Dong Ba Thin Base Camp (also known as Dong Ba Thin Airfield and Dong Ba Thin Special Forces Camp) is a former U.S. Army base located northwest of Cam Ranh Base in Khánh Hòa Province, southern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

History

Dong Ba Thin Base Camp was established on Highway 1 at Dong Ba Thin, 4 km northwest of Cam Ranh Base and 22 km south of

Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city had ...

in 1964. The base comprised several different adjacent facilities: Dong Ba Thin Airfield, a short asphalt runway army airfield; Dong Ba Thin Heliport (also known as Flanders Army Heliport) on the west side of the airfield and the Special Forces Camp. The Special Forces Camp was first established by Detachment B-1, 5th Special Forces Group in December 1964 and was later used by Detachments 37, B-51, A-132, A-411 and A-521. In addition, the facility was a Special Forces forward operating base and used for Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group operations. From November 1970 to February 1973 the base was used by the United States Army Vietnam UITG individual training group battalion, responsible for the training of Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) infantry battalions in weapons use, tactics and first aid. In March 1972 the 18-man 2nd

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

Training Team Vietnam (2 NZATTV), which included members from different branches of service including two

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

(RNZN) personnel, was deployed to the camp to assist with the training of FANK personnel, they would remain there until December 1972. With the withdrawal of US and New Zealand forces from South Vietnam in 1972-3, the training mission was taken over by the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

Current use

The base remains in use by the 101st Naval Infantry Brigade of the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dong Ba Thin Base Camp Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Buildings and structures in Khánh Hòa province

History

Current use

See also

References