The result was a transformation of southern Vietnam from an area of little infrastructure to the industrial country today that continues to rely on the new ports, airfields, highways, and bridges constructed under this program.

The Navy was assigned as the Department of Defense contract construction agent in Southeast Asia, among other regions.

[5][6][7] The Navy established its first contracting officer in Southeast Asia with the Officer in Charge of Construction, Thailand, located in Bangkok, in December 1955,[5][6] and in 1958, the name was changed to OICC Southeast Asia to encompass the construction work undergoing in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

After the Tonkin Gulf incident in August 1964, and the subsequent planning to introduce American combat troops into Vietnam, the construction program grew exponentially.

By February 1967, OICC RVN staff was 1,050, including 90 naval Civil Engineer Corps officers, at 47 sites with 782 separate projects.

[14] At a ceremony marking the completion of all work under the RMK-BRJ contract on 3 July 1972, Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker noted the end of a “decade of achievement.”[15] With increased “Vietnamization” of the war effort, OICC RVN helped to build up the Vietnamese construction industry from 1969 through 1972 by awarding fixed-price contracts to Vietnamese construction contractors.

He approved what agencies did with funds, and allocated construction resources, including OICC RVN and military engineering units, in accordance with operational priorities.