momentous events were about to unfold in Southeast Asia. The departing CINCPACFLT observed that he felt "like a fire chief that leaves a roaring fire just when he gets the hoses hooked up and is ready to turn on the As the admiral suggested, the early months of 1965 witnessed a dramatic change in U.S. strategy toward Southeast Asia. Actions against North Vietnam swiftly progressed from the one-time Flaming Dart reprisal strikes to the systematic Rolling Thunder bombing program. But the evident failure of these and previous measures in the pressure campaign shifted the focus of the war back to South Vietnam. The Rolling Thunder, Yankee Team, and Barrel Roll programs, and the newly created Market Time operation, now emphasized the interdiction of enemy support for the Viet Cong. With the deployment of Pacific Fleet Marine forces to Danang, the United States signaled even greater commitment to the survival of South Vietnam. Although not clearly recognized at the time, this landing represented the end of the "limited partnership" that had characterized American policy in Southeast Asia. From this point on, the unilateral application of U.S. military power would be the predominant factor in an expanding war. 36Quoted in CINCPACFLT, "The United States Navy in the Pacific, 1965," p. 57. |