During the Vietnam War, the defense of
Air Force bases mirrored the conflict itself: There was no rear echelon once
the entire country became a battlefield. Air Force bases relatively,
unaffected by ground forces in past wars, were no longer considered safe
havens. They, too, suffered from costly ground assaults and mortar shelling.
Tan Son Nhut AB Air Base was a huge military installation located outside of Saigon. It was also the airport for the city of Saigon. The largest airplanes, Lockheed C-5As and Boeing 747s could be accommodated. The 7th Air Force Command Headquarters and the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) headquarters were located on base. MACV provided military assistance in the form of training and military supplies to the South Vietnamese's military. The history of the Military Assistance Command dated back to the France's war with the communist forces in Viet Nam. In 1957, Special Forces units begin training Vietnamese's military at a Nha Trang. The US Navy had their headquarters for the river boats (known as the brown water navy) located nearby.
On 28 March 1966, 7 AF was designated a combat command at Tan Son Nhut AB, Republic of Vietnam. It was the Air Component Command of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). From April 1966 until 1973, the command assumed responsibility for most Air Force operations in Vietnam and shared responsibility with the Thirteenth Air Force for operations conducted from Thailand as 7/13 Air Force. In June 1966, the first US air attacks near Hanoi and Haiphong occurred when 7 AF planes bombed oil installations near these two cities. The following month, US aircraft struck North Vietnamese forces inside the DMZ following the North's violations of agreements not to locate military forces there.. One of the most publicized battles of the war was the siege of Khe Sanh in early 1968, known as "Operation Niagra." More than 24,000 tactical and 2700 B-52 strike dropped 110,000 tons of ordnance in attacks that averaged over 300 sorties per day. At night, AC-47 gunships kept up a constant chatter of fire against enemy troops. In August 1968, General George S. Brown began to oversee the "Vietnamization" of the air war. By 1970, this effort was successful enough that General Brown released the first USAF units to leave Vietnam. On 29 March 1973, the command transferred to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai AB, Thailand, where it accepted dual responsibility as the US Support Activities Group and 7 AF. As a result, 7 AF controlled air assets and operations in Thailand. It served this role until its deactivation on 30 June 1975. Flying the first mission of Operation Babylift, the evacuation of Vietnamese orphans, a C5-A had its controls damaged after the accidental loss of part of the rear doors shortly after take-off from Tan Son Nhut AB on April 4th, 1975. Attempting to make an emergency landing, the aircraft crashed, killing 155 of the 314 people on board. Tragically, many were infants. An explosive detector dog team was sent TDY from Clark AB, Republic of the Philippines to exam the wreckage of the C5A . Below Are Non-VSPA Links of Interest 377th SPS Website TSN's Sentry Dog Section VSPA K9 Webmasters Note: Above Links, Outstanding Website Map - Tan Son Nhut AB Tan Son Nhut AB Association Contributors James A. Stewart Brian Rueger David Hagerty
Tan Son Nhut AB Air Base Dogs of Tan Son Nhut AB Handlers: A thru L Handlers: M thru Z
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