PCS FIELD ASSIGNMENT REPORT - SOUTH VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-06505A000200200002-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 20, 2001
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: April 15, 1970
• Content Type: MF

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35 APR 147
MEMORANDUM FOR: Chef, Real Estate and Construction Division, OL
SUBJECT : PCS Field Assignment Report - South Vietnam
In accordance with RECD/SOP 22-1 of 18 September 1968,
this is a report covering my tour in South Vietnam. My
assignment was Deputy Chief of Engineering from 6 May
1988 to 19 July 1960 and Chief of Engineering from 19 July
1969 to 5 ,February 970.
A. DUTIES AND/OR MISSION
The mission of the Engineering Office is to provide
internal management{ technical guidance, and support for
all engineering pro trams in South Vietnam. Specifically:
(1) The control and reporting of all engineering
projects estimated to exceed $1,000 U.S.
(2) The administration/coordination of all
engineering contracts over $1,000 U.S.
(3) The preparation/review and approval of all
drawings and specifications for all engineering
projects estimated to exceed $1,000 U.S.
(4) Delegation of control over projects estimated
to cost less than $1,000 U.S. was given to the
Regional Engineers and our Maintenance Superintendents.
(5) The Chief of Station, Vietnam, had
construction authority throi;gh $50,000 U.S. Projects;
beyond this fiscal limitation, approval was by
Headquarters.
B. GENFR'AL ACCOMPLXSHMENTS DURING THE PCS PERIOD
Major accomplishments during my PCS tour were in
refinements in the management of the engineering effort in
Vietnam. Specifically these accomplishments were:
(1) Rehabilitation of all major compound
electrical systems, both in Saigon and country-wide.
CROUP 1
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UBJECT: PCS Field Assignment Report - South Vietnam
(2) Reassignment of field personnel to keep
pace with regional shifts in workload.
(3) Reorganization of
in Saigon and country wide to
meet reduced new construction workload and increase
in maintenance programs.
(4) Summission and activation of recommended
standardization lists of procurement of major
equipment related to the Engineering and Maintenance
Program country-wide (air conditioners,
wa frig a-
tore, stoves, generators, water pumps,
plants, etc.)
C. The remainder of my report is submitted in the below
listed appendixes:
APPENDIX A - Engineering Program Trends
APPENDIX B - Techniques Used in Handling Successful
Assignments
X C = Problem Areas
:X D - Lessons Learned and Items of Particular
Interest to Successors
APPENDIX E - Job Qualifications
PPENDIX F - Current Table of Organization
APPENDIX G . New Facilities Constructed and Significant
Alteration and Maintenance Projects
D. SUM IARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
The maintenance superintendents assigned to Vietnam
Station should have experience or schooling in the
following areas:'
(1) Application of financial subject class-
ification pertaining to engineering programs.
(2) ie familiar with terms CMR, FPA, PPRA,
R and
and general financial methods
reporting costs.
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SUBJECT: PCS Field Assignment Report - South Vietnam
(3) One thousand window-type air conditioners
have been installed in Vietnam and 336 electrical
generators were in use as of 1 January 1970.
Knowledge of air conditioning, refrigeration,
generators, and telephone systems are required.
Distribution:
Original - Addressee w/appendixes
OL/RECD Official w/appendixes
1 - OL/RECD Briefing File w/appendixes
1 - OL/RECD/EB Chrono w/appendixes
OL/RECD/E / mt/3023 (15 Apr 70)
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APPENDIX A - ENGINEER PROGRAM TRENDS
This subject will be discussed in three parts. The first will
cover trends in engineering projects over $1,000 U. S. which were
under control of the engineering office in Saigon. The second part
will cover engineering projects under $1,000 U. S. and the maintenance
programs as they were controlled by the Region engineers and the
maintenance superintendents. The third part will cover personnel
requirement trends.
1. Projects over $1 ., 000 U . S.
The trend of engineering projects during the first half of my
tour increased and during the last half declined. A recapitulation
taken from the Vietnam Construction Status Reports is as follows:
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Approved Projects Proposed Pro- Proposed Total Projects
Funds Alloted jects & Est. Projects t Cost
Cost with no
Est. Cost
co ire seta costs
It is interesting to note that the projects
arrival
n m
u
-
sam
th
.
,
ro
e
e
N.re
from \`ietnam. The new construction program
1970
,
(March
reached its peak in ear y 1989 and now is decreasing and the maintenance
program is now increasing in importance (see attached graph). 1A
1A Although not of primary concern in number of projects, but very
significant in the monetary total was the undertaking as of 1. March
1970 even projects in the Training program
for EN1 at an approximate cost of 737,631. one of these projects
was jus completed, five others are under construction, and one in
design. This part of the construction program will not be completed
until November or December 1970.
The decrease in projects can be attributed primarily to the
following:
a. Reduction in the number of provinces where this
Agency retains a staf f .
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b. Completion of adequate facilities to accommodate
provincial staffs in most provinces.
I would anticipate a continued reduction in this category of
engineering projects through this fiscal year, with a probable
leveling off to the approximate level of December 1967. This
assessment is based on the following factors:
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A. Reduction in Station personnel
b. Transfer of the on 30 June 1970. 25X1 A
c. Completion of
n N?r?ber or December
New construction will probably be limited to replacing facilities
because of lease terminations or for security reasons. Acquiring
now leased properties will decrease with a reduction in Station
personnel, which would reduce the number of renovation projects.
The Fiscal Year 1.9713 Engineering Budget for the Station was composed
primarily of projects updating living and office facilities. This
should also result in a reduction of projects after the current 1A
Fiscal Year.
of effort was primarily directed towards the management of projectss
over $1,000 U. S. because of the magnitude of this program.
The Engineering Office was implementing maintenance management
program throughout ?`ietnam as the level of projects over $1,000 U. S.
throughout V?ietnam, statistics are not available for proper analysis
of work under $1,000 U. S. Maintenance forces are functioning
throughout Vietnam in varying degrees ; however, the concentration
2. Pro ec a nder L1.000 U. S. and the Maintenance Program
Because of the lack of a maintenance management program
at n 1958 This system has also been installed in
Region IV and should be installed throughout 'Vietnam. The establish-
ment of proper maintenance record systems and improved control of
work in mandatory because of the tighter budgetary restrictions being
placed on the Station.
Saigon, We changed the system to reflect
the o con ro ee maintenance program established by the Agency
not envision any future, major construction pr
Agency undertakes future programs such as the
and/or we undertake construction for other U. S. nr_.,, A
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NOTES
d (l) -- Chief, Building Maintenance Unit, Saigon
d(2) - Deputy Chief, Building Maintenance, Saigon
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contract wit Dyers of an outstanding quality. All
three men ar industrious, competent, and will under-
take any task assigned to them without complaint. The engineerin
4. Quality of no --A nc Engineering Personnel
(1) veers. The three engineers under
2~XlA program in N`ietnain pressperdd because of these three men. 1A
(2) On the whole the personnel assigned
to the engin very good techni This has been
t1A1 achieved, particularly in the maintenance personnel, through
of trial and error as the quality of these rsonnel hired by
the firm contracted with to provide , are n
always the bes r inability to cope with U.S.
personnel, the were most effective when under the
direct supervision o oae fl our U.S. engineering personnel.
5. Future Personnel Requirements. Although the OP RED exercises
has caused a reduction in U.S. engineering program slots, the
engineering programs in t ietnam will suffer if further reductions are
made at this time, as:long as the Agency retains a large number of
facilities. Proper' d'ngibbbring program management and development
of a maintenance program depends on retention of the present number
of U. S. personnel.
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APPENDIX Te>chni .qges Used in Handling Successful Assignments
1. engineering Salesmansship
Probably the most important part in managing an engineering
effort as extensive as Vietnam, is selling your product to the
field. We accomplished this in Vietnam by the following
techniques: i
a. Establishing and maintaining excellent rapport
with the various region, base, and program support
offices and officers.
b. Briefings and/or updating Province Officers on
available engineering services and changes in engineering
programs on each trip to a province, or on their visits
to the Egineerin Office, Saigon. We continually
stressed uwilizin their Region Engineers services on all
?ngtneering matte s.
c. improving communications with our field
sonnel.
. Maintaining a quick response to field requests.
Developed an Engineering Instruction for use
the field.
f. Pbllow up to be sure a project is not setting
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Equally important to engineering salesmanship is keeping
our superiors informed on the status of all major,
on dead center.
2. Good Communications with Your Superiors
emergency, and special interest projects.
3. U,Fnd standing and Leadership_ of
indigenous employees make
up your work force, as a manager you must try and understand
their problems, help hem where you can, and above all, lead
theta, do not try to drive them.
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APPIX C Problem Areas 1A
A. Several of the problem areas noted in report
were still problem areas upon my depar>ure. They are:
1. Labor Market. The availability of skilled journey-
and draftsmen is becoming more acute. During my tour,
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1A
the draft age bracket as increased several times, and the
granting of deferments 'to our personnel was practically non-
existent. I have a st ong feeling that this will become
more acute with the co tinueed pullout of American troops.
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2. Theft. I do -ot think this problem will ever be
solved. manly is this prevalent in our warehouses, but also 1A
on construction sites--on both inhouse and contract projects.
One area where one might think security of material would
be the beat is actually the worst in dietnam and this is on
projects accomplished for any of the
components, even in their own compounds ve even had
items removed after installation by the in their
compounds.
3. Commercial Power. Local power continues to be
unreliable, an n iii-'y eases, not sufficient to carry our
required electrical loads.
B. Probl have been partially or totally resolved 1A
since ?departure are:
Electrical Work. With the addition of two ma
electricians an Upon the arrival of the undersigned, who
was assigned the entire electrical program, this problem
has basically vanished. These two crews are almost contin-
uously in the field, accomplishing either new electrical
installations or rehabilitations. Although the master
electricians still require supervision, their expertise,
coupled with the direction and experience of the undersigned
and the threes electrical engineers have been the major
factors in overcoming this problem.
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APPENDIX D - Lee on Learned and Items of Particular Interest
25
1A
uccessssors
A. election of Contractors
The situation in Vietnam has brought many persons and
small companies int~ the country looking for a fast and
easy dollar. Because our engineering projects normally range
between $10000 to $50,000 U.S., our work attracts the small
size contractor. Hecause of this situation, one must be
very particular in the screening of contractors to bid on
our projects.
Based on my experiences, I had decided that only Viet-
namese contractors would be allowed to bid on our construction
contracts. During my tour, only Vietnamese contractors
were awarded contracts.
D. lectsd 0ldderis List
We used a sel cted bidders list rather than opening
bidding to all con rectors. This practice seemed to be
universal throught ut the American contracting agencies.
Extreme care must ie exercised in selecting contractors for the
bidders list. In addition to inexperienced foreign con-
tractors, many Vietnamese contractor companies take advantage
of the situation. Lack of experience and capital of
Vietnames firms were key items to investigate. The contractors
on our bidders list were a result of my predecessors efforts
to establish a nucleus of good performing contractors.
Basically we stayed with this list. Our Vietnamese con-
tractors were fast+~{{, willing to go anywhere in Vietnam,
trustworthy, and bald received much training in construction
from the Engineering Office.
C. Contract Forms
We used the ss contract form with our Vietnamese
1see, as it
contractors ash the
seemed to be the s mplest form available an a Vietnamese
16 th
understood it.
D; At Desi n and lEn ineerin Assistance
Although we h.d a design section headed by a qualified
=architect and consisting of civil and electrical engin-
and five draftsmen, some projects required mechanical
work or soil boring tests, etc., which we had little or no
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capability in. Thee number of these projects did not justify
hiring pear anent personnel , so the services of an ABBE co~n-
tractor were used. We used an open contract
with ed them task orders for individual
projects w h a fund limitation on each task order.
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I did not bring copies of any position description back
with me. I will briefly cover any spacial qualifications that
I feel personnel shoukld possess for the various engineering
positions in Vietnam.
ical + ngineering or be very strong in this field4
a. Rupervt$ion of an engineering office.
neering.
. This individual should either have a. degree in
2. The individual should possess the following qualif
Be familiar with the application of financial
eubobj+ict classifications pertaining to engineering
progress .
Be fam?liar with the terms CMR, ?PA, PRA, and the
genera; financial methods of accumulating and
report ng costs.
Vince in contract administration.
f. Maintenance experience.
Maintenance Sup6rintendonts.
1. familiar with the application of financial subobject
assifications pertaining to engineering programs.
,amiliar with the terms CMR, TPA, PRA., and the
general financial methods of accumulating and
reporting costs.
Have a goad background in air conditioning, refrigera
tion, genelrators, and telephone maintenance.
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