To accomplish the mission several different facets of military strategy had to work in unison towards the ultimate goal. The most important of these strategies was the Civic Action Program or CAP, the thread that was needed to bind them all together for the mission to be successful. If there is one cliche that is synonymous with the Vietnam War it is, "Winning the hearts and minds of the people." This was in fact what was required to successfully complete this mission.To meet the needs of a successful Civic Action Program the 89th MP Group, and the 720th MP Battalion had to enjoin the local Vietnamese governmental agencies at all levels and conduct a cooperative coordinated short and long range plan to improve their infrastructure, image, and ability to provide security and services for the villagers that lived within the Tactical Area Of Responsibility (TAOR).

     Initially the Civic Action Team (CAT) concentrated its activities in the three primary villages within the northwestern sector of the TAOR. These villages were Long Binh Tan, An Hoa Hung, and Long Hung. It would be ten months before they would be able to provide continued assistance to the most hostile, remote, and inaccessible village of An Xuan. This was primarily due to the deeply entrenched local VC squads operating from nearby areas south of the Buong River, and the problem of inaccessibility due to the lack of a bridge capable of vehicular traffic.

     However, once the safety and security of the area was upgraded and a sturdy bridge was constructed through the concentrated joint efforts of MP, Regional Forces/Popular Forces (RF/PF), and National Police Can Sat) and National Police Field Forces (NPFF) operating from the local village outpost' in conjunction with the Battalion's river patrol, and ambush and reconnaissance patrols, the CAP teams went to work to improve the quality of life and economical services of the An Xuan village people and thus its governments image of reliability.

     The 89th MP Group CAT met with the existing Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) advisory teams already in the area. They wanted the local populace to understand that the US Military presence was one to help them and reinforce their communities’ self interest not replace it.

     The Civic Action Team would assist them in locating the necessary supplies and sources for services but they, the local government officials, would have to make the request and coordinate the project through their own village, district, and national governmental agencies.

     If the particular project was so enormous that use of local tradesmen and materials were not readily available they would guide the local officials in pursuing the matter through their district and national offices for RVN or U.S. military assistance to fill the void. The ultimate goal was to direct the local Vietnamese to not to rely on the US military as a never ending source of services and materials or they would never gain reliance and confidence in their own local government.

        Conferences were held with the hamlet [township], village [town], district [county] chiefs to get an idea of their needs and ideas and assist in integrating them into a Civic Action Plan. To support the projects the 18th MP Brigade also maintained a 100,000 Piaster (some $850.00 US Dollars, 1960’s rates of exchange) monthly fund that was divided between the 89th and 16th MP Groups, available to the various subordinate units. Most of the projects this fund was used for were selected by the battalion and company command staff because they were close to the people. This method allowed for more flexibility in gearing the programs to the immediate local needs instead of the personal whims of higher level bureaucrats. It also greatly reduced the incidents of the French Colonial legacy of bureaucratic corruption so endemic to the country.

     They included assisting villagers and the local Popular Forces (PF) soldiers with bicycle repairs, transportation to local hospitals and other governmental agencies, performing basic first aid, eradication of snakes, rats and other dangerous infestations, helping the elderly with home repairs and agricultural chores, occasionally using a concussion grenade to improve the catch of local fishermen, corralling errant domestic animals, making purchases from local shopkeepers and tailors, utilizing local eateries, playing with and providing village children with toys, books, magazines, candy, and other treats.

     For the young MP's it was always about the children.

     Sometimes just taking the time to say hello and waving at passing villagers was important.

     There were also members of the 720th that never or rarely ventured into the TAOR who regularly gave of their spare time and contributed money each payday to unit funds established to help support various Vietnamese hospitals and orphanages.

     In one instance SP/4 Andres "Lippy" Berzino of B Company assigned to Outpost-4 in Long Binh Tan Village, was recruited to play on the village soccer team in a Vietnamese semiprofessional civilian soccer league.

In Conclusion... To put this into a proper perspective I must inform you that initiating and completing the CAP programs and projects within the in the 720th TAOR was definitely not a cake walk by any stretch of the imagination. There were the routine logistical roadblocks to be overcome as well as the normal bureaucratic problems associated in dealing with inexperienced and sometimes corrupt government officials at all levels.

     Then there was the enemy. The Viet Cong and their sympathizers had long enjoyed exclusive control of this area and the people before the MPs of the 720th moved in. They didn’t surrender this control without a long and determined fight that cost the lives and limbs of many innocent villagers and soldiers of the 720th. But even as determined as the VC were to disrupt or destroy the improvements in the life, health and economic future of the villagers, the MPs and many of the villagers were even more determined to hang onto their new and improved life style.

     By the time the 720th ended Operation STABILIZE in September of 1970, the senior VC cadre and the majority of their most hard core followers were dead or captured, and their strangle hold on the villages had been eliminated. The goals that had been set in the early days of October 1967 had been successfully accomplished.

     In my personal opinion, the CAP program carried out by the 89th MP Group and the 720th MP Battalion was a qualified success. Even though national politics would cause our government to turn their back on and walk away from their promised commitment of assistance to the people of Vietnam, much of our civic action work survived.

     Soldiers from the Battalion who have returned to Vietnam after thirty plus years can still attest to the existence of the bridges that were built. We’re not just talking about the bridges that crossed the streams and rivers, we’re talking about the bridges of understanding, caring, joint sacrifices, and friendships.

     Even though there has been limited improvements in the economy and infrastructure of the country after all these years under communist rule, the work that was performed by members of the U.S. military did have an everlasting positive effect. The majority of the Vietnamese people still love and trust the Americans who first visited them as young soldiers, and now as aging tourist. And, many of them totally disregard the constant surveillance and overbearing presence of Communist government monitors who accompany or monitor American tourist on the rural excursions.

     The Vietnamese people, young and old, freely and openly express their fondness for the former GI’s.This war that was to have ended so long ago is still being fought and won, by the memories of those same young GI's, in the hearts and minds of many of the Vietnamese people that know what it was like to be truly free.  Thomas T. Watson, History Project Manager, Corporal, B Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, March 1968 to March 1969.