By 30 March, the wing’s planning had progressed to the stage that General Condon could provide the Commander of the Seventh Fleet with specific recommendations for the entire operation. The general concept of the plan was that Task Unit 79.3.5, under the command of a Marine colonel, was to be built around a Marine medium helicopter squadron which was participating in Operation TULUNGAN. This task unit, code named SHUFLY, was to occupy an old Japanese-built landing strip near Soc Trang, a small town located about 85 miles southwest of Saigon in Ba Xuyen Province. Situated only 20 miles from the coast, Soc Trang possessed one of the few hard surfaced runways in the area. Condon informed the Seventh Fleet commander of the arrangements which his liaison officers had made during their trip to Saigon. An ARVN infantry battalion and two 4.2-inch mortar companies were to assume the defense of the air strip at Soc Trang the same day that the Marines began landing. [Illustration: _Major General John P. Condon, USMC, Commanding General, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. (USMC Photo A420792)._] The Marine general then proceeded to outline the chain of command and method of support which he considered best for the Marine task unit. SHUFLY, he suggested, should be under the operational control of ComUSMACV but should remain under the administrative control of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Most of its logistic support, the wing commander thought, could come through normal Marine and Navy channels with fuels, lubricant oils, rations, and ammunition, being the exceptions. Rations and ammunition were to be provided by MACV, while fuels would be supplied by private Vietnamese distributers operating under contracts with the U.S. government.