Its military mail address was APO San Francisco, 96227. From September 1962 the 33rd Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) arrived with Piasecki CH-21C Shawnee's. A Company, 501st Aviation Battalion arrived during December 1964 with Bell UH-1 Hueys. Det. 2 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron/1st Air Commando Squadron (Composite) On 11 October 1961, President John F. Kennedy directed, in NSAM 104, that the Defense Secretary "introduce the Air Force 'Jungle Jim' Squadron into Vietnam for the initial purpose of training Vietnamese forces." The 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron was to proceed as a training mission and not for combat. The unit would be officially titled Detachment 2 of the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron, code named Farm Gate. The unit would administratively and operationally belong to the Air Force section of MAAG Vietnam. Detachment 2A would be the B-26 Invader unit; Detachment 2B would be the T-28 Trojan unit. In late October an advance party from the 6009th Tactical Support Group arrived at Bien Hoa to prepare the base for Farm Gate operations and on 15 November they were joined by Detachment 9, 6010th Tactical Support Group responsible for aircraft maintenance. In late December 4 B-26s arrived at Bien Hoa and began operations. Farm Gate would quickly grow to 4 SC-47s, 4 B-26s and 8 T-28s. In June 1962 2 Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) soldiers guarding the base perimeter were killed by Viet Cong (VC) and as a result CINCPAC Admiral Harry D. Felt recommended the defoliation of the jungle area north of the base and this was carried out by RVNAF H-34 helicopters in July. In May 1962 2 RB-26C night photo-reconnaissance aircraft joined the Farm Gate planes at the base. One of the aircraft was destroyed in a ground accident on 20 October. In July 1963 the 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron was activated at the base, becoming operational on 15 September. Initially equipped with 4 O-1 Bird Dogs and 20 crew. It was tasked with training RVNAF pilots and observers in forward air control and visual reconnaissance. By the end of 1963 it had 16 O-1s at Bien Hoa and had flown 3862 sorties. By June 1963, the USAF presence in South Vietnam had grown to almost 5,000 airmen. As the buildup continued, USAF directed the activation of a more permanent organizational structure to properly administer the forces being deployed. On 8 July 1963 the Farm