 On July 25 , 1967 , Forrestal reached Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin and joined Operation Rolling Thunder , the 1965 – 1968 air interdiction and strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam . The alpha strikes flown from Forrestal were against specific , pre @-@ selected targets such as arms depots , factories , and bridges . They were quite dangerous , due to the strength of the North Vietnamese air defenses , which used Soviet @-@ designed and -supplied surface @-@ to @-@ air missiles , anti @-@ aircraft artillery , and MiG jet interceptors . McCain 's first five attack missions over North Vietnam went without incident , and while still unconcerned with minor Navy regulations , McCain had garnered the reputation of a serious aviator . McCain and his fellow pilots were frustrated by the micromanagement of Rolling Thunder from Washington ; he later wrote , " The target list was so restricted that we had to go back and hit the same targets over and over again ... Most of our pilots flying the missions believed that our targets were virtually worthless . In all candor , we thought our civilian commanders were complete idiots who didn 't have the least notion of what it took to win the war . " 
