| Operation Formation Star | |
|---|---|
| Part of Cold War, Korean Conflict, Pueblo Incident | |
 Defender Station | |
| Type | Contingency operations[Note 1] |
| Location | |
| Planned by | U.S. Seventh Fleet |
| Commanded by | Rear Admiral Horace H. Epes, Jr. Commander Task Force 71 (CTF-71) |
| Target | North Korea |
| Date | January 25, 1968 to March 22, 1968[1][2][3] |
| Executed by | Task Force 71 (TF-71) |
| Outcome | Show of force |
Operation Formation Star was the code name for the emergency re-deployment of U.S. Seventh Fleet warships to the Sea of Japan off the eastern coast of North Korea following that country's seizure of the USS Pueblo (AGER-2) in international waters on 23 January 1968.[Note 2]
This surge deployment was the largest build-up of U.S. naval forces around the Korean Peninsula since the end of the Korean War. Still, Operation Formation Star placed considerable strain on the Seventh Fleet's support for the Vietnam War during the Tet Offensive, particularly its aircraft carrier operations at Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Operation Formation Star was executed in conjunction with Operation Combat Fox, a surge deployment of additional land-based combat aircraft squadrons to the U.S. Fifth Air Force in the Far East. Additionally, the Pueblo Crisis saw a limited presidential-authorized call-up of U.S.-based units of the Naval Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard to active duty, the first such call-up since the Berlin Crisis of 1961.[4]
Although a wide range of military options were considered, the Johnson Administration elected to resolve the Pueblo crisis diplomatically, with Operation Formation Star helping to provide a "measured show of force" during the Pueblo crisis.[5][6]
Cite error: There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=Note}} template (see the help page).
- ^ a b Mobley, Richard (Spring 2001). "Pueblo: A Retrospective". Naval War College Review. 54 (2). Naval War College: 99, 111. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
Hereafter referred to as: Mobley. "Pueblo: A Retrospective"
- ^ Mobley, Richard A. Flash Point North Korea: The Pueblo and EC-121 Crises. p. 78.
Hereafter referred to as: Mobley. Flash Point North Korea.
- ^ "Document 23: Department of State report, "Pueblo Crisis: Presidential Decisions and Supplementary Chronology," December 12, 1968. Top Secret" (PDF). National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 453. National Security Archive - George Washington University. 12 December 1968. p. 19. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Book453Doc23p17was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mobley. Flash Point North Korea, p. 53.
- ^ "Document 226: Notes on the President's Thursday Night Meeting on the Pueblo Incident, 6:30–7:45 p.m. (Washington, DC)". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIX, Part 1, Korea. Office of the Historian – Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State. 25 January 1968. Retrieved 26 June 2020.