The Gia Vuc Special Forces camp, A-103, was located in the extreme southwestern corner of I Corps, astride a major infiltration route off the Ho Chi Minh trail in adjacent Laos. It was very mountainous and populated only by scattered settlements of Montagnards of ther Hre tribe.
The I Corps area is the upper quarter in the map below. Gia Vuc was the extreme southwest corner of the Corps and Quang Ngai Province. It was the Outback!
The camp was located adjacent to the Song Re River. II Corps and Kontum Province, began across the River, to the west. East was the Bato valley, and a major infiltration route to Quang Nghai and coastal Highway 1. At the outlet of the valley, east of Gia Vuc, was the Bato Special Forces camp. To the north, up the Song Re valley, was the Ha Thanh Special Forces camp.
Gia Vuc was located in the apex of the two intersecting valleys shown in the map, right. The camp had 3 outposts on critical high ground, north and east of the camp. At the end of the north valley was Ha Thanh A Camp. At the end of the east valley was Bato A Camp.
Outside the perimeter were wire, mines and fougass. The perimeter and all critical areas were interconnected with trenches, revetments, and bunkers. The USSF & LLDB each had separate inner perimeters.
Critical facilities--radio, medical and ammunition--were completely excavated, made of concrete and covered with earth and sandbags. Other less important facilities above grade, such as the team houses, were semi-sheltered with sandbags and sheet metal sides.r
A-103 consisted of 3 CIDG companies and a recon platoon, a USSF A-team of approximately 10, and a Vietnamese LLDB team of approximately the same number. Outside the main camp, were the camp' 3 outposts on the adjacent commanding terrain--you can see the one of them on the peak in the photo, right.
The three CIDG companies rotated monthly duties: one supporting the two continuous operations always in the field, one on outpost duty, and one on camp defenses and improvements. Recon ran nightly ambushes and worked the camp's intel nets.
For more photos and information about the Special Forces in Vietnam, here's links to some of the websites of my friends and team-mates:
