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[headquar]ters elements, the task force was to number 2,068 men and to carry the designation 1st Philippine Civic Action Group, Vietnam. It was not until mid-October 1966 that the last of these troops settled into their base camp on the outskirts of Tay Ninh City.

As the enemy threat grew, methods for utilizing Free World forces were considered. At the Mission Council meeting of 1 August 1966, General Westmoreland discussed the large-scale infiltration of the 324 B Division of the North Vietnam Army through the demilitarized zone and possible means to counter it. One was the formation of a multinational force to operate in the area south of the demilitarized zone. A brigade-size unit of Korean, Australian, New Zealand, and U.S. (KANZUS) troops, was conceived to support the 1st Vietnam Army Division. The brigade would be commanded by a U.S. Marine Corps general office and would consist of two U.S. Marine battalions and one Korean infantry battalion; the headquarters would provide spaces for incorporating token contributions from Australia and New Zealand. The U.S. commander was to have operational control over the Vietnamese Army forces also, but this control was to be exercised under the guise of "operational co-ordination" to avoid offending the sensibilities of the Vietnamese. The principal value of this organization was that it would be an international force confronting the invasion from the north. General Westmoreland suggested also that the International Control Commission could place observers with the force. Since a unit of this type would be expected to co-operate closely with the commission, positions held by the force would be accessible for visits by the commission.

The Mission Council responded favorably to the concept and believed that if an international force could be developed and possibly could be deployed under the auspices of the International Control Commission that the U.S. position in the event of peace negotiations might be improved. The Joint Chiefs were requested to study the proposal and, if in agreement, to ask the U.S. government to approach the governments concerned to obtain their views and concurrence. The U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam, Henry Cabot Lodge, pursued the same end with an identical message to the Secretary of State. All U.S. ambassadors to the nations consulted concurred in the project and were favorably impressed with the proposal.

On 21 August General Westmoreland requested that State and Defense Department approval of and guidance for the KANZUS project be speeded up. The stationing of any sizable