United States Army, Vietnam
United States Army Vietnam ( USARV ) was the name given to the logistics - United Association of the US Army in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War . The association represented the central support and supply force for the US ground units deployed in the country and thus formed an essential part of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) . USARV was not only for management, supplies , catering and maintenance charge, the military police , the military intelligence , the pioneers , the Medical Corps , various training sessions as well as the German Army , that is, the number used for transportation and air strikes helicopter units were subordinated to the Association. The headquarters were in Long Bình near Saigon . The headquarters unit consisted of around 1,500 men in 1969/70.
In order to emphasize the important position of the US Army in Vietnam within MACV, the MACV Commander in Chief was formally at the same time the commander of USARV. The USARV deputy commander was responsible for the actual management of the large unit.
The origins of the association go back to December 1961, when the first American soldiers were stationed in South Vietnam and were accompanied by an eleven-member logistics support group from the 9th Logistic Command from Okinawa . After the number of members of the group was increased to 323 men, the association, which was subordinate to the US Army, Ryukyu Islands , received the new name US Army, Ryukyu Support Group (Provisional) in February 1962 . In June 1962 a further restructuring followed in the US Army Support Group, Vietnam , from now on the association was subordinate to both the newly founded MACV (operational command) and Ryukyu (for logistical matters). As a result of the rapid increase in troops in 1965 after the Tonkin Resolution , the group was again greatly enlarged and finally the US Army, Vietnam, was created on July 20, 1965 . Instead of Ryukyu, this was now subordinate to the US Army, Pacific in Hawaii, in logistics matters .
For the majority of the war, USARV remained unchanged, only with the withdrawal of the US troops a final restructuring followed: On May 15, 1972, USARV was merged with various MACV components, thereby creating the USARV / MACV Support Command . The previous deputy commander became the unit's commander. On March 28, the command was finally dissolved after the withdrawal of US troops and the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement .
structure
The following main elements were subject to USARV:
- 1st Logistics Command (1st Logistics Command)
- 1st Aviation Brigade (1st Army Aviation Brigade )
- 18th Military Police Brigade ( 18th Military Police Brigade )
- 34th General Support Group (responsible for aircraft maintenance)
- 44th Medical Brigade (subordinated to 1st Logistics Command until August 1967)
- 525th Military Intelligence Group ( 525th Military Intelligence Group )
- US Army Security Agency Group
- US Army Engineer Command (Provisional) ( Engineer Command )
- US Army Headquarters Area Command (USAHAC)
In addition, USARV comprised an almost unmanageable amount of smaller components that, in contrast to the above associations, were centrally controlled. Two regional commands, the Capital Military Assistance Command, Saigon and the provisional Delta Military Assistance Command in Can Tho , were also part of USARV.
Commander
Commanders (also MACV commander in chief):
- General William Westmoreland 1965–1968
- General Creighton W. Abrams 1968-1972
Deputy Commanders (Engl. Deputy Commander ):
- Major General John Norton 1965-1966
- Lieutenant General Jean E. Engler 1966–1967
- Lieutenant General Bruce Palmer, Jr. 1967–1968
- Lieutenant General Frank T. Mildren 1968–1970
- Lieutenant General William J. McCaffrey 1970–1972
- Major General Morgan G. Roseborough 1972
Commander of the USARV / MACV Support Command :
- Major General Morgan G. Roseborough 1972–1973
literature
- Shelby L. Stanton: Vietnam Order of Battle. US News Books, pp. 61-63
- George S. Eckhardt: Vietnam Studies - Command and Control 1950-1969 , Department of the Army 1991 ( available online )