the people had sunk to a dangerous low; something had to be done soon, not only to protect the local inhabitants but also to assure them that protection would continue. The Korean Marine brigade therefore was moved from Cam Ranh Bay to the Tuy Hoa area.
The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, meanwhile having completed its assignment to protect the higher perimeter around Qui Nhon until the Capital Division was settled, moved down to the Tuy Hoa area and began probing for the enemy. When the Korean brigade moved to the Tuy Hoa area, the two brigades, U.S. and Korean, worked side by side for several weeks, but at Christmas 1965 the 1st Brigade of the 101st Division moved south to Phan Rang, its home base, leaving the entire Tuy Hoa area to the Korean brigade.
After the 9th Korean Division arrived in South Vietnam, General Westmoreland recommended that General Chae develop a corps headquarters in Nha Trang adjacent to that of the U.S. I Field Force. When the Korean corps headquarters was established and became operational in Nha Trang during August 1966, Genera Chae decided that he should also establish a headquarters in Saigon and wear a second hat as commander of all Korean troops in Vietnam, representing the Korean government on an equal basis with the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.
There were obvious command and control reasons for establishing the Korean corps headquarters in Nha Trang close to I Field Force. Inasmuch as the Koreans now had more than 50,000 troops in the area, the South Vietnamese two and one-half divisions in II Corps, and the Americans two full divisions and a brigade in Vietnam, the Korean corps headquarters facilitated liaison between allied forces. Since there had to be close co-ordination with the Koreans in logistical as well as tactical matters, there had to be close understanding between the two corps headquarters on planning new missions and guaranteeing the kind of support, both tactical and logistical, required to sustain the Korean fighting forces wherever they were conducting operations.
The operation and co-ordination of the Korean corps alongside I Field Force in Nha Trang tied in very closely with the operations of the Americans. By mutual agreements the two staffs were in continuous contact with one another. The operations officers of the I Field Force and the Korean corps met four or five times a week, and intelligence officers from both commands interchanged information. There was no requirement to effect
