U.S. Army Engineers 1965-1970

VIETNAM STUDIES

U.S. ARMY ENGINEERS
1965-1970

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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