but then an upswing in May as the result of the enemy's summer offensive. The second period of the year began with the first major troop reduction as the result of President Nixon's announcement. This exercise was designated Operation Keystone Eagle and the following 44th Medical Brigade units were redeployed to the Continental United States: (Note 1) *=U.S. Army Reserve unit called to active duty (Note 2) **=National Guard unit called to Active Federal Service The third period began with Operation Keystone Cardinal which was Phase II of the troop reduction program in Vietnam. Lessons learned from Keystone Eaglecontributed to a more effective troop displacement during Phase II. Personnel turbulence and logistical implications, primarily involving the disposition of equipment, remained the major problems in redeployment activities. The following 44th Medical Brigade units were inactvated as a result of the Phase II troop reduction: The fourth period of the year began after Keystone Cardinal and essentially was a period of tranquility while the remaining units of the brigade prepared for the next announcement by President Nixon which would trigger Phase III in 1970. The year 1969 was a period of transition. In addition to units affected by the Keystone activities, other units were relocated in-country in order to balance the alignment of medical support in Vietnam. Most of the activity took place during the latter half of the year with the following major relocations being executed. In the area of training, during the period 16–21 October 1969, the 2d Surgical Hospital conducted a test of the mobility of MUST equipment under combat conditions. The test involved the temporary relocation of one air inflatable shelter, one expandable, one utility pack and other MUST peculiar equipment from Lai Khe to Di An. Upon completion of the test, the following observations were made: Removing MUST components from permanently revetmented areas over concrete pads by forklift is time consuming and could possibly damage the components After being placed in a static situation for a prolonged period of time, many small movable parts of expandables and ward boxes became rusted and ceased to function properly It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to set up the MUST unit in total darkness and under blackout conditions unless all personnel were specially trained for that situation With the rapid turnover of personnel, desired proficiency in packing, marking and erecting the MUST unit cannot be maintained It was