service activities; supervise and provide staff direction in professional matters pertinent to nursing service to all elements within the command. A total of 51 staff visits were made during the first Quarter of 1968, 103 during 2d Quarter, 46 during 3d Quarter and 70 during 4th Quarter. Emphasis was made on staffing needs, career guidance and standards of patient care. During the 3d Quarter of 1968, a Chief Nurses Conference was held in each medical group with Chief Nurses of Navy, Air Force, Australian and Korean Hospitals in Vietnam as guests. Beginning the 3d Quarter of 1968, monthly meetings of the chief nurses in the I CTZ were conducted with U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy chief nurses attending. The meetings were held at various installations and mutual problems were discussed. One result was the exchange or Navy Nurse Corps and Air Force Nurse Corps officers for a 2-week period between a surgical hospital and a Navy hospital ship. During the 4th Quarter, a Nursing Conference was conducted in Saigon on 20 October and again on 17 December 19&80. Nursing Consultants assigned to the MACV Surgeon's Office the Chief Nurse of the Ministry of Health — Government of Vietnam, Nursing Consultant with the nursing Branch of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Chief Nurse of the Republic of Korea Forces in Vietnam, the Chief Nurse of the Air Force Casualty Staging Facility and the Chief Nurse USARV/44th Medical Brigade attended. Monthly meetings are planned in an effort to coordinate the programs of all agencies toward improving the profession of nursing in Vietnam. A total of seven units arrived in-country during 1968. Three of the units were reserve units and a total of ten nurses arrived with their respective units. The professional complement of all units was made up or active-duty fillers. A small cadre was kept for each unit, with the majority of officers being reassigned to other units in-country. The assignment of officers who had already adjusted to the situation in Vietnam made it possible for the new units to carry out their mission more rapidly and effectively. MTOE authorizations were received for the 8th Field Hospital and the 6th Convalescent Center. These authorizations combined the 8th, 9th and 523d Hospital Units and authorized a chief nurse for this facility. The 6th Convalescent Center had been operating with 12 ANC officers but did not have any authorizations. The