In addition to phasing out three enlisted advisor billets, these changes relieved the Assistant Senior Marine Advisor of his artillery responsibilities. Colonel Earl E. Anderson, who had been serving since mid-1963 as the MAAG Chief of Staff, was instrumental in bringing about this particular modification. Under the old arrangement, the Senior Marine Advisor’s presence frequently had been required at the MAAG headquarters in Saigon while the Vietnamese Marine Brigade headquarters was deployed to combat. As the Assistant Senior Marine Advisor was likewise torn between two jobs, Anderson had directed that he be relieved of artillery advisory duties. Thus, Major Raymond C. Damm, an officer who had served as Assistant Naval Attache in Saigon between 1959 and 1961, became the first full-time Assistant Senior Marine Advisor after he joined Colonel Nesbit’s command in May. When the changes were finally completed, the restructured and redesignated Marine Advisory Unit included permanent billets for 24 officers and men (18 officers and six enlisted men). Another important aspect of the overall Marine advisory program was altered in the closing months of 1964. Since Lieutenant Colonel Croizat’s tour with the Vietnamese Marines in the immediate post-Geneva period, most Marine advisors had attended French language courses prior to departing for service in Vietnam. As French influence in Vietnam faded during the late 1950s, however, the requirement for the language had gradually diminished, particularly as French maps were replaced by American ones. By the early 1960s this situation had prompted several Marine advisors to recommend that instruction in French be replaced by Vietnamese language training. Primarily through the persistence of Colonels Moody and Noren, the policy was revised in 1964. The arrival of the new advisors in the fall marked the first time that Marine officers had received formal Vietnamese language training before beginning their tours. Colonel Nesbit, who had the advantage of commanding advisors trained in both languages, saw the change as “a marked step forward,” in improving the advisory effort.[10-5] _The Vietnamese Marine Brigade_