G. Ward. Australian and U.S. Navy representatives were meeting meanwhile in the Philippines to develop arrangements for the logistic and administrative support of H.M.A.S. Hobart while it operated with the Seventh Fleet. The Saigon conference agreed that MACV need not be involved in any arrangements pertaining to the Hobart.
The Australians returned home from South Vietnam seemingly pleased with the arrangements made and appreciative of U.S. assistance, especially since the government of Australia had allocated only limited time to get the operation moving. The Canberra squadron had been directed to be operationally ready by 1 April 1967. The Phan Rang facilities were crowded but the Australian squadron was only a small addition and the assurances given the Australians of their need and value made a lasting impression. In January and February the Australian 5th Airfield Construction Squadron left for South Vietnam to build the maintenance hangar and other facilities for the squadron. On 19 April eight of the ten Canberra bombers deployed to South Vietnam from Butterworth–the first such aircraft to enter the war. Personnel numbered approximately 40 officers, 90 noncommissioned officers, and 170 other enlisted men.
The H.M.A.S. Hobart was integrated into the war effort when she relieved a U.S. Navy destroyer off Chu Lai on 31 March. Operational employment, logistic support, command relations, and use of clubs, messes, and exchanges were arranged on a navy-to-navy basis.
In January 1967 the Australian government had indicated that ten navy antisubmarine warfare pilots qualified in the H-34 helicopter might be deployed to South Vietnam. MACV believed that after ten hours of transitional training in UH-1D aircraft the pilots could be integrated directly into U.S. Army aviation units. It was not until April, however, that the offer was formalized: eight pilots and some thirty men for maintenance and support were offered to relieve U.S. troops operating in support of the Australian task force. The pay and allowances of this contingent would be paid by Australia while the United States would provide the aircraft and logistical support. The men would be integrated into U.S. units and would relieve U.S. troops on an individual basis.
To facilitate administration, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff had requested that the Australian pilots be stationed near a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. They further asked that, if practicable, the Australians be assigned to U.S. units that normally supported the Australian task force. General Westmoreland
