what is the extent of the Philippine military involvement in Vietnam?

The Filipinos in in Vietnam

Length of involvement: By the time the last Filipino unit in Korea was withdrawn; the Republic of the Philippines had already started giving some rudimentary assistance to South Vietnam. In 1964, medical units were sent to Vietnam. Despite this dictator Ferdinand Marcos was at first reluctant to send troops. A whole host of US diplomats including Vice-President Hubert Humphrey were sent to finally convince him. In 1966, the first combat units were deployed but; by 1970 they had been withdrawn again leaving the medical units alone.

The Force:

The "Philippine Civic Action Group" at it's peak in 1968 commanded 1,576 soldiers. The force was mainly a combat Engineering Battalion. Consisting of two "Civic Action Teams." and psychological warfare team. In the Philippines psyche war had proved quite effective against the Huks. A year latter only a token force of 139 remained. All military forces were withdrawn on Oct. 4, 1969.

Weaponry:

A picture of a Filipino patrol shows the group armed with M16s and wearing a soft hat. Originally the Battalion was given M14s and M60s by the US.
This was out of line with the standard Filipino weaponry of the time which include M1 Carbines and M1 Garands. They had the heaviest armed squads in South East Asia: 2 BARs, 5 Garands, and two Garand GLs. The Security force also used M113s for patrols.

Training:

When considering the Filipino soldier one must remember two things; 1) The jungles of the Philippines were not all that unlike the ones found in Vietnam. 2) The Philippine military had much experience fighting it's own anti-insurgency campaign against the Huks.

Interaction With Civilians/Others: No information available.

Actions:

Based in the Corps II Zone the Filipino HQ was at Tay Ninh. From here they conducted operations not merely in Tay Ninh but rather in many provinces: Tgy Ninh, Hau Ngia, Bing Dong, and Din Toung. The unpopularity of the war at home forced a general withdraw. However; by allowing the US forces use of Subic Bay and Clark Airforces bases the Philippines perhaps made it's greatest contribution.

Vet Issues:

Interestingly enough former Philippine president Fidel Ramos served in this war as well as the Philippine forces in Korea.

http://www.geocities.com/commande1/vietnam.html

During its existence the Philippine group in Vietnam made certain tangible contributions that will bear listing. Under the Engineering Civic Action Program it constructed 116.4 kilometers of road, 11 bridges, 169 buildings, 10 towers, 194 culverts, and 54 refugee centers. It also cleared 7'78 hectares of forest land; converted 2,225 hectares to community projects; and turned 10 hectares into demonstration farms. Under the Miscellaneous Environmental Improvement Program it rehabilitated, repaired, or engaged in minor construction work on 2 airstrips; 94 kilometers of roads; 47 buildings; 12 outposts; and 245 wells. It also trained 32 persons in use and maintenance of equipment; 138 in health education; and gave vocational training to 217. It resettled 1,065 families, distributed 162,623 pounds of food boxes, and sponsored 14 hamlets. Under the Medical Civic Action Program, the Philippine Group contributed 724,'715 medical missions, 218,609 dental missions, and 35,844 surgical missions.

In discussing the value of the Philippine Civic Action Group during its stay in South Vietnam, President Thieu remarked: PHILCAGV has greatly contributed to the revolutionary development program of the Republic of Vietnam. Their untiring efforts also helped bring under government control many people previously living under Communist rule and . . . [gave] them confidence in the national cause.
:specool:
here's the link
http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/Vietnam/allied/ch03.htm

Well North Vietnam was already using the AK-47 and RPD at the same time (1966). Granted a lot of their guys used the SKS as well.

Just saying... :snipemo:

My uncle was one of the commanders in the Engineering sector. I also remember him stating that we had some special forces deployed there too.

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/Vietnam/allied/ch03.htm

philippine contributions to south vietnam :aberet:

:thumb: :patrioticpinoy:

Thanks for the link, GKB02! I haven't seen any PHILCAG pics until I checked that page out. :D

Ok na sana, but like any other Peacekeeping Missions it seems that controversies don't escapes us.

Ang Pinoy nga naman, "Pogi na, Enterprising pa!" :armyLol:

Speaking of PhilCAGV, you should see Vietnam Rose on ABS-CBN. Ricky Davao's character was a PhilCAG military doctor who was there when the NVA was steamrolling its way into RVN in `75. He had an affair with the mother of Maricel Soriano's character. He also shot and killed her husband who happened to be an NVA officer.

hmm, let me see, if i can recall, some of the officers who served in philcag were:

gen. gaudencio tobias - philcag commander
fidel ramos
jose almonte
lisandro abadia
ernesto calupig
eduardo ermita

I found this story, with a Pinoy mentioned, ex-PC

http://www.glanmore.org/jmstory1-1.html

http://homestead.com/175thengineers/homepage.html