| Timeline |
| Vietnam, 1950 - President Truman sends a 35 man miliatry advisory group to aid the French fighting to maintain their colonial power in Vietnam. Vietnam, 1954 - Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy (from 1954 onward) send civilian advisers (CIA and former military), later, military personnel to train South Vietnamese. Vietnam, 1960 - Long before involvement of American fighting troops, the MAAGV, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam recommended the establishment of a military dog program for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Like many ideas, it looked great on paper, but in practice it was a disaster from the start. Vietnam, 1960 - The United States Air Force began a research and development project at Go Vap, an old French army dog compound, located on the western outskirts of Saigon, to expand on some new ideas concerning MWD in the tropics. Vietnam, 1961 - President Kenneday increased the number of military "advisers" in Laos and Vietnam; where the first US soldier, James Davis, had been killed by the Viet Cong. Vietnam, 1961 - In March, the air force sent two instructors, along with ten sentry dogs to assist the Vietnamese air force to establish better base security. The concept failed, when no one in the Vietnam government expressed an interest in starting a training regimen. The handlers returned to the states, the dogs remained with the ARVN. Vietnam, 1961 - The United States acts on the program that MAAGV recommended in 1960; that 468 sentry dogs and 538 scout dogs be sent to RVN. The DoD decided that 300 dogs would be suficient to start in the Vietnamese program. The army Quartermaster Corps's Dog Training Detachment in Lenggries, West Germany, would quietly purchase the dogs there and transport them by airplane to Vietnam. Vietnam, 1962 - July, ARVN soldiers met their MWD for the first time. The dogs purchased in West Germany were at first scared of the Vietnamese and couldn't understand them. The same can be said of the Vietnamese, they were afraid of the dogs because of their size, who they only out weighed by a few pounds. There were problems right from the start with the program, first there was no veterinary support in the entire country. Secondly, the sentry dogs' basic diet was ignored by ARVN officers, because it cost more to feed the dogs than it did an ARVN soldier. (Note: nearly 90 percent of ARVN dog deaths would be attributed to malnutrition). Vietnam, 1962 - The army sends a small detachement of six men, to establish veterinary support for the ARVN dog program. Vietnam, 1962 - April, for tactical training the US Army sent four K-9 instructors, who started to train ARVN soldiers at Go Vap while a larger training facility was being built at Thanh Tuy Ha. Vietnam, 1965 - July, the USAF launched Project Top Dog 145. Forty handlers and dogs were deployed to South Vietnam for a period of four months. The teams went to Tan Son Nhut and Bien Hoa air bases near Saigon and to the Da Nang air base, near the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Vietnam, 1965 - Septemper, following closely on the heels of the USAF, the army began deploying its sentry dogs to South Vietnam. It would reach a wartime high of approximately 300 dogs in January, 1970. Vietnam, 1965 - The Scouth Dog returns! The Army and Marines initiated scout/patrol dog programs, for use in Vietnam. It was generally acknowledged, that sentry dogs had a limied use, now there was a need for a dog that could be worked around friendly troops. Vietnam, 1966 - February, two Marine scout dog platoons are deployed to Vietnam. This was the first time since WWII, that the Marines would use scout dogs again. Vietnam, 1966 - April, the Navy and Marines each had one sentry dog unit stationed at Da Nang. Stateside, 1966 - April, the Air Force starts "Safe Side," a hastyily conceived operation to build a special security police unit that would be fully trained in the arts of specialized light infantry tactics, hand-to-hand combat, special weapons, scout dog and position in defense against large enemy attacks. Vietnam, 1966 - The first opportunity to employ US Army scout dogs to Vietnam came in June, as the 25th IPSD arrived at Tan Son Nhut. Stateside, 1966 - With the end of Project Top Dog, the next Air Force program was Project Limelight, which purchased more dogs at Lackland, TX; and began the escalation of K-9's shipped to Vietnam; others came from the Pacific Air Force Sentry Dog Center at Showa, Japan. Vietnam, 1966 - Tan Son Nhut Air Base on December 4, one air force handler and three sentry dogs were killed during a VC penetration. This would be the largest battle involving sentry dogs, their handlers, and the Viet Cong during the entire United States involvement. Vietnam, 1966 - October, the British Government agreed to train the Army's first tracker dog groups at their Jungle Warfare School, at Johore Bahru, Malaysia. Black or yellow Labrador retrievers were favored as tracker (scenting) dogs for their natural characteristics. The mission of tracker teams was to 'locate' the enemy but not to engage but engage they did. Stateside, 1967 - January, the first all Navy sentry dog traning class (#14126) graduates at Lackland AFB, TX; and deploys to Da Nang, Vietnam. Navy dogs and handlers were later reassigned to Cam Rahn Bay in 1969. |