May--On The Job Training (OJT) program for USMC junior officers and staff noncommissioned officers is initiated. Thereafter, 20 Marines per month enter Vietnam to observe operations. 16 May--A 14 nation conference on the deteriorating Laotian situation convenes at Geneva. Jul--VNMC again reorganized and expanded. The addition of a fourth infantry battalion and a 75mm pack howitzer battery raises the strength of the VNMC to 3,321. Aug--LtCol Robert E. Brown relieves LtCol Robichaud as Senior Marine Advisor to VNMC. Aug--VNMC battalion conducts operations in the inundated U Minh Forest region of the Ca Mau Peninsula. Nov--General Maxwell D. Taylor, USA (ret.), President Kennedy’s special military advisor, visits South Vietnam on fact-finding mission. 11 Dec--The first direct support contingent of U.S. military forces arrives in Vietnam--400 Army Troops and two helicopter companies. Dec--USMAAG approves plan for new 18-man Marine Advisory Division. 1962 1 Jan--VNMC expanded to 6,109 officers and men, and redesignated the Vietnamese Marine Brigade. A new amphibious support battalion is formed. 3 Jan--First element of USAF transport aircraft arrive in South Vietnam to support government forces. Jan--Detachment A, 1st Radio Company, FMF arrives in Vietnam for duty with Army communications unit. 20 Jan--CinCPac authorizes all MAAG advisors to accompany their Vietnamese units into combat. 3 Feb--President Diem issues decree formalizing initiation of the Strategic Hamlet Program. 8 Feb--U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (USMACV) activated in Saigon with General Paul D. Harkins as commander. MajGen Richard G. Weede, USMC, becomes MACV’s first chief of staff. 7 Feb--Vietnamese Air Force fighters bomb and strafe the Presidential Palace in Saigon but fail to injure President Diem. 9 Apr--The leading elements of Marine Task Unit 79.3.5 (SHUFLY), commanded by Col John F. Carey, arrive at Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam. 15 Apr--HMM-362 (Reinforced), a Marine medium transport helicopter squadron, arrives at Soc Trang to begin operations in support of government forces. 22 Apr--HMM-362 helicopters fly their first combat support missions in Vietnam. 9 May--Eight Marine helicopters hit by small arms fire during landing on Ca Mau Peninsula. 18 May--The 3d Marine Expeditionary Unit (3d MEU) began moving into position at Udorn, Thailand, in response to the deteriorating situation in Laos. The 3d MEU was part of Joint Task Force 116, organized for use in the mounting crisis. 20 May--BGen Ormond R. Simpson assumes command of 3d MEU. 18 Jun--Eagle Flight first employed in combat by Marine helicopters operating from Soc Trang.