Signs that the US Army was becoming ungovernable in the field occurred with two platoons of the 1st Cavalry Rgt of the Americal Division refused to advance to the Laotian border to recover damaged equipment. The unit had lost men in an NVA rocket attack.
Their company commander was relieved of duty and and the men resumed their regular duties. Gen. John G. Hill declined to discipline them. It was the second time during the late war period in which troops fo the Americal Division had refused to obey orders.
Well known during the period, and for quite some time afterwards, but seemingly forgotten now, by this point in the Vietnam War some units of the U.S. Army was becoming highly undisciplined and some units were becoming defiant to orders. It impacted the leadership of the Army as there was a fear that this would spread and reduce the Army to the point of uselessness. Given this, there was an increasing desire inside the Army's leadership to get out of Vietnam before the situation became worse. It would take the Army years to recover from the war.
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