Office of the Historian

53. Telegram From the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Felt) to the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam (McGarr)1

Honolulu, February 8, 1962—6 a.m.

081600Z. Establishment of United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.

1.
In accordance with a decision by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a subordinate unified command of Pacific Command, designated as United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (USMACV), will be established as of 1600 hours GMT 8 February 1962. General Paul D. Harkins, USA, will assume command of United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam short title COMUSMACV, with Headquarters in Saigon, South Vietnam, APO 143, San Francisco, California.
2.
Commander, United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, will:
a.
Have direct responsibility for all U.S. military policy, operations and assistance in that country, and the authority to discuss both the U.S. and Vietnamese military operations directly with the President of Vietnam and the leaders of the GVN.
b.
Furnish advice to the GVN on all matters relative to security and maintaining internal security in South Vietnam, to the organization and employment of the RVNAF and of counter-insurgency or other paramilitary forces.
c.
Have direct access to CINCPAC and through him to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense.
d.
Consult the U.S. Ambassador on U.S. political and basic policy matters. In case of differences of view, both representatives will be free to communicate such differences to Washington for decision in accordance with already existing procedures.
e.
Keep the Ambassador fully informed, especially on all high level contacts with the South Vietnamese, and including major military plans and pending operations.
f.
Provide broad requirement guidance to CHMAAG VN as it may affect planning, programming and administration of the Military Assistance Program. In areas wherein responsibilities and interests of COMUSMACV and CHMAAG VN appear to overlap, divergent views which cannot be resolved locally will be referred to CINCPAC.2
3.
COMUSMACV will execute the following Mission and Tasks as directed by CINCPAC.
a.

Mission

The mission of COMUSMACV is to assist and support the Government of Vietnam in its efforts to provide for its internal security, defeat communist insurgency, and resist overt aggression.

b.
Tasks
(1)
Exercise operational command of all U.S. forces and military agencies assigned or attached, including CHMAAG VN.
(2)
Plan for and be prepared to conduct military operations as directed by CINCPAC.
(3)
Discharge U.S. military responsibility to the GVN in accordance with CINCPAC policies and directives.
(4)
Assist the GVN and RVNAF in planning for military operations.
(5)
Develop coordinated U.S.-GVN plans as directed by CINCPAC.
(6)
Administer and supervise joint frequency coordination in SVN in accordance with PACOM CEI.
(7)
Continue development of GVN capabilities to provide such support for U.S. forces as may be required under existing agreements.
(8)
Coordinate joint U.S. military intelligence activities in South Vietnam.
(9)
Function as CINCPACʼs single U.S. spokesman in South Vietnam for U.S. military policy, planning and contemplated force employment.
4.
COMUSMACV is authorized a joint staff of minimum size in accordance with approved Joint Table of Distribution.
5.
Support for Headquarters, COMUSMACV, will be provided in accordance with arrangements made by CINCPAC.
6.
CINCPAC inst 003020.2B of 16 August 19613 will be amended to reflect the above and further delineate command relationships with regard to US and SEATO contingency planning.
  1. Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 334, MAC/V Files: FRC 69 A 702, Organization and Planning Files (1963). Secret. Also sent to DEPCINCUSARPAC and repeated to all commands and representatives under CINCPAC. It repeats a message to all concerned parties sent by JCS to CINCPAC.↩
  2. For comparison of these terms of reference with earlier drafts, see Documents 9 and 17.↩
  3. Not found.↩