VIETNAM STUDIES

U.S. ARMY ENGINEERS
1965-1970

Cover: U.S. Army Engineers, 1965-1970

by

Major General Robert R. Ploger
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 2000


Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-600008

First Printed 1974-CMH Pub 90-22


 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office
Washington, DC 20402


CONTENTS

{CLICK ON IMAGES IN THE CHAPTERS TO VIEW FULL RESOLUTION VERSIONS}

Chapter
Page

FOREWORD

iii

PREFACE

vii

I. US ARMY ENGINEERS IN 1965

3

Beginning of the Troop Buildup

3

Expansion of the Training Base

6

II. PREPARATIONS FOR ENGINEER OPERATIONS IN VIETNAM

24

Engineer Advisers

26

Civilian Contractors

27

Readying of First Engineer Units

31

III. INITIAL ENGAGEMENT OF ENGINEERS

36

Preparations to Receive First Units

36

The 35th Engineer Group

38

The First Engineers at Cam Ranh Bay

39

The Engineers Tackle the Environment

41

IV. EARLY OPERATIONS

48

Beginnings at Qui Nhon and Vung Tau

48

More Engineers Arrive at Cam Ranh Bay

50

Problems of the 35th Engineer Group

60

V. THE INITIAL ENGINEER COMMAND

63

The 18th Engineer Brigade

64

Funding

70

VI. ENGINEER GROUP DEPLOYMENT

75

VII. ENGINEER MOBILIZATION AND PERFORMANCE

84

Engineer Command and Control

84

Construction Standards and Priorities

88

Operational Support

89

Land Clearing

95

VIII. THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION PROGRAM

105

Port Construction

105

Airmobility

108

Airfield Construction

110

Road Construction

115

Bridge Construction

120

Development of Vietnam Resources

123

Special Equipment

124

Lines of Communication Maintenance

125

IX. ENGINEER TACTICAL OPERATIONS

130

Cedar Falls and Junction City

139

Operational Control

140

United States Army Engineer Construction Agency, Vietnam

143

Dong Tam

145

Move Into I Corps

148

Military Assistance Program

155

X. SUSTAINING SUPPORT AND PHASE-DOWN

158

Tactical Support

160

Civic Action

166

Vietnamization

167

On-the-Job Training

169

Equipment Transfer and the Logistic Legacy

171

Cambodian Incursion

176

XI. SUMMARY AND EVALUATION

178

The Principle of Dual Responsibility

179

Value of Engineer Tasks Performed

180

The Principle of Delegation of Responsibility

181

The Divisional Battalions

182

Effectiveness of Resources

183

The Engineer Support System in South Vietnam

186

Construction Accounting

189

Advance Planning for Base Development

191

Geographic Area Responsibility for Engineers

192

Future Engineer Training Requirements

193

Special Areas of Engineer Expertise

194

Future Real Estate Implications

196

Conclusion

196
Appendix

A. MAJOR GENERAL ROBERT R. PLOGER'S BRIEFING OF GENERAL WILLIAM C. WESTMORELAND, 4 NOVEMBER 1965

199

B. STANDARD OF CONSTRUCTION FOR TROOP CANTONMENTS

205

1. Proposed Cantonment Area

206

2. Cantonment Standard 2

207

3. Cantonment Standard 3

208

4. Cantonment Standard 4

209

5. Cantonment Standard 5

210

6. Cantonment Standard 5, Modified

211

C. REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION

212

D. TYPES OF ENGINEER UNITS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

215

E. ENGINEER OBJECTIVES AND STANDARDS

219

F. SENIOR ENGINEER COMMANDERS IN VIETNAM, 1965-1970

220

G. MAPPING IN VIETNAM

227

H. ENGINEER PRIORITIES IN VIETNAM

229

GLOSSARY

231

TABLES

No.

 
Page

1.

Engineer Officer and Enlisted Special Skills Required and Available in Nondivisional Units in South Vietnam, January 1968 

18

2.

Troop List, 18th Engineer Brigade, 21 September 1965

66


CHARTS

No.

 

Page

1.

Location of Engineer Units in the United States, January 1965
9

2.

Engineer Units on Active Duty, Continental United States, July 1965

12

3.

Graduates of Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Cumulative Output, 1966-1971
22

4.

Organization, US Army Engineer Command, December 1966
134

5.

Organization, US Army Engineer Command, November 1967
135

6.

Distribution of Engineer Effort, 1965-1970
164

MAPS

No.

 

Page

1.

Geographic Regions, South Vietnam
2

2.

CONUS Engineer Bases, January 1965
7

3.

Engineer Unit Locations, June 1965
40

4.

Cam Ranh Bay, Summer 1966
59

5.

Corps Tactical Zones, Republic of Vietnam, 1965
76

6.

Engineer Unit Locations, December 1965
82

7.

Engineer Group Areas of Responsibility, February 1966
85

8.

Engineer Group Areas of Responsibility, July 1966
132
9.
Engineer Group Areas of Responsibility, April 1967
137
10.
Engineer Group Areas of Responsibility, February 1968
154
11.
Land Lines of Communication
165
12.
Estimated Engineer Effort Required in Vietnam in Battalion Months as of 4 November 1965
200

ILLUSTRATIONS
Vietnamese Soldier Guarding Footbridge
28
Vietnamese Villagers Building a Bridge
30
Port at Cam Ranh Bay, August 1965
39
Earthmovers Level Sand at Cam Ranh Engineer Complex, 1965
42
Partially Developed Cantonment at Cam Ranh, June 1966
45
Sandbag-Revetted Machine Gun Position at Dau Tieng
46
Soldiers of 84th Engineer Battalion Land at Qui Nhon
49
First DeLong Pier Under Construction at Cam Ranh
52
Crushed Coral Road at Cam Ranh
54
Aerial View of My Ca Float Bridge
57
Convalescent Hospital Under Construction at Cam Ranh
58
Erosion Control at Dong Tam
61
The 18th Brigade Is Greeted at Vung Tau
64
The 93d Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh
80
Perimeter Defense of 168th Engineer Battalion Camp Near Di An
81
Base Development at Qui Nhon
89
Soldiers of 8th Engineer Battalion Rappeling From Helicopter
90
Engineer Mine-Sweeping Team
92
Engineer Tunnel Demolition Team
93
Rome Plow at Work
96
Land Clearing on Both Sides of a Public Road
97
The LeTourneau Tree-Crusher
98
Land-Clearing Operation
101
Main Port Facilities at Cam Ranh, September 1967
107
Expanded Port at Qui Nhon, Summer 1967
108
Newport, the Army Addition to the Port of Saigon
109
Artillery Fire Support Base Under Construction
110
Airfield at An Khe
111
Installing T17 Membrane at Bao Loc
113
Unimproved Stretch of Highway 1 Near Cam Ranh
117
Road Failure in the Delta
118
Building a Road in the Delta
119
Permanent Bridge on Highway 19 Between Qui Nhon and An Khe
120

Bridge Protected With Cages Against Sabotage on Highway 1 Near Bong Son

122
Gravel Pit and Quarry Near An Khe
123
Asphalt Plant Near Kontum
125
Equipment Damaged by Mine Detonation
126
Sky Crane Lifting Bridge Span
127
Bailey Bridge Replaces Destroyed Bridge Near An Khe
128
Dozer-Infantry Team at Work
139
Dong Tam in Early Stages of Development, January 1967

146

Inflatable Hospital Buildings at Dong Tam Damaged by Mortar Rounds

148

Engineers' Shelters for Inflatable Hospital Structures at Dong Tam

149
Dozer Redistributes Sand Dredged From River
151
Dong Tam After a Tropical Rainstorm
152
Dong Tam in March 1968
153
Earth-Fill Bypass for Bridge Destroyed by Enemy
155
The A Shau Expressway
157
Children's Hospital at Quang Tri
159

Villagers and Engineers Construct Public Fish Market at Rach Kien

160
Vietnamese Build a Masonry Gate at Bao Loc
161
Highway Through Hai Van Pass in 1970
166
Buddy System in Action
170
Studying D7E Tractor Used in Rome Plow Operations
171
Bridge Built by Vietnamese Engineers Near Tuy Hoa
172
Aerial View of Highway 4 in the Delta
173
Vietnamese Engineers Working on Highway 9 Near Duc Hoa
174
Vietnamese Operating Rockcrusher at Nui Sam Quarry
175
Aircraft Hangar Under Construction Near An Khe
185

 


page updated 19 June 2003

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