Page 235 - Airpower in 20th Century - Doctrines and Employment

doCtrine, CapaCities, teCHnology and operational environment on tHe employment of tHe air power; tHe Case of guerrilla warfare 235

The major ground operations that started in April took place at the Nor thern In-
tervention Zone (ZIN), which was established then, and included the districts of
Cabinda, Zaire, Uige, Luanda, Kwanza Norte and Malange, being supported by
air forces in operations of fire support, recon, logistical support including medical
evacuation. In addition to these typical actions, the aircraft proceeded to interdiction
operations, or independent aerial attacks, and also in air transport actions in support
of the affected civilian po pulation. All logistical support actions covered the entire
territory, although the priority effort was focused on that ZIN.
Since the beginning of the deployment of the forces to Angola, an organi zation
for joint operations was thought of. A Joint Operations Centre (CCO) was immedi-
ately proposed to be built in Luanda, at General Staff level, according to the doctrine
prevailing then in NATO, manned with adequate staff personnel and equipped with
communications which would allow the planning and management of joint opera-
tions. After many discussions among the General Staff and of the branches of the
armed forces they reached the conclusion that this superstructure would be incom-
patible in face of the reality of resources available. The solution adopted was a more
flexible one to establish coordination at various levels, from the Land Command and
Command of the Air Region, to the air detachments placed in support of ground units
- these detachments, of variable structure according to the operational situation, gave
a satisfactory response to the requests of the corresponding land commands, accord-
ing to the tactical, technical and logistical instructions of the Air Region Command;
each detachment could not exceed the effort of flight authorized by the Air Region,
which managed, obviously, the full flight hours potential.
Another initial concern was the organization of the Intelligence services, which
came to be fixed by law (Law Decree of the Government of the Re public) in June
1961. The Commission for Provincial Information, the Cen tralization and Coordi-
nation of Information Services of Angola (SCCIA) and District Committees were
created. The Provincial Committee was chaired by the Governor and included the
Military Commands, the Director of SCCIA, and the Director of the Investigation
Police for the Defence of the State (PIDE) in Angola. The SCCIA were the execu-
tive organization which included the research centre, the military cabinet, the politi-
cal cabinet, and the civilian cabinet, the cabinet of special activities, administrative
and communication services. At district level there were district sections with an
equivalent composition (military, administrative, police) that were connected with
the central offices above. It is important to make reference to these services, in that
it reflected a global character for all the operations of war, involving not only mili-
tary but also civilians - this feature was very strong in Angola at the beginning of
the operations, manifested, for example, with the provision of local volunteers in
defensive actions with proper armament. Initially, volunteer air forces consisting of
private aircraft piloted by civilian pilots were created spontaneously and were sub-
sequently monitored by the Regional Air Command; the civilian pilots were subject
to certain military rules in nature, especially in terms of security. They constituted an