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FLEXIBLE RESPONSE

General Creighton Abrams, commander of U.S, Army, Vietnam, designated two brigades of the 9th Infantry Division serving in the Mekong Delta to be the first combined arms units to leave. In July 1969 the 2d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, departed Vietnam and was inactivated at Fort Riley. The following month the division base and the 1st Brigade moved to Hawaii to become a part of the Pacific reserve. The 3d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, was reorganized as a separate brigade and continued to serve in Vietnam.

The incremental redeployments from Vietnam between 1969 and 1972 caused considerable confusion, but less than in previous conflicts where demobilization had to be accomplished rapidly. Shortly after the withdrawal began, Acting Secretary of the Army Thaddeus R. Beal announced a reduction in total Army forces for economic reasons. One result was the immediate inactivation of the 9th Infantry Division, except for its brigade in Vietnam. To replace the 29th Infantry Brigade in Hawaii, which was to be released from federal service along with other reserve units in December 1969, the U.S. Army, Pacific, activated the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, on 6 December and returned the 29th Infantry Brigade to state control on 13 December. When disclosing the formation of the new brigade, Secretary of Defense Clifford stressed that the 25th Infantry Division was not returning from Vietnam, explaining that the designation was selected only as a tribute to the division's service in Vietnam. Nevertheless, the announcement caused some rumors that the 25th would soon be home.