Feb. 9, 1962 - The decision announced yesterday to set up a new U.S. command in Saigon under a full general is said to be a result of the growing extent of U.S. involvement in support of military operations against the Communists in South Vietnam. The military build-up in recent weeks has produced these developments:
- Three U.S. Army combat helicopter companies and a company of light observation planes arrived. Some units were thrown into action almost immediately.
- U.S. Navy mine-sweepers are patrolling the South China Sea near the frontier with Communist North Vietnam. They will assist Vietnamese naval units in blocking Communist guerrilla infiltration by sea.
- U.S. Marine officers are making an extensive ground reconnaissance of central Vietnam, familiarizing themselves with the terrain and studying enemy tactics.
- Nearly 5,000 U.S. military personnel are in South Vietnam and more are pouring in.
