OPLAN 34A, approved in January 1964, was an operational plan
to conduct unconventional warfare against North Vietnam. The
covert campaign was an effort to get Hanoi to stop supporting
the communist Viet Cong insurgency in South Vietnam. It was
meant to apply pressure on Hanoi without significanly expanding
the war.
There were several components of the plan that fell under the
control of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam - Studies and
Observations Group or MACV-SOG. OPLAN 34A included inserting
saboteurs and intelligence agents into North Vietnam, conducting
small martime commando raids along the coast of North Vietnam,
and conducting psychological operations.
References
OPLAN 34A 1964. SOGSITE.
https://sogsite.com/oplan-34a-1964/
"The Gulf of Tonkin Incident", NSA History.
https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/gulf-of-tonkin/articles/release-2/rel2_gulf_tonkin_incident_desoto.pdf
Operation 34A. Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_34A
Military Assistance Command Vietnam and the CIA Finalize
Operations Plan 34A
Vietnam War Commemoration
https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/1945-1964_the_road_to_war/Military-Assistance-Command-Vietnam-and-the-CIA-Finalize-Operations-Plan-34A/
"The Gulf of Tonkin Mystery", Cryptologic Quarterly
https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/gulf-of-tonkin/articles/release-1/rel1_skunks_bogies.pdf
"Vietnam's Most Secret Squadron", Tip of the Spear,
January 2010, PDF, pages 33-39. Article provides a history of
OPLAN 34A, MACV-SOG, and the 'First Flight' squadron.
https://www.socom.mil/TipOfTheSpear/January%202010%20Tip%20of%20the%20Spear.pdf
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