american and republic of vietnam air force (vnaf) aircraft had been supporting the defense (weather permitting) since the beginning of the offensive. these strikes were conducted in support of arvn forces, and included those of the air wings of the carriers and . the continuing bad weather, however, limited the ability of the u.s. aircraft to assist in stemming the north vietnamese onslaught. by 6 april, at naval and air bases around the globe, american forces were put on alert and ships and aircraft squadrons began moving toward southeast asia.