 By mid @-@ 1968 , No. 79 Squadron no longer had a clear role at Ubon . The USAF had sufficient fighters based in Thailand to defend the country and was reluctant to use the Australian fighters — which were now regarded as obsolete — to intercept potentially hostile aircraft , as the squadron 's rules of engagement did not allow it to pursue contacts that left Thai airspace . As a result , the Australian military 's chiefs of staff determined that the RAAF presence in Thailand had outlived its political and military usefulness and decided to withdraw the squadron without replacement . No. 79 Squadron was taken off alert status on 26 July and disbanded at the end of the month . On 31 March 2011 it received a battle honour for its deployment to Ubon between May 1962 and August 1968 . ( II ) 
