1965 an advance party of the 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron arrived at the base, the squadron equipped with F-4C Phantom II fighter-bombers arrived on 1 November and began flying missions over South Vietnam the following day. 12th Tactical Fighter Wing On 8 November 1965 the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing was assigned to the base, being deployed from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. The 12th TFW was the first permanently assigned F-4 Phantom II wing assigned to Southeast Asia. Operational squadrons of the wing at Cam Ranh were: 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron 1 December 1965 – 31 March 1970 (F-4C Tail Code: XC) 558th Tactical Fighter Squadron 8 November 1965 – 31 March 1970 (F-4C Tail Code: XD/XT) 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron 8 November 1965 – 4 January 1966 (F-4C) : Replaced by: 559th Tactical Fighter Squadron 1 January 1966 – 31 March 1970 (F-4C Tail Code: XN) 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron 26 January 1966 – 22 July 1968 (F-4C Tail Code: XT) diverted from the still incomplete Phan Rang Air Base From Cam Ranh AB the wing carried out close air support, interdiction, and combat air patrol activities over South Vietnam, North Vietnam and Laos. On 26 October 1966 and on 23 December 1967, US President Lyndon B. Johnson landed at the base on his only Presidential visit to South Vietnam, meeting US military personnel. On 31 March 1970, as part of the Vietnamization process the 12th TFW was reassigned to Phù Cát Air Base. Heavy rainfall and strong onshore winds from December 1965 to March 1966 undermined the sand base of the original aluminum mat runway and taxiways at the base, necessitating constant maintenance to smooth out bumps and replace damaged matting. By December 1966 Cam Ranh AB reached over 27,000 aircraft movements a month. Living conditions at the base remained spartan with cramped quarters and shortages of water and electricity. Airlift use The air base was also used for strategic and tactical airlift. Cargo and personnel would arrive from the United States into the logistics facilities at Cam Ranh Bay by ship and also by large Military Air Transport Service/Military Airlift Command (MAC) transport aircraft, and then be transferred to tactical airlift for movement within South Vietnam. Outgoing cargo and personnel would also be processed through the large aerial port facility. In November 1965 315th Air Division C-130E squadrons based in Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines began