 Five kilometers north of their base camp at Tui Hoa, troopers of the 101st Airborne Division begin a search and destroy operation. Filmed on August 5 and 6, the operation is aimed at Viet Cong tax collectors reported in the area. On the perimeter of the landing zone, the units are formed up for the sweep, and the advance begins. Pushing northward toward a village in the foothills, the cavalrymen are suddenly taken under fire by enemy snipers as they cross an overgrown rice paddy. The fire seems to be coming from a banana grove up ahead. Now it's a watching and waiting game. After a while, the sniping stops, and all along the line the troopers begin easing forward. They enter the banana grove, but find no one. Still farther on, they come to the edge of a village. It's deserted. Artillery support has called up to hit the surrounding hills, where it is believed the VC are hiding. During the rest of the day and the following day, as the sky troopers continue sweeping forward through suspected enemy villages, the Viet Cong suspects come down out of the hills and surrender. Flying through the air are the lightweight howitzers of an artillery battery of the 101st Airborne Division. The guns are en route from Tui Hoa to the area around Dong Kwan, 15 kilometers to the north. The M-102s are being delivered to this forward position so they can provide supporting fire for friendly forces operating in the area. Battery personnel quickly prepare the Air Mobile 105s for the firing mission to hit Viet Cong forces hiding in the hills. The firing rate is stepped up as observers report the VC are taking casualties and scattering. They further report that as a result, many Viet Cong are surrendering to the waiting men of the 101st. At anchor in Cameron Bay, the Army Aircraft Maintenance Ship Corpus Christi Bay, a converted seaplane tender, performs the functions of a floating maintenance depot. It is equipped for a wide variety of aircraft overhaul operations. Replacement parts for on-the-spot repairs are taken aboard the ship to support maintenance for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. With few areas on the vessel large enough to accommodate extensive airframe repair, the Army Flat Top concentrates on overhaul of all types of aircraft components. Each man in the floating maintenance battalion has been trained in several aircraft maintenance specialties at the Army Aeronautical Depot Maintenance Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The damaged or deteriorated components are brought from the combat zone directly to the maintenance ship for repair. This avoids the long costly shipment back to depots in Conas and ensures return of the items to combat in the shortest possible time. A traffic control center channels each repair operation to the appropriate maintenance shop. There are 32 separate aircraft maintenance shops aboard the Corpus Christi Bay with capability for all types of disassembly, repair and rebuild. The shops are equipped with latest tools and machinery for literally hundreds of detailed aircraft maintenance functions. Extensive laboratory support is available for maintenance of electronic components. Specialists in avionics use complex testing equipment in checking out sensitive communications and guidance systems. On deck, a repaired component is loaded for quick return to the user unit. The Army's first floating aircraft maintenance depot offers complete mobility and flexibility of support to U.S. Army aircraft operations in Vietnam. On 6 August, Army Chief of Staff General Harold K. Johnson, accompanied by Sergeant Major of the Army William Wuldridge, arrives at Brigade Headquarters 101st Airborne Division. After being greeted by officers of various units, General Johnson and Brigadier General Pearson, Commander of the 101st, hear the reading of a citation to Lieutenant Colonel Henry Emerson for gallantry under fire. The Army Chief of Staff then presents the Silver Star with first cluster and his congratulations. Afterwards, General Johnson meets the Sergeant Majors of the 101st and supporting units. Then, he returns to his plane to continue his tour of Vietnam. The Army units of the Dominican Republic, including members of this Special Forces Battalion, are receiving training in counter-guerrilla and riot-control tactics at a mountain school under the guidance of personnel of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. To accustom the Dominican troops to moving rapidly across country, they are taught basic mountain climbing techniques. Here, they rappel down the face of a cliff. After receiving instruction in special methods of rigging, they gain experience in actual descents. The troops also learn to deal with other obstacles which they may encounter in pursuit of a guerrilla band. Under conditions intentionally made difficult, they erect rope bridges and try their hands, plus legs and elbows at a river crossing. Because many of the soldiers cannot swim, United States instructors act as lifeguards. But there's a penalty for failure, a series of push-ups from a submerged rock. The Dominican troops learn another method of affecting a river crossing with their equipment, this time by preparing rafts from their ponchos. With the rafts completed, the men shove off. Following Dominican military tradition, these two officers cross with the troops. Weaponry courses are designed to take advantage of available material. The men receive instruction in the use of explosives, in classes and in the field. Then they have the opportunity to put their knowledge to the test. To gain an understanding of guerrilla tactics, one section of troops ambushes a convoy operated by another section. Explosive charges stop the convoy. Then the attackers search convoy personnel, capture weapons and retreat. The troops also are taught riot control formations and movements to enable them to deal with insurrection. United States troops provide guidance as the Dominican forces progress in teamwork, military discipline and esprit de corps. To give the troops a firsthand experience with the effects of tear gas, they are required to enter a tent in which tear gas grenades have been fired and stay long enough to give their names, some of the men enter willingly, others unwillingly. When the 7th Special Forces Group arrived in Constanza about a year ago, they found the city without public medical facilities. At that time, Detachment Commander Captain Nester Pinole investigated the situation and learned that the only hospital had been closed down by the government in 1963. The abandoned building had since become the home of 17 families who had taken refuge there after migrating to Constanza in search of employment. More than 100 persons, most of them children, were crowded into the small building. To alleviate the situation, Captain Pinole called together the Constanza Citizens Council. Under his leadership, a drive was begun to raise money for equipping a new hospital and to provide new housing for the migrant families. A building site was selected and volunteers began work on the foundations for 17 new homes. Most of the building's supplies were flown in because roads in the area were nearly impassable. Loads of lumber, cement, and even food for the workers were trucked to the construction site. Everyone pitched in to help. On 21 July, six men from the 47th Engineers moved to Constanza to join the Dominican volunteers working on the project. Total costs for the re-establishment program were estimated at $12,000, of which the Citizens Council managed to raise nearly half. The rest was pledged by AID, the Community Development Office, and the Dominican Red Cross. Construction moved along rapidly and within two weeks the homes were complete. Each includes a combination living room, dining room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Everything is ready on dedication day the 8th of August. People from all parts of the district arrive for the ceremonies. They hear an address by Dr. Orlando Cepedes of the Citizens Council, officially naming the project Kennedy Colony. Finally, the houses are blessed by a local priest. For the 17 families living in the old hospital, it's moving day at last. Each family was given outright ownership of their new home, provided that they lived there for five years. Successful relocation of these families was only the first phase of the civic action program in Constanza. To re-establish medical facilities as quickly as possible, the Special Forces team set up a small dispensary in a local government building. Although staffed at first by Special Forces personnel, a local doctor soon agreed to lend his services. Here, he treats a small boy with severe burns on both feet. Dental, as well as medical aid, was offered. And as the lines of patients grew, a local girl was trained as a nursing assistant. To date, treatment has been provided here for many thousands of cases. The success of the Constanza dispensary is being duplicated in the town of La Vega, 48 kilometers away. Here, another 7th Special Forces team has set up two dispensaries in the past year. As in Constanza, local volunteers donate their time in exchange for medical training. This dispensary handles 150 patients a day. And when the Special Forces team leaves, the work will be carried on by the newly trained assistants with a part-time help of local physicians. In the meantime, medics work around the clock to provide free medical attention to needy Dominicans.