222d served as Adjutant General for the 44th Medical Brigade. The 222d was commanded and staffed by Medical Service Corpe officers and an Adjutant General Corps (AGC) officer in contrast to other personnel service companies which were usually exclusively staffed by AGC officers. This system enabled young MSC personnel officers an opportunity to gain valuable experience in the personnel field. In early 1968 the lack of a brigade courier system resulted in a very slow, time-consuming distribution system. For example, distribution required from 20 to 25 days to travel from Da Nang to Long Binh. Additional time was required to return information to the sender. A courier system was instituted in August 1968 which expedited the exchange of information between medical units throughout Vietnam. The timeframe for exchange of information between Da Nang and Long Binh was reduced, in some cases, to three days. Related to this problem was the lack of effective and regular communication with the teams located throughout the country. S-3 Operations The year 1968 can be divided into three distinct but somewhat overlapping phases. The first part of the year was concerned with a major relocation of medical units into the I Corps Tactical Zone (CTZ). This was followed and accompanied by a large-scale deployment of medical units into Vietnam. The third phase occurred during the latter part of the year when command and staff attention was directed to realignment and refinement of the field army medical service within the Republic of Vietnam. The first major operational event that occurred during 1968 was the redeployment of major US Army tactical units into I CTZ. This buildup consisted of approximately two divisions plus support troops. In order to provide medical support to these forces, brigade units were relocated into and within I CTZ as follows: The 67th Medical Group headquarters was moved from Bien Hoa to Da Nang to exercise command and control over brigade units in I CTZ. The 22d Surgical Hospital was moved from Long Binh to Phu Bai The 18th Surgical Hospital was moved from Lai Khe to Quang Tri The 571st Medical Detachment (RA) and the 874th Medical Detachment (RB) were relocated from Nha Trang to Phu Bai The 500th Medical Detachment (RB) was moved from Long Binh to Da Nang. The 2dPlatoon, 563d Medical Company (Clearing) was relocated within I CTZ from Chu Lai to Phu Bai The 4th Advance Platoon (Provisional)