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The early operations of the 173d demonstrated the absolute necessity of "orchestrating" an air assault operation. As General Williamson had pointed out, an airmobile operation was no simple matter of moving troops from point "A" to point "B" if you really wanted to exploit the potential of the helicopter. It took training and time to integrate tactical air, helicopter gunships, field artillery, reconnaissance, and troop maneuver elements into a single swift operation.

The early operations of the 173d would not have been possible had not the helicopter assets been in place and trained before their arrival. During this time we were "robbing Peter to pay Paul" throughout our worldwide inventory. In Vietnam as U.S. troop strength grew, we had to reduce our helicopter support to Army of the Republic of Vietnam forces to give priority to the U.S. Army ground units. It would not be until the arrival of the 1st Cavalry Division that any significant number of organic helicopters would arrive with their parent unit.

On 20 July 1965 the U.S. Army Support Command, Vietnam was designated U.S. Army, Vietnam, and General Norton was designated Deputy Commanding General. This change was indicative of the growing presence of U.S. ground troops and the necessity for better command and control procedures. On 28 July, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that our forces in Vietnam would be raised from 75,000 to 125,000 and that additional forces would be setnt as requested. On 29 July, the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division arrived in Vietnam following a brigade of the 1st Infantry Division which had arrived a few days earlier. The Marine strength continued to grow in the I Corps Tactical Zone as well as the theater logistical base to support the U.S. buildup.

The problems involved in this buildup can be described by a short review of the deployment of the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. During the period 6 July to 29 July 1965 the Brigade moved from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to Vietnam. On 29 July through 21 August 1965 the Brigade manned a defensive perimeter in the Cam Ranh Bay Area and began to establish a base camp. From 10 to 21 August the Brigade conducted operations southwest of Nha Trang and on 22 August, the Brigade moved north by sea and air with a mission to sweep the An Khe area of Binh Dinh Province to provide security for the arrival of the