Although responsibility for the overall defense of the Da Nang airstrip still resided with the ARVN, the enlarged security detachment greatly strengthened the Marine defenses within the installation. Major Alsop divided his reinforced rifle company into two groups--one to protect the living compound and the other to defend the flight line and the new hangar. Around the living compound the engineers constructed a complex of machine gun positions, mortar pits, and ammunition bunkers. A barricade was also erected at a gate near the Marine compound which previously had been open and manned only by Vietnamese sentries. Strong defensive positions were also constructed around the task element’s new hangar and flight line. This network included fox holes, barbed wire, and cleared fields of fire. As an added precaution, Company L maintained a reaction force at the living compound. This force was prepared to board trucks and rush to reinforce the critical defenses around the aircraft and maintenance facilities in the event of an enemy ground attack.[12-5] Despite the stronger defenses and the presence of the larger Marine infantry force, several security-related problems were still unsolved. One which remained outside of Colonel King’s influence was the laxity of the ARVN sentries around the outer perimeter who sometimes allowed Vietnamese civilians to wander into the installation. Another was that a small village close to the Marine compound, but outside the perimeter fence, still harbored an occasional sniper. The task element commander had lodged repeated complaints about both situations with the appropriate South Vietnamese authorities but no action had been taken to eliminate them. In spite of these minor sources of irritation, the recent changes in its defenses greatly enhanced the task element’s ability to protect itself against Communist ground attacks. _Action as the Year Ends_