RMK-BRJ
The use of a civilian contractor and construction force in an active theater of combat operations was authorized for the first time in U.S. history.
The navy was assigned as the Department of Defense contract construction agent in Southeast Asia, among other regions.
They had both been part of a consortium to build naval bases in the Pacific Ocean in World War II with a $1.5 billion contract.
RMK-BRJ could then be directed to begin projects before design was started or completed, at remote sites, with uncertainty of the local labor forces, and reduced freedom of action due to the security situation.
Construction work under the contract was completed in June 1972, and the contractor facilities in Saigon were turned over to the South Vietnamese government on 3 July 1972.
In February 1967, OICC staff was 1,050, including 90 Navy Civil Engineer Corps officers, at 47 sites and 782 separate projects.
[2]: 288 In 1960, the government of South Vietnam requested the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to develop plans for new military airfields at Bien Hoa north of Saigon, and at the central highlands town of Pleiku, as well as improvements to the French-built airfields at Tan Son Nhut Airport in Saigon and Da Nang Air Base in Da Nang.
After the Tonkin Gulf incident in August 1964, the deteriorating political situation of the southern government after the assassination of President Ngô Đình Diệm, and an increase in Viet Cong large unit actions, the U.S. government decided to introduce American ground combat troops into Vietnam.
Shipping of war materiel as well as economic aid and construction materials and equipment for RMK-BRJ quickly outstripped the port capacity.
[2]: 190 The logistics plan developed by General William Westmoreland in early 1965 realized that several more deep-draft seaports must be constructed as quickly as possible, along with accompanying jet-capable airfields with 10,000 feet (3,000 m) concrete runways.
At the same time, six naval bases with slips for small craft were constructed, as well as 26 hospitals with 8,280 beds, 20 base camps, 10.4 million square feet of warehousing, 3.1 million barrels of petroleum storage, 5,460 square feet of ammunition storage, 75 airfields capable of supporting C-130 supply aircraft, 4,100 kilometers of highways, 182 water wells and housing for 450,000 Vietnamese service men and their families.
[5]: 410 RMK-BRJ maintained a medical staff of 130 people in site dispensaries throughout the country, performing over 2 million examinations and treatments.
RMK-BRJ had been directed by the military not to build contractor facilities for materials storage until after the critical ports and airbases had been constructed.
[2]: 240, 331 It was initially thought that this was due to RMK-BRJ mismanagement, but after the subsequent investigation, the Department of Defense reported to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that the cost overruns were caused by their own internal processes.
The Associated Press reported that "The Pentagon admits it misled civilian contractors in the billion dollar Vietnam construction program by overstating probable contract awards and under-estimating costs.
In the wake of reports alleging company waste and mismanagement, Defense officials praised the private combine known as RMK-BRJ for doing 'an amazingly competent' job under tough circumstances.
The six seaports, eight jet airports, and highways and bridges continue to serve the people and support the economy of Vietnam today.
Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker stated: "I am pleased and proud to join in commemorating the completion of the RMK-BRJ construction program in Vietnam.
This occasion, which marks the successful conclusion of a decade of achievement, is an especially gratifying and hopeful moment, for it reminds us that construction in the cause of war has also brought construction in the cause of peace and progress… At a time when all too many forces are bent on destruction, RMK-BRJ's ten years of accomplishment have been in my opinion one of the finest episodes in our nation's history".
