Concurrent with General Simpson’s arrival, U.S. Air Force C-130 and C-123 transports were ferrying Lieutenant Colonel Adams’ Battalion Landing Team from Bangkok to Udorn. The BLT had placed its supplies and trucks, along with HMM-261’s heavier equipment, on rail cars for transport to Udorn. Because the Thai flat cars were too small to accommodate such massive vehicles, Adams ordered his tank and amphibious tractor platoons to re-embark on board the USS _Point Defiance_ (LSD-31). Once on the ground at Udorn the battalion and its remaining reinforcements assembled alongside the airstrip. From there the Leathernecks were transported by Thai Army trucks some eight miles south to Nong Ta Kai, a small town situated astride the main service road. Adams’ battalion established a temporary camp on some high ground just beyond the town. With the BLT’s arrival, the initial Marine combat forces assigned to JTF 116 were in position. The next day, 20 May, General Simpson assumed command of all U.S. Marine and Navy units at Udorn and the 3d MEB, a complete air-ground team, was in being. Elsewhere in Thailand the U.S. military build-up was continuing apace. A squadron of 20 U.S. Air Force F-100 Super Sabre tactical fighter bombers and a detachment of three refueler aircraft had deployed to Takhli airfield from Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Two USAF transport squadrons had also begun operations from this base. At Korat, the 1st Brigade, 27th Infantry was being reinforced with Army units from Hawaii. Another Army unit, a logistics support command, was being activated near Bangkok. To command this growing assortment of military units, General Richardson established the JTF 116 headquarters at Korat. Major General Donald M. Weller, who had been serving as Deputy Commanding General, FMFPac, since leaving the 3d Marine Division in 1961, joined Richardson’s headquarters as chief of staff. General Weller’s offices were located at Korat initially. Later he relocated at Bangkok where he headed a rear echelon responsible for coordination with the JUSMAAG, ComUSMACThai, and the American representatives to SEATO. While in the capital Weller was also responsible for implementing a logistic plan, the objective of which was to upgrade lines of communication being used by JTF-116 elements. It is of interest to note that Colonel Croizat, who had been the first U.S. Marine advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps, was serving at this time as the senior U.S. military representative on the SEATO planning staff in Bangkok. Both Weller, who had commanded JTF 116 for a period during early 1961, and Croizat who had served as its chief of staff during that interval, were intimately familiar with the JTF’s structure, capabilities, and functions. In fact, the operations plan being executed had been developed in large part under their guidance.[7-2] [Illustration: _Marines disembark from attack transports at Bangkok, Thailand. (USMC Photo A182785)._]