Like other American officials who had visited Diem’s republic during the course of the year, General Taylor returned to Washington convinced that South Vietnam was in grave danger. In a report delivered to President Kennedy in November, the general outlined his formula for salvaging the situation. This included the broad recommendation that the United States abandon its existing policy of strict military advice and begin cooperating with the Vietnamese in a form of “limited partnership.” The American role in such a partnership, Taylor explained, would be to provide “working” advisors and “working” military units to aid South Vietnam’s military forces. General Taylor’s report offered several specific proposals for implementing such a program. Among these were recommendations that three U.S. Army helicopter companies and approximately 6,000–8,000 American ground troops be deployed quickly to the Republic of Vietnam. The helicopter units would support the government’s ground operations but the American ground forces were to be used only in a defensive posture. Taylor believed that their presence would underscore the United States’ determination to stand by South Vietnam. A side-effect of this display of determination would be to stimulate the morale of the republic’s armed forces. He added that in order to support such a build-up, it would be necessary to restructure and increase the size of the USMAAG. President Kennedy’s consideration of Taylor’s proposals resulted in a compromise decision which cleared the way for more intense American involvement in the Vietnam conflict. After securing Diem’s approval in early December, Kennedy authorized the Department of Defense to expand its advisory and assistance programs. To enhance the effectiveness of the advisory program, he removed some of the official restrictions under which most U.S. military advisors had operated since 1955. One important change would allow all advisors to accompany their Vietnamese units into combat. At the same time President Kennedy decided against ordering U.S. ground forces into the war zone; however, he instructed the Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, to prepare plans for such a contingency. He also approved General Taylor’s recommendation that American helicopter units be sent to support the RVNAF. The arrival of the first of these reinforcements just before 1961 ended, signalled the beginning of a new and more dynamic phase of American military participation in the struggle to preserve the independence of South Vietnam. CHAPTER 4 An Expanding War, 1962 _The War’s New Context--Creation of MACV and Marine Advisory Division--The Vietnamese Marine Corps, 1962--Some Conclusions_ _The War’s New Context_