Phu Cat Air Base Security Forces
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Phu Cat Air Base Security Forces of the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
were Air Police and Security Police squadrons responsible for the air base ground defense of
Phù Cát Air Base Phù Cát Air Base () (1966–1975) was a United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility used during the Vietnam War (1959–1975). It is located north of the city of Qui Nhơn in southern Vietnam. USAF use In ...
in
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Phu Cat AB was the field test site for the six-month combat evaluation of the ''1041st USAF Security Police Squadron (Test)'' from 16 January to 4 July 1967. The 1041st patrolled 26 miles of outer perimeter under Project ''Safe Side'' to evaluate the feasibility of developing a USAF
Air Base Ground Defense The United States Air Force Security Forces (SF) are the ground combat force and military police service of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. The USAF Security Forces were formerly known as Military Police (MP), Air Police (AP), and S ...
(ABGD) force. Its experiences were a direct precursor to the development of the Security Force-concept in use today by the USAF. Units primarily responsible for base security were the 37th Security Police Squadron between 1 August 1966 and 31 March 1970, and the 12th Security Police Squadron from 1 April 1970 to 17 November 1971, when its parent 12th Tactical Fighter Wing was inactivated. These squadrons were periodically augmented by sections of "combat security police" on temporary duty in SVN under the designation 821st Combat Security Police Squadron. After the drawdown of U.S. forces at Phù Cát AB in 1971, the base and its security were turned over to the
Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; ; ) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF), was the aerial branch of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, the official military of the Repub ...
.


History

On 1 August, Capt Robert M. Sullivan and 53 air policemen, including six sentry dog/handler teams, were transferred from the 366th Air Police Squadron at
Phan Rang Air Base Phan Rang Air Base (also called Thành Sơn Air Base) is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Khong Quan Nhan Dan Viet Nam)'' military airfield in Vietnam. It is located north-northwest of Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm in Ninh Thuận Provi ...
to be the cadre for the newly activated 37th Air Police Squadron at
Qui Nhon Quy Nhon ( ) is a coastal city in Bình Định province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of . Quy Nhon was the capital of the former Bình Định province. As of 2022 its population was 481.110. H ...
. Their first assignment was to escort 63 engineers of the 554th and 555th Civil Engineer Squadrons to Phù Cát, and then to assume security of the base site. The RED HORSE contingent constructed a camp for the 819th CES (Heavy Repair), tasked to build the base but still training at
Forbes Air Force Base ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...
,
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. A 55-man advance party from the 819th CES arrived directly from the United States on 6 August, followed by the entire squadron a month later, and began construction of all vertical structures on the base. 19 September 1966 marked activation of 37th Combat Support Group, slated to be a support component of the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing. During construction, internal base security was provided by the severely understrength 37th APS, then having only 240 APs assigned and forced to augment its ranks with 100 non-security airmen from the 37th Combat Support Group and 162 from the 819th CES. The 1041st USAF Security Police Squadron (Test), an experimental
light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
-type air police unit, deployed to Phu Cat in the first half of 1967 to increase ground defense security under ''Operation Safe Side''.


Operation Safe Side

250 men assigned to the 1041st SPS (Test) trained in patrolling and intelligence-gathering for 15 weeks (5 September to 16 December 1966) at
Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks is a United States Army installation and census-designated place (CDP) located in Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Hawaii. Schofield Barracks lies adjacent to the town of Wahiawā, separated ...
, Hawaii, under a 35-man cadre, 23 of whom trained at the US Army Ranger School but only four of whom were fully qualified as instructors. This necessitated on-the-job training at Phu Cat AB for the 226 who completed the initial course. At Schofield Barracks the organizational structure of the 1041st was finalized, consisting of a squadron headquarters (an officer and 38 enlisted men) for administration and evaluation; and an ''observation and surveillance flight'' (an officer and 37 EM), a ''close combat flight'' (two officers and 78 EM), a ''weapons support flight'' (one officer and 31 EM), an ''operations section'' (one officer and 21 EM), and a '' scout dog section'' (15 enlisted men and nine dogs) as combat elements. Vehicles assigned the unit were 28 M151A1 Jeeps, seven M37 ¾ ton trucks, two M35 2½ ton cargo trucks, and three armored personnel carriers. Its basic tactical units were 16 six-man fire teams, each equipped with an
M60 machine gun The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO Cartridge (firearms), cartridges from a disintegrating Belt (firearms), belt of M13 links. There are sev ...
and a
grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...
. The squadron was proficient in all infantry weapons including
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
. It was equipped with three own weapons-mounted
M113 armored personnel carrier The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 armored personnel carrier, M59 A ...
s (APC) for off-road mobility, supplemented by helicopters. A Tactical Security Support Equipment (TSSE) system consisting of buried
seismic Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...
detectors and sensors called Multiple Conductor Intrusion Devices enhanced its capability of monitoring intrusions. Armory and headquarters personnel were trained in demolition. During its 179-day tour at Phù Cát, the 1041st conducted 651 patrols, 155 ambushes, and destroyed more than 350 tunnels and fortifications without suffering any fatalities. The Safe Side evaluation and findings report, along with a functional study conducted concurrently by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, recommended that the Air Force create ten combat security police squadrons, each with 21 officers and 538 enlisted men, organized into three security flights of 167 men per flight, and detailed a TO&E. USAF accepted the organizational model but created only three squadrons.


Threat response after July 1967

Affecting all units and personnel stationed at Phù Cát AB was the threat of communist mortar and
rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
attacks. Until 1969 the base was relatively secure from stand-off and
sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...
attack because of the number of South Korean (ROK) and US Army units patrolling the area. Using the operations plan developed by the 1041st SP Squadron, the 37th Air Police Squadron, redesignated as a "Security Police" unit in June 1967, had its authorized strength brought up to 396 men to provide inside-the-perimeter base security, with approximately 80 of those assigned to law enforcement or administrative duties. The 37th SPS (redesignated the 12th SPS on 1 April 1970) reorganized its three TO&E weapons system security flights into tailored units dubbed "Ranger," "Tiger," and "Cobra" Flights, with approximately two-thirds of the available manpower (240 men) assigned to the night duty Cobra Flight. The normal duty shifts at Phu Cat were 0600–1400, 1400–2200, and 2200-0600. Cobra Flight scheduled overlapping night shifts to optimize coverage, supplemented by a non-standard patrol/mortar section ("Sniper-Ambush team") created within the flight. Initially trained by the 1041st during its phaseout, it also conducted patrols outside the air base perimeter and used armored vehicles for blocking forces and ammunition resupply. As base units were either withdrawn or downsized, security patrols gradually decreased. The base experienced three sapper attacks that penetrated its perimeter between 22 February 1969 and 4 April 1970, and thirteen stand-off rocket and mortar attacks between 17 June 1969 and 24 February 1971, resulting in sixteen damaged aircraft, two deaths, and 28 wounded. All of the sapper attacks were defeated by security forces, resulting in the deaths of six NVA sappers and the capture of one. In the early morning of 12 February 1971 two security policemen of a 12th SPS security alert team were killed when a command-detonated
explosive device An explosive device is a device that relies on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide a violent release of energy. Applications of explosive devices include: *Building implosion (demolition) * Excavation *Explosive forming ...
manufactured from C-4 explosive destroyed their jeep as they were patrolling just outside the northern perimeter of the base. Three security policemen of the 37th SPS were also line-of-duty deaths. Between 9 September 1969 and 1 February 1972, a heavy weapons and
small unit tactics Small unit tactics is the application of US Army military doctrine for the combat deployment of platoons and smaller units in a particular strategic and logistic environment. The composition of a United States Army squad falls into three broad ...
school (initially, from 5 May 1969, the
Seventh Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...
Mortar School) was operated at Phù Cát AB by the 821st Combat Security Police Squadron and later the 35th Security Police Squadron. On 17 November 1969, the law enforcement section of the 37th SPS opened the first Correctional Custodial Facility in the Seventh Air Force.


Phù Cát Air Base ground defense plan

The air base ground defense plan for Phù Cát AB consisted of a three-zone sector plan. This was closely adapted from the "three-ring model of defense in depth" tested by Safe Side. The outermost or ''preventive perimeter zone'', a barrier and sensor defense generally located along the perimeter of the installation, consisted of a single line of triple-strand
concertina wire Concertina wire or Dannert wire is a type of barbed wire or razor wire that is formed in large coils which can be expanded like a concertina. In conjunction with plain barbed wire (and/or razor wire/tape) and steel pickets, it is most oft ...
strung along a 16 kilometer-long "main line of resistance" (MLR), with areas in front of the wire protected by minefields.Fox (1979), p. 108. The northern perimeter, where the bomb dump was located, had a double-fence barrier. Phù Cát's minefields were chiefly post-mounted Claymore mines under direct observation by guard posts, but the air base defense also retained the M14 pressure-sensitive mines sown by the 1041st SPS. Between the spring of 1969 and 1970, the 485th GEEIA (Ground Electronics Engineering Installation Agency) Squadron and
Air Force Systems Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. AFS ...
tested Project ''Safe Look'' at Phù Cát AB. Between the spring of 1969 and 1970, the 485th GEEIA (Ground Electronics Engineering Installation Agency) Squadron and
Air Force Systems Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. AFS ...
tested Project ''Safe Look'' at Phù Cát AB. This prototype Perimeter Detection and Surveillance System (PDSS) had 2 buried lines. One was a pressure-sensitive line several hundred yards long. Westinghouse. The other buried line was approximately 40 yards inside the pressure line and was a metal detection system.
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Multi-Concealed Instrumentation Detection System. Both were buried in front of the north defense sector and monitored from a tower, Tango 13. These were integrated in the Fall of 1969, with the AN/PPS-5/PPS-12 ground surveillance radars already in use by the USAF. The radar system worked well with the exception of high wind conditions but could detect the difference of movements of animals (Wart Hogs, Jungle Cats, and Water Buffalo) vs human movements. It could detect specific numbers and direction and was highly instrumental in detecting enemy attempts of penetrating the perimeter. The pressure/metal detection system worked well under optimum conditions, but suffered high-maintenance costs and degraded performance in heavy rain. The pressure/metal detection system had not been field-tested in the United States, and because the intended combat test did not result in many hostile contacts, 37th SPS contributed approximately 12,500-man-hours simulating infiltrations for tests of the sensors. The high maintenance cost, waste of security man-hours, and drawdown of U.S. forces in Vietnam for whom the system was intended resulted in its discontinuation in June of 1970. Programmed perimeter defense plans for complete fencing and installation of permanent lighting were never brought to fruition. Key areas of the perimeter were defended using
night vision device A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The ...
s and 130 portable
floodlights A floodlight is a broad-beamed, gas discharge lamp#High-intensity discharge lamps, high-intensity artificial light. It can provide functional area lighting for travel-ways, parking, entrances, work areas, and sporting venues to enable visibil ...
. The second or ''secondary defense zone'', a penetration containment defense (interception and neutralization by mobile reaction teams), consisted of a line of twenty observation towers ("Tango"s), supplemented by observation posts built on higher elevations, known as "rook towers" ("Romeo"s). Each tower had an armor-protected weapons-mounted observation platform 20 feet above ground level for 360-degree observation, but in 1969 a 60-foot tower ("Tango 19") was erected near the north end of the runway at the rotation point for departing fighter-bombers. Sentry dog/handler posts ("Kilos"s) were assigned forward of the tower (and later bunker) line to patrol between the first and second defense lines to provide early warning of intrusion. At its peak strength in 1970, Phù Cát AB's military war dog section had 66 dogs authorized, and 45 dogs assigned. The sentry dog patrols were supported in the secondary defense zone by motorized ''Security Alert Teams'' (SATs or "Sierra"s), six during daylight hours and nine after dark. These two- or three-man patrols used radio-equipped M151 "jeeps", each mounting an M60 machine gun, to investigate intrusion alerts, and beginning in 1969 employed two XM-706 armored cars (dubbed
Rubber Duckie "Rubber Duckie" is a song written by Jeff Moss, arranged by Joe Raposo and originally sung by Jim Henson who performed it as the Muppet character Ernie on the television program ''Sesame Street''. The song is named after Ernie's toy, a rubb ...
s) and three M113 APCs previously obtained from the Army by the 1041st SPS for ammunition resupply and blocking force missions. Both types of armored vehicles mounted .50 caliber machine guns. In 1969 the 37th SPS obtained two GAU-2B/A 7.62mm miniguns from the special operations squadron detachment at Phù Cát for mounting on its armored vehicles, and in December 1969 deployed vehicle- and tripod-mounted XM174 40mm automatic grenade launchers fed by 12-round magazines. Near the end of 1969 much of the secondary zone was sprayed with
herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...
, then bulldozed, almost completely eradicating vegetation but also eliminating concealment for the dog/handler teams. The innermost or ''close-in defense zone'', a point defense of priority assets (controlled entry and static defense), consisted of low profile sandbag-protected bunkers ("Bravo"s) for anti-sapper point defense of the flight line and personnel areas. However small arms fire restrictions in the free-fire areas resulted in the relocation of most bunkers to near the MLR in mid-1969, in an ultimately futile hope of integrating the bunkers with the proposed fence and lighting program. Cobra Flight maintained five M29 81mm mortar pits and a
fire direction center In the US system for land-based field artillery, the field artillery team is organized to direct and control indirect artillery fire on the battlefield. Since World War I, to conduct indirect artillery fire, three distinct components have evolve ...
, primarily for illumination purposes, and each observation tower was equipped with an
azimuth An azimuth (; from ) is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north, in a local or observer-centric spherical coordinate system. Mathematically, the relative position vector from an observer ( origin) to a point ...
board. At least one
M42 Duster The M42 40 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, or "Duster," is an American armored light air-defense gun built for the United States Army from 1952 until December 1960, in service until 1988. Production of this vehicle was performed by the tank d ...
, a self-propelled dual-40 mm air defense vehicle crewed by
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personnel, provided ground support for the bunker line along the west side of the perimeter. Each flight maintained a ''Quick Reaction Team'' (QRT) of six to thirteen security policemen to respond to penetrations of the perimeter, transported in trucks storing weaponry needed. The security force was supplemented by manpower augmentation ("augmentees" officially; " Augie Doggies" familiarly) of approximately 100 non-security police airmen, and from August 1969 to December 1969 by two 33-man sections of combat security police deployed on temporary duty to Vietnam. Nightly air cover was provided by an orbiting
AC-47 Spooky The Douglas AC-47 ( "Puff, the Magic Dragon") was the first in a series of fixed-wing gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. It was designed to provide more firepower than light and medium ground-attack airc ...
gunship, which patrolled mainly the "rocket belt" surrounding the air base, but operational control was not given local commanders. Because Phù Cát never experienced a direct infantry attack, the AC-47 patrol was commonly diverted to priority missions resulting in a lapse of coverage of up to 50 minutes while a replacement AC-47 was scrambled from Nha Trang.Fox (1979), p. 130. The Joint Defense Command Post at Phu Cat used the voice call sign "Slim Judge" for calling air support. A forward observation post was maintained outside the perimeter, approximately one mile from the flight line, atop Hill 151, also known as "Bordner Hill," in bunkers and trenches previously held by Korean troops. A four-man security team was flown by HH-43 Pedro helicopters of the rescue detachment to the position, known in the defense plan by its voice call sign ''Oregon'', for seven-day rotations. Beginning in April 1969 the intelligence section of the 37th SPS conducted aerial reconnaissance of the perimeter twice a day aboard an HH-43 or a
Cessna O-1 Bird Dog The Cessna O-1 Bird Dog is a liaison and observation aircraft that first flew on December 14, 1949, and entered service in 1950 as the L-19 in the Korean War. It went to serve in many branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, was not retired until t ...
forward air control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...
aircraft of the
21st Tactical Air Support Squadron First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
. Command and control of all operations, both security and law enforcement, was conducted by Central Security Control (CSC), located in a controlled access building behind the Base Operations facility on the flight line. In addition to USAF base defense personnel, South Korean forces provided additional support. The artillery brigade of the
Capital Division The Capital Mechanized Infantry Division (, hanja: 首都機械化步兵師團), also known as Fierce Tiger Division (, hanja: 猛虎部隊), is currently one of the six mechanized infantry divisions in the Republic of Korea Army. It is part o ...
maintained a base camp adjacent to the Phù Cát AB, and the 2nd Battalion of its 1st Cavalry Regiment included the base in its Tactical Area of Responsibility (TAOR). The battalion's 8th Company had its camp within the western sector of the base and conducted patrolling outside the perimeter.


References


External links

{{coord missing, Vietnam Security squadrons of the United States Air Force Military units and formations of the United States Air Force in the Vietnam War Military units and formations disestablished in 1971