidad from Operation Unitas III off

the northern coast of Chile with

South American naval forces.

MAG 32 is now in position.

MAG 14's units are completely in

place ready for air operations in

western Cuba under the direction of

CINCAFLANT.

VMA 121 and VMA 223 from 3rd MAW are

placed on 36 hour notice to deploy to the

east coast or the Caribbean with the

Atlantic fleet.

October 25, 1962 Kennedy permits the Soviet tanker

Bucharest to pass the quarantine line.

The C.I.A. estimates that one IRBM base

will be operational by December 1st, and

the other two by December 15th.
231

correspondent.

JCS directs that planning and preparation

for execution of OP[.AN 314 be abandoned

in favor of OPLAN 316.

Slogans in Pravda appear to temper

antagonism toward the West.

JCS direct that planning for OPLAN 312

be suspended and planning be

concentrated on OPLAN 316.

COMSECONDFLT issues OPORDER 1-62

establishing TF 136.

The Enterprise detects a radar contact of

what is thought to be an enemy submarine.

k naval boarding party from the

destroyers Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and

John R. Pierce intercept and board

the Marcula.

COMSOLANT's staff arrives in Trinidad.

Guantanamo defense communications have

been reinforced by radio backed up

by parallel wire communication.

Charter of commercial vessels is

authorized for outloading from CONUS.

October 27, 1962 Kennedy formally replies to Khrushcheví's

first letter received the previous day.

October

(cont.)

25, 1962 The decision is made to send Charlie

Battery of 3rd LkAM Battalion on to

Guantanamo; the remainder of 3rd rJAAM

Battalion will stay at CONUS.

October 26, 1989 Two separate messages are received

purporting to be sent from Khrushchev.

The first is emotional and Kennedy

concludes it is authentic. The second

takes a harder lì line and Kennedy

concludes it is authored by Kremlin

"hawks." fter much deliberation with

Excomm, Kennedy decides to reply to the

first message and ignore the second.

leksander Fomin, Counselor at the

Soviet Embassy proposes a "deal" to John

Scali, ABC News State Department
October 27, 1962 According to Khrushchev's later

(coot.) statement to the Supreme Soviet of

the U.S.S.R., Soviet intelligence on

this date concludes that an Pmerican

attack against Cuba will be executed

within the next two or three days

23

Major Rudolf Paderson's U-2

reconnaissance plane is shot down and

he is killed. ExComm considered this

a very serious turn of events, as it

inhibited further reconnaissance flights.

A U-2 reconnaissance flight strays off

course deep into Soviet air space.

CTF 135 recommends redeployment of the

entire VMA 333 squadron from Roosevelt

Roads to Guantanamo but CG FMFLANT

objects, fearing its vulnerability;

it is finally decided that eight

fighters and four attack aircraft would

be deployed to Guantanamo from VMF 333

and VMA 331.

Moscow Radio broadcasts the news that

Khrushchev accepts Kennedy's deal to

remove the missiles in exchange for

a U.S. promise not to invade Cuba.

Task Group Alpha identifies a Soviet

foxtrot class submarine

Special quarantine plot is established

in the CINCLANT Operations Control

Center. - U.N. Secretary General U Thant visits

Cuba and during his visit quarantine

operations are suspended.

A Soviet submarine with the number 911

painted on its tail is forced to surface

after 35 hours of continuous sonar

contact.

CG 2nd MAW, Major General R.C. Mangrum,

visits Guantanamo.

October 31 - - November 28, 1962 EMPLANT's prolonged alert phase.

October 28, 1962

October 29, 1962

October 30-1, 1962

October 31, 1962
233

October 31, 1962 Over 25,000 Marines are enroute to the

objective area with supplies and

equipment for at least 15 days of

sustained combat; 4,500 Marines are

stationed at Guantanamo with 30 days of

combat supplies either positioned at or

enroute to the base.

November 1, 1962 The Army task force completes its

relocation to Fort Stewart, Georgia.

By this time the Marine positions at

Guantanamo are well consolidated.

November 3, 1962 The destroyer Mullinnix assigned to be

the flagship of the Latin-American task

force, arrives in Trinidad.

November 5, 1962 Commencement of 2nd phase of the

quarantine (November 5-11) during which

outbound ships from Cuba were intercepted

and aerially searched with varying

degrees of cooperation from their crews.

Task Group 53.2 containing the 5th MEB

arrives at Balboa, Panama and the same

afternoon is reactivated as Task Group

44.9 and chopped to CINCLANT.

November 6, 1962 Another new enemy submarine contact made.

November 7, 1962 COMPHIBGRU III, Rear Admiral Johnson, and

Brigadier General W.T. Fairbourn, CG

5th MEB, visit Guantanamo.

November 9, 1962 Soviet submarine 945 is observed to

rendezvous with the Russian tug Parnir.

All of Task Group 44.9 has completed

transit through the Panama Canal. and is

steaming northwest in the Caribbean.

November 10, 1962 Limited celebration of the 187th

birthday of the Marine Corps by

deployed Marines.

November 11, 1962 Commencement of the 3rd phase of the

quarantine (November 11-21) during which

some ships continue to be trailed, but no

offensive weapons were detected.
November 12, 1962

November 13, 1962

November 14, 1962

November 15,- 1962

November 19, 1962

November 20, 1962

November 22, 1962

(Thanksgiving Day)

CG FMFLANT,

Admiral H.

mphibious

Mangrum,

Guanta namo.

2

Combined Latin merican-U.S. Task Forc

(Task Force 137) embarks for assigne

duties in the quarantine operation.

Another new enemy submarine contact made.

CMC, General David M. Shoup, Majo

General L.?. Chapman (G-4 of the Marin

Corps) and Rear Admiral Wendt arriv

at Guantanamo.

By this time the total afloat populatio

in all task forces including troops i

transit is approximately 100,000 in 18

ships.

VMA 121 is deployed to NAS Cecil Fiel

Florida to replace a Navy CACE (CVG-l

unit) there.

CINCLANT, Admiral R.L. Dennison, and hi

Deputy Chief of Staf f for contingenc

plans, Lt. General L. W. Truman of th

U.S. Army, arrive at Guantanamo. 

Alpha Unit of 5th MEB conducts trainin

ashore at Vieques Island.

Accumulated unprogrammed costs for th

Marines to respond to the contingenc

total $1,333,116; future costs ar

estimated to be $331,016.00.

Castro agrees that the IL-28 Beagl

bombers can be removed from Cuba.

Lt. General R.B. Luckey, Vic

Rievero, Commander of Atlanti

Forces, and Major General R.C

CG 2nd MAW, arrive a

Alpha Unit of 5th MEB backloads a

Vieques beach and steams off to assum

its on-station position.

Task Group 135cl is dissolved.

SECNAV, Mr. Fred Korth, visits Guantanam

November 24, 1962 Bravo Unit of 5th MEB conducts trainin

ashore at Vieques Island.
November 25, 1962

November 26, 1962

November 28, 1962

November 29, 1962

November 29 -

December 15, 1962

November 30, 1962

December 1, 1962

December 1-6, 1962

December 3, 1962

December 4, 1962

December 5, 1962

235

A catapult launch of a P-8E aircraft

results in a fatal accident.

Cuban forces are demobilized.

The special quarantine plot is disbanded

after the Soviets agree to remove the Itr28 bombers from Cuba within thirty days.

CINCLANTFLT directs the return of BLT 2/1

to Camp Pendleton.

5th MEE receives a message asking its

shipping to consider taking BLT 2/1 from

Guantanamo back to California and BtJT 1/7

back for further deployment to the

Western Pacific (this is 5th MEB's

first indication that operational plans

may not be executed).

CINCLANPFt1T directs a withdrawal of

forces from the Cuban contingency.

FMFLANT's stand down phase.

The Lexington assumes on-call status from

November 30th to December 15th when it is

relieved by the Enterprise.

5th MEE receives word that it will be

returned to its home base; that night

amphibious shipping arrives at Guantanamo

to transport them.

U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith visits

Guantanamo.

Forty-two IL-2 8 Beagle bombers are

removed from Cuba.

BLT 2/1 embarks aboard amphibious

shipping ready to proceed to the Panama

Canal to return to the West Coast.

VMA 115 deploys to Guantanamo to relieve

a withdrawing squadron.

CINCLANPPLT sets DEPCON 5 for all

tlantic forces.
December 5, 1962

(cont.)

December 6, 1962

December 12, 1962

December 15, 1962

December 24, 1962

October 16, 1964

October 1987

23

Amphibious shipping picks up the

remainder of MAG 32 deployed at

Guantanamo except for VMF 115.

The Enterprise returns to Norfolk.

CINCLANTFtT directs Bt1T 2/2, 1/8, and

headquarters RLT-6 to return to CONUS.

The redeployment of all reinforcing

battalions back to their former stations

is complete.

Khrushchev addresses the U.S.S.R. Supreme

Soviet.

Most specially deployed Marine forces

have returned home by this date.

The only aviation contingency deployments

remaining are portions of MAG 14 and MAG

32 which are on 48 hour alert for

portions of OPtJAN 312.

The last members of Brigade 2506 are

repatriated to the United States.

Pravda briefly announces that Khrushchev

at his own request has been relieved

of all party ad government duties

because of advanced age and poor health.

In actuality he is ousted from power

while on a working vacation at his

government dacha on the Black Sea.

Key Soviet and American scholars meet at

the John F. Kennedy School of Government

at Harvard University to discuss the

crisis.

February 5, 1989 Senior U.S., Soviet, and Cuban diplomats

meet in Moscow to reconstruct the crisis.