464th Troop Carrier Wing at Pope AFB, North Carolina to Clark Air Base, Philippines, then on to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam to set up a tactical air cargo transportation system. To support the increased military strength in Southeast Asia, TAC also began deploying its C-130 equipped troop carrier (later re-designated tactical airlift) squadrons to bases in Okinawa and the Philippines. In late 1965, TAC transferred two C-130 wings and two additional squadrons, a total of eight squadrons, to PACAF's 315th Air Division for operations in Southeast Asia. 1972 Spring Invasion In 1970, the war was beginning to wind down as the conflict was being Vietnamized. Units from the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) took on more and more combat to defend their nation and USAF tactical air strength was reduced as several air bases and, in some cases, formerly USAF aircraft, were turned over to the VNAF. Bombing of North Vietnam (Operation Rolling Thunder) had ended in 1968, and as a result, North Vietnamese forces had built up their air defenses and continued to pour men and equipment into the South via the Ho Chi Minh trail. By the beginning of 1972 there were only about 235 USAF tactical combat aircraft in Southeast Asia. Vietnamization was severely tested by the Easter Offensive of 1972, a massive conventional invasion of South Vietnam by North Vietnamese Army forces in spring 1972. On 30 March 1972, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched an all out invasion of South Vietnam with over 13 divisions, pushing South Vietnamese units aside with little difficulty. President Nixon stepped up air strikes to turn back the invasion, or at least to slow it down. In response to the invasion, TAC deployed both squadrons and wings to air bases in Thailand. Known units deployed were: Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Eglin AFB, Florida (F-4E) 414th Fighter Weapons Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nevada (F-4E) Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina (F-4D) Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base 49th Tactical Fighter Wing, Holloman AFB, New Mexico (F-4D) By October 1972, the effect of the air campaign was being felt in North Vietnam. North Vietnamese delegates returned to the bargaining table in Paris to engage in peace talks in a serious manner. Besides the pressure from USAF, USN and USMC tactical fighters, fighter-bombers and