To improve co-ordination and management of communications-electronics assets, the brigade commander served as the U.S. Army, Vietnam, staff adviser on all matters pertaining to Army communications-electronics. These units got underway each morning from Sea Float and returned each night. All of these operations used U. S. Navy and Vietnamese Navy forces as a blocking force while a combination of Australian, Thai, and Vietnamese troops methodically swept the area around the guerrilla group's base camp. On 15 July the Commander of River Patrol Section 512 reported that heavy seas and high winds were restricting PBR operations almost 50 per cent of the time. The struggle to improve the living standards of the Vietnamese sailor proved to be one of the most critical tasks associated with the ACTOV program, for as the turnover progressed, and the day approached when sizable Vietnamese Navy populations would take up duties at scattered bases throughout the Republic, it was clear that the already intolerable situation of dependents' care and housing would grow immeasurably worse, unless firm action were taken at once. The force levels decided upon in September 1965 were later increased, and thus it may be assumed they were not in themselves sufficient. In response, ComNavForV designated Captain Gerald W. Smith, U. S. Navy, as Commander Task Force Clearwater. By the fall of 1968, on the eve of the introduction of the U. S. naval command's Accelerated Turnover (ACTOV) Program, the personnel strength of the Vietnamese Navy was more than 17,500. Truck convoys valiantly crossed streams, mountains and forests; drivers spent scores of sleepless nights, in defiance of difficulties and dangers, to bring food and ammunition to the front, to permit the army to annihilate the enemy. The insurgency problem in South Vietnam began to assume serious proportions late in 1959, when it became apparent to many observers that increased U. S. military aid would be required if the independence of the South was to be preserved. The childrens desks were fashioned from ammunition boxes, as were the floors of the classrooms. The River Patrol Force and the Vietnamese Navy outdid themselves as they brought their highly mobile fire power and unquestioned courage to the defense of the besieged cities. On the last full day of the operation a particularly large ammunition cache was destroyed. The Vietnamese Navy would assign liaison personnel to the PBRs and LCPLs.5. It is a bitter pill for a whole generation of American "nation builders to swallow, but the brutal fact is that no Vietnamese Government until possibly the present one inspired in its people the loyalty, the unhesitating support, the patriotism and spirit of self-sacrifice essential to the welding of an effective defense force. This ushered in nearly three years of turmoil in the senior Vietnamese Navy leadership. Until 1960 the Vietnamese Navy experienced a period of modest growth and modernization, assisted by a Navy Section of the U. S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), which, in July of that year, had increased to 60 officers and men. This peculiar command structure was not destined to last, however. By the spring of 1970, the personnel strength of Naval Forces, Vietnam had declined by almost 25 per cent since the start of the ACTOV program, and it was projected that by the following August another 25 per cent or more would possibly go home. The Roman Catholic Church advised its adherents to abandon ancestral homes and fields and seek sanctuary in the South. If it seemed unusual for the U. S. Navy to go into the pigs and chickens business halfway around the world, it was. Original plans called for four APBs, two ARLs, two LSTs, and two River Assault Squadrons (RAS) each consisting of 34 converted LCM-6 craft (26 ATCs, 5 Monitors, 2 CCBs, 1 Refueler), and 16 ASPBs which would be newly constructed.6. Naval Advisory Group Vietnam - Marine Unit Directory - Together We Served It took a great deal of persuasion and strong representations at the highest level, before the shotgun wedding was brought off. MACV replaced MAAG and the former MAAG personnel were absorbed by MACV. The pacification of vital trans-Delta waterways was the second of the Sea Lords objectives. Command then passed to the Commander USSAG/Seventh Air Force at Nakhon Phanom. Significantly, this marked the formal recognition of the Naval Advisory Group's new role as an operational as well as an advisory command. By the fall of 1965, U. S. Navy units in Vietnam included: (1) the Marines in I Corps; (2) Navy support personnel under ComPhibPacs command at Da Nang and Chu Lai (on 1 October Naval Support Activity, Da Nang, was established under ComUSMACVs operational control and PhibPac support terminated); (3) Construction Battalions in I Corps and Seabee Teams throughout the country who also worked under the Military Assistance Command Vietnam; (4) the Officer in Charge of Construction and his organization; (5) the Naval Advisory Group; (6) the Headquarters Support Activity, Saigon (whose responsibilities were being phased out and taken over by the U. S. Army); (7) the Military Sea Transportation Service Office, Vietnam; and (8) numerous smaller activities. 220th Aviation Company "Catkillers" Web Page American aid to the French in Indochina burgeoned, and part of this aid took the form of naval ships and craft, mostly small amphibious types, but including one aircraft carrier (the ex-USS Belleau Wood). By September the Nam Can population figures were growing at a rapid rate, doubling the number of people in the Sea Float area of operations every 25 days. By end of year, 254 Sailors were assigned to MACV and NAG. Each man assigned had to pull his share of the load. January 28, 1969 (38 years old) Distinguished Flying Cross, Operational loss, Vietnam, 559th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Fixed Wing, USNA 22nd Company. This undoubtedly irritated those Vietnamese officers who felt their functions were being usurped by the Americans. The first permanent United States naval presence in Vietnam was established in August 1950, soon after the outbreak of the Korean War, when the Navy Section of Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indo china, was formed in Saigon with Commander James B. Cannon, U. S. Navy, and seven officers and men. A rare application of sea power developed on the rivers and canals of the Delta, the waterways of I Corps, and along the length of the Vietnamese coast. On 31 March 1970 a group of American businessmen in Saigon, including several ex-naval officers, established the "Operation Helping Hand Foundation for the purpose of soliciting and accepting personal contributions to the Vietnamese Navys welfare programs. Within a short time of its capture by the Viet Cong, Old Nam Can presented a scene of the utmost devastation, and it was literally true that scarcely two stones were left piled one upon the other, save for the brick heaps of the ruined charcoal kilns. Further, the Vietnamese Navy was commanded by a French officer, and most other important posts and commands were held by Frenchmen. This headquarters became the Defense Attach Office, Saigon. On 1 January 1966, the following recommendations were submitted: (1) That a Naval Force, Vietnam (NavForV), Command be established as the Naval Component Command in Vietnam under the operational command of CinCPacFlt,3 and operational control of ComUSMACV.4. The author estimates the sampans travel at about six to eight knots depending on the tide. Young trees are cut into long, straight poles, stripped of their bark, and sold for construction purposes. They had been . Most Navy officers interpreted this as a serious loss of face for the Vietnamese Navy, but a few actually thought that it might be a blessing in disguise, since the Navy would at last have a voice at meetings of the Joint General Staff. There were other reasons as well which argued strongly in that direction. United States. [6]:2 Naval Support Activity Danang (NSA Danang), provided logistic support to all American forces in I Corps, where the predominant Marine presence demanded a naval supply establishment. By the summer of 1966, nearly 50 per cent of the senior officers of the Navy were either out of the country or assigned to non-Navy duties in the country. Naturally, stand-off weapons, frequently command-fired from concealed positions well inland, became more attractive to the enemy.
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