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of the nature of the anti-Castro operation; but it was not' until mid-March 1961 that the Kennedy administra- tion really opted into the anti-Castro program. Between 11 and 15 March 1961, the issue of the TRINIDAD Plan the agreed choice of CIA and the JCS as the best site for the invasion was debated; and I I , ·';f !~ -" at the direction of the President following the ,};: :.,... ~L~ ... ,.. ".~.. ~'. <,....,rl i;f..:~;Y' advice of; Mli. Rusk"....-- the CIA planners and their JCS 1\..... . counterparts were directed to find an alternative site for the upcoming thrust against Castro. The re- suIt was a decision to launch the invasion of the Cienaga de Zapata from the Bahia de Cochinos. The change in the invasion site forced a number of signif- icant alterations to be worked into the planning. In the version finally submitted to JFK, TRINIDAD would have provided tactical air support concurrent with, but not prior to, the amphibious and airborne assault on Cuba; and earlier versions had called for a pre- , liminary strike, principally at Castro's airfields, during the period D-3 to D-l. The revised plan targeting the ZAPATA area required the landing of troops and the concurrent movement onto the beachhead airstrip at Playa Giron of B-26 aircraft. Operating - 176 -