[pro]vide support for the 100,000 loyal Cao Dai, members of a politically oriented religious sect, in Tay Ninh Province.
Initially opposed to the change in locations, the Philippine government sent the commanding general of the Philippine Forces in Vietnam, Brigadier General Gaudencio V. Tobias, to survey the situation. He was given detailed briefings by the province chiefs of both Hau Nghia and Tay Ninh Province, and made a ground and air reconnaissance of each province. Members of the 25th U.S. Infantry Division and II Field Force, Vietnam, briefed him on the support and security to be provided the Philippine group. Among the reasons given for the selection of Tay Ninh instead of Hau Nghia was the lower rate of Viet Cong incidents in Tay Ninh.
The new location was approved. (Map 3) The Philippine Civic Action Group, Vietnam, agreed to provide its own local security, upon arrival, while U.S. forces would provide area security until the Philippine security battalion could assume the responsibility. In the future the Philippine group would be included in all mutual security arrangements in and around Tay Ninh City, would be supported by 105-mm. and 155-mm. units from their base locations, and would receive contingency support from the nearby 175-mm. guns. The security situation was further improved when the 196th Light Infantry Brigade was stationed in Tay Ninh.
The first element of the Philippine Civic Action Group arrived in South Vietnam on 28 July 1966 to survey and lay out the proposed base camp in Tay Ninh. On 16 August the first element was followed by an advance planning group of 100 officers and men charged with the task of co-ordinating with several Vietnamese and U.S. military agencies involved in the reception, transport, and support of the rest of the group. Among this advance planning group were three civic action teams which initiated medical and dental projects within the surrounding hamlets. During their first seven weeks of operations, these teams treated an average of 2,000 medical and dental patients per week. The next increment of the Philippine group, the third, arrived on 9 September 1966 and consisted of sixty drivers, maintenance specialists, and cooks.
With the arrival of General Tobias and his staff on 14 September 1966, the Philippine Civic Action Group, Vietnam, became firmly and fully established. Two days later 741 men who had recently arrived from the Philippines were airlifted from Cam Ranh Bay to the Tay Ninh base camp, which was by this time sufficiently well prepared to handle large groups. Next to
