|
Back to ... Official documents
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
2d Combined Action Group III Marine Amphibious Force FPO San Francisco, California 96602
1. In accordance with the provisions of references (a) and (b),
enclosure (1) is submitted.
2. Enclosure (1) is downgraded at 3 year intervals. Declassified after
12 years. DOD Directive 5200.10.
D. R. CHRISTENSEN
Detachment, Kit Carson Scouts, 1st MarDiv G-2 (C-1)
2. Locations. 1 October 1969 to 31 October 1969
3. Staff Officers.
b. Awards. (1) Award recommendations during the reporting month were pro-cessed and forwarded to FMFPac for approval as follows:
(2) Two Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry awards were approved and delivered to personnel during the reporting month. (3) Twenty personnel of the Group also received Purple Heart medals as a result of combat wounds received during the month.
c. Casualties. Casualties during the month of October were as follows:
d. Legal. Legal activities during the reporting month were as follows:
e. The following Rest and Recuperation (R&R) leave quotas, out of country and in country were received and utilized:
f. Promotions. Promotions effected during the month of October were as follows:
2. INTELLIGENCE a. General. During the month of October the proposed T/O changes in Operations section for Lieutenant, Assistant S-2/S-3 was carried out. A Staff NCO, as intelligence chief was still pending at this time. b. Enemy Situation. The level of enemy activity during the first 5 days in October showed a relative decline. Enemy initiated ground incidents dropped while efforts on food collection and reported acts of terrorism rose. Of significance was the ambush of an ARVN element in CAP 2-3-3's TAOC by VC/NVA and the killing of a village guerrilla leader from Hoa Hung on the 4th by CAP 2-1-4. Enemy operations during the second week of October were hampered by heavy rains and the enemy's problem with resupply. A noteworthy incident occurred on the 8th when a CAP 2-9-2 patrol moving through a hamlet 4 km northeast of An Hoa received three M-26 grenades which resulted in light friendly casualties. The CAP unit returned fire and killed one VC. On the 9th CAP 2-1-5 on a combined operation with RF's surrounded five VC in a bunker. One VC surrendered, the four others were killed when they attempted to escape. One VC that surrendered was later identified as the Commanding Officer of the Q-84 Local Force Company. During the third week enemy activity increased from the previous two weeks but remained at a relative low. High points of enemy activity developed around the 15th and 16th, and again on the 19th and 20th. Of significance, on the 19th, 25 armed VC entered a hamlet in CAP 2-4-3's TA0C from an unknown direction. They departed in a NE direction after stealing 2 pairs of boots, 2 field packs, 2 sets of utilities and 1 helmet belonging to the CAP Marines. In the final week CAPs had a low level of enemy initiated activity. This was due to "Loi Dan Campaign" or "Winning the Population Campaign" which began on 20 October. The policy for the Campaign was for guerrilla and Main Force Units not to attack Allied Forces in VC controlled areas. They were ordered not to disrupt GVN controlled areas near Allied posts so that the residents would provide a hiding place for VC cadre. In line with the VC's policy of lecturing VN civilians was the experience of CAP 2-7-6 on the 26th when they found 10 VN talking in a field. The 10 VN were brought into District Headquarters for questioning, 2 of the VN were found to be on the Hoa Vang District VC blacklist. c. Enemy Plans and Policies. During October the enemy initiated ground activity was at a relatively low level. During the month VC/VCI activities were directed towards gaining the allegiance and loyalties of the South Vietnamese people through political indoctrination and propaganda techniques. Effort was made to infiltrate selected cadre into GVN controlled areas in order to carry on the political struggle from within.
Overt activity of terrorism was directed against minor GVN officials and non-cooperative civilians. Propaganda themes centered on the U.S. Troop withdrawals and the inability of GVN forces to protect the people by themselves. Most of the KIAs during October were the result CAP initiated actions. d. Interrogator/Translator. During the month of October, 28 detainees, 6 POW's and 2 Hoi Chanhs were turned over by the CACOs to their respective District Headquarters for processing through the DIOCC. Feedback of information produced as a result of these interrogations was provided 2d CAG and the capturing CACOs. e. Counter Intelligence. Timely and accurate counter intelligence support was supplied to 2d CAG by the 3rd, 5th and 9th Counter Intelligence Teams. Blacklists, agent reports, and interrogation reports were provided to augment the counter intelligence activities of the DIOCC's. f. Interpreters. 8 interpreters were employed by 2d CAG during the month of October. 7 were assigned to CACOs and 1 remained at 2d CAG Headquarters. g. Enemy Statistics. Enemy statistics for the month of October were as follows:
3. OPERATIONS a. General. During the month of October the slackening of enemy initiated activity observed in the latter portion of September continued. This slackening of enemy activity was attributed to the enemy's need to concentrate on resupply thereby diverting combat troops to resupply missions. In the first week CAP's killed 3 enemy, took 2 prisoners and had 1 enemy Chieu Hoi to them. CAP 2-2-4 on patrol on the 5th found a Vietnamese male who had been shot by a VC for refusing to make a rice payment to the VC. The CAP made excellent use of the incident by contacting PsyOps. Contact with the enemy picked up in the second week. During this period CAPs killed 6 enemy and captured 13 prisoners along with assorted documents. On the 9th, CAP 2-7-4 was relocated to operate in the vicinity of BT046635. The 3rd platoon of RF Company 105 was designated to comprise the Vietnamese portion of the CAP. The CAP continued to be mobile. Activity in the third week of October picked up slightly with the CAPs registering 11 enemy killed and 11 prisoners taken. On the 18th CAP 2-9-1 was made a mobile CAP. There was no change in personnel or TA0C. CAP 2-1-1 on the 20th had a PFC in the 10th Company, 31st NVA Regiment Chieu Hoi to them. Contact slackened in the final week, but CAP activities proved effective in the few contacts that did occur, as 2 enemy were killed and 13 captured. b. Mobility. At the end of the reporting period, 2d CAG had thirty-five (35) mobile CAPs and one (1) static CAP operating in Quang Nam Province. c. Training. Training plans for the month of October were submitted to the Commanding Officer, 2d CAG by all CACO's in accordance with Group Bulletin 1500. Emphasis remained on training all Marines and PF's primarily in general military subjects such as patrolling, setting ambushes and listening posts, and calling for fire support. d. Inspections. During the month of October a regular schedule of staff inspections was conducted throughout the CAP's. Those inspections consisted of detailed critiques of undesirable trends and were submitted to CACO's so they could take corrective action. Also inspected were records being kept and coordination accomplished on both the CACO and CAP levels. Supply and communications inspections were also conducted in order to evaluate the state of readiness at the CAP and CACO level, based on usage data compiled at 2d CAG Headquarters.
e. Conferences/Meetings (1) Staff Conference. 2d CAG Headquarters continued to hold weekly staff meetings where matters of multiple staff cognizance were discussed. (2) Combined Action Company C.O.'s Meeting. During the month of October meetings were held on a weekly basis for all Combined Action Company Commanders and the Headquarters Staff. These meetings were specifically designed for the purpose of working out problems of support and coordination, in addition to promulgating command guidance. At each of these meetings the individual CACO C.O. or his representative gave a projection from the DIOCC (District Intelligence/Operations Control Center) concerning intelligence in their area for the coming week. (3) CAP Commanders Conference. During October one CAP Commanders Conference was held. All agenda items were submitted by the individual CAP Commanders several days prior to the scheduled conference for review. The suggested agenda items were evaluated, arranged in a logical sequence, and distributed at the conference to the individual CAP Commanders as a guide for discussion. The conference discussion centered on training of PF'S, security procedures, supply matters and coordination with the PF's in planning CAP activities. f. Special Operations. (1) Kit Carson Scouts. There were 7 Kit Carson Scouts deployed in 2d CAG units during October. They participated in 74 day and night patrols, assisted with 10 classes, and conducted 3 PsyOps broadcasts. (2) Scout Dogs and Handlers. During the month of October, 2d CAG did not employ Scout Dog teams. g. Voluntary Information Program. The total amount of funds expended as rewards to Vietnamese Nationals during October for information pertaining to enemy activity and/or enemy equipment and ordnance was 40,220$VN. This represents a decrease of 13,150$VN from September and a decrease of 184,6000$VN from August. h. Artillery Support. During the month of October 2d CAG units called in (6) artillery and (7) 81mm mortar fire missions on either suspected or known enemy targets.
i. Air. (1) Fixed Wing. During October no missions were flown in direct support of 2d CAG operations against the enemy. (2) Flareships and Gunships. During October no Helicopter Gunship missions nor Spooky missions were flown in direct support of 2d CAG operations. (3) Medical Evacuation Missions. A total of (14) medical evacuations were requested/controlled by 2d CAG units in October. These missions included medevacs for Vietnamese civilians and PF's as well as Marines.
4. LOGISTICS a. General. During October this unit was in a C-2 Category under the Mares/Forstat rating system and in an excellent operational readiness status for combat essential equipment. b. Significant Events. During this reporting period there were (2) M-16 rifles, (1) PRC-25, and (1) M-37 stolen. An investigation was held. There was negative results as regards to equipment recovery. c. Damage to weapons due to enemy action. (1) There was one M-16 rifle damaged (Ser # 851430) beyond repair during this period. d. Motor Transport. (1) The Group Motor Transport Section drove a total of 32,968 miles during this period. Five (5) vehicles were deadlined for 2nd echelon repair. The deadline breakdown is as follows:
M151A1 Truck Utility (2) Four (4) vehicles were deadlined for 3rd echelon maintenance as follows:
M37B1 Truck Cargo (2) (3) Three (3) vehicles were deadlined for 4th echelon maintenance and subsequently code H'd as shown below: M15A1 (3) (4) Average time was as follows:
2nd echelon (13) days e. Airlift. (1) No airlifts were made during this reporting period. f. Messhall (1) Approximately 15,500 meals were served in 2d CAG Messhall during this period.
(2) A total of 6,200 meals were distributed to field units, from 2d CAG's Messhall. g. Armory. (1) The armory repaired 76 weapons during this period. 32 weapons were sent to 1st FSR for third echelon maintenance. h. Miscellaneous Services. (1) Laundry Platoon at FLC continued to give adequate support to our Command. i. Supplies. (1) No major items of supply were received during this period. j. Problem Areas. (1) S-4/Supply. During this period, the S-4 Section had no Logistics Chief or Warehouse Chief. To have a smooth running Logistics and warehouse both Staff NCO's are absolutely essential. (2) Heavy Equipment. The only item of heavy equipment on hand during October was a 6,000lb. rough terrain fork lift on a temporary loan from 1st Shore Party Bn. The recommendation for bi-monthly inspection checks of this vehicle was carried out. It was recommended that such periodic checks should be accomplished by a mobile contact team to eliminate unnecessary trucking of the Forklift to the Danang based repair facilities.
5. CIVIC ACTION/PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS a. During the month of October Civic Action NCO's helped the people prepare their hamlets for the monsoon rains and repair them after rain damage. The CAPs also helped the people bring in their crops whenever possible. Several CAPs had to use boats to reach different hamlets in order to render assistance. (1) An example of the Civic Action work that has been done to better relations with the Vietnamese people is that the CAPs and the hamlet people have re-built several bridges which had been washed out by the monsoon rains. The people obtained most of the materials through their own sources and built the bridges themselves with the assistance of the CAP Marines. The people were very grateful for this help in their time of sudden need. b. CAP Civic Action NCO's held classes for the Hamlet and Village Chiefs concerning procedures necessary to acquire material through GVN channels. The officials learned how money allotments work and how to go through the proper channels in spending their funds. The officials were very interested in this schooling, as the benefits obtained are obvious. Several Hamlet and Village Chiefs from outside the CAP TAOC's attended these classes. c. During the month CACO's maintained effective coordination with the S-5's of units of the 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Air Wing, Naval Support Activity, and the CAPs. Coordination of the efforts of all interested units was productive and led to the CAPs receiving a great deal more support. Continued coordination with Army advisors and CORDS representatives resulted in a closer relationship with District Officials and Revolutionary Development Cadre in promoting Civic Action. d. During the month, the 2d CAG Civic Action NCO had received several gifts from people in the United States. These were gifts of clothing, candy, and articles of personal hygiene. The gifts were distributed to needy Vietnamese within the CAPs TAOC's. e. Commodities distributed during the month of October were as follows: food, 3560 lb; soap, 300 lb; clothing, 500 lb; school kits, 400; personnel hygiene kits, 200; sewing kits, 70; blacksmith kits, 200; carpenter kits, 3; and masonry kits, 1. f. During October, Group personnel assisted Vietnamese civilians in completing the following projects; fences, 12; public heads; 2, dwellings, 9; wells, 1; bridges, 13; school classrooms, 3; family bunkers, 2; public showers, 15; play grounds, 2; roads 7 miles; leveling and grading projects, 2.
g. At the monthly MedCaps 14,222 Vietnamese civilians were treated. lo dental cases were also treated. 120 children and 68 adults were medically evacuated during the month of October. h. CAP Corpsmen continued to train Vietnamese civilians in the basics of first aid. During the month of October, 47 such civilians underwent training; they assisted holding MedCaps and served as interpreters for the Corpsmen.
6. COMMUNICATIONS a. Problem Areas. (1) The same problem areas still exist as were reported in several previous reports. Lack of T/E items. (a) Telephone Set, TA-1 190 (b) Telephone Set, TA-312 *83 (c) Radio Control Group, GRA-39 26 *- CG MCSC Albany 222102Z Sep 69 stated that (66) TA-312s were shipped on 5 Aug 69. (16) of these have been received at the end of the reporting period. b. Communications. (1) Radio Relay: A period of two hours down time was recorded for the MRC-62. One hour was due to fuses blown in DY-97 and power failure. The other hour was to allow for cooling the PE-75 generator. (2) Combat Operation Center: Overall communications traffic declined. The following communications traffic was passed through the combat operations center over various nets.
(3) Communications Supply. Components of end items were in adequate stock throughout the month. The following reflects requisition status of communication items.
(4) Maintenance. Support of repair of components of end items and the RT-505 radio by FLSG-B was outstanding. The repair time on the RT-505 has been three to five days.
7. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
a. General.
Emphasis on training of selected Marines and Popular Forces Soldiers was
again highlighted during October. The level of Corpsmen effective was high;
thus all the CAPs were provided with proper medical supervision. Since there
were enough Corpsmen an effective medical training program was carried out.
More emphasis was placed on using Iodine tablets and restricting the eating
of Vietnamese food as there was a slight rise in the number of intestinal
disorders. Malaria tablets continued to be taken on a weekly basis and the
Malaria rate remained low. Salt tablets were not stressed during this period
due to the cool weather. Wet weather training was also emphasized.
b. Personnel:
(1) Medical
Department Representative: HMC T. W. WILLIAMS, USN
(2) Supply/Sick Call Petty Officer: HM1 M. A.
RINELL, USN
(3) Administrative/Sick Call Petty
Officer: HM2 D. B. MICHAEL, USN
(4) Hospital Corpsman Personnel
Statistics for the month of October 1969:
c. Medical Civic Action Program (MedCaps)
(1) During the month of October 1969, CAP Corpsman treated 14,222 Vietnamese
civilians at daily routine MedCaps. This is a decrease of 2,367 from
September. There were also 25 Vietnamese civilians treated as result of
hostile action.
(2) The 2d CAG Headquarters Medical Section treated only emergencies for
the Vietnamese civilians; this totaled 7. The 2d CAG Headquarters Medical
Section treated 37 Vietnamese Compound workers and continued to supply
organizations with medical supplies for their own use.
d. Training.
(1)
During October, CAP Corpsmen conducted a total of 61 classes with a total
attendance of 521 Vietnamese civilians and Popular Force Soldiers. This is
an increase of 14 classes and 213 persons attending from the month of
September.
e. Sanitation.
(1)
Routine sanitation inspections were conducted within the 2d CAG Headquarters
Compound during the month of October. The sanitation of the compound
continued to improve, although there were still some minor problems. Steps
were taken to alleviate these problem areas as they arose.
f. Noteworthy Items.
(1)
During October there were 13 2d CAG personnel admitted to hospitals with
intestinal disorders. This is an increase of 13 from September. There were 7
cases of fever of unknown origin an increase of 5 from the month of
September.
(2)
On 19 October 1969 HN T. W. SHAW, CAP 2-3-1 was WIA. This is SHAW's first
Purple Heart.
(3)
On 3 October 1969 HN COGHILL, W. G., CAP 2-4-3 was WIA while on patrol.
This was COGHILL's second 48 hour Purple Heart and he was MedEvaced out of
country.
f. Inspections:
(1)
HMC WILLIAMS conducted routine inspections of some of the CAPs during the
month of October. The heavy rains and bad road conditions continued to
hamper inspections of all CAPs. Malaria tablets, Salt tablets, Iodine
tablets and especially wet weather training were stressed to the CAP members
that were inspected. Due to the rising number of intestinal disorders, the
hazards of eating Vietnamese food was also stressed again during October
inspections. Sanitation continues to be a minor problem within the CAPs. All
discrepancies found were brought to the attention of the CAP and CACO
Commanders.
8. SPECIAL SERVICES a. There were two trips to Hong Kong made during October. The purchase of back logged gear was taken care of this month. Some of the gear purchased during the month was:
b. During the month of October Special Services ordered 65 pre-recorded tapes from Force Special Services, III Marine Amphibious Force. These tapes were purchased for CAP and CAG personnel. c. There was also an inventory taken in each Company. The purpose of this inventory is to bring all Special Services books up to date. d. Also during the month of October there were weekly rations of beer and soda to the CACOs and CAPs. During this period 508 cases of beer and soda were rationed to the field. Also during the month Special Services had started to ration beer and soda to the 2d CAG Headquarters. This was done twice a month.
Sequential Listing Of Significant Events
E-mail questions or comments about this site to: Roch Thornton |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||