199th Light Infantry Brigade
Vietnam
About the 199th Light Infantry Brigade
Light, Swift, and Accurate! As the North Vietnamese sent regular forces to the south, the United States Army responded on March 23, 1966 by forming the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. It was formed from the 2nd Bn., 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Bn., 7th Infantry Regiment, and the 4th Bn., 12th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. Later the 5th Bn. 12th Infantry Regiment was assigned. The Brigade was made up primarily of light infantry for rapid deployment to shore up defenses around the capital city of Saigon.
Soon after deployment the brigade was involved in Operation Uniontown to clear the area around the Long Binh complex.
The Brigade’s main base at Bien Hoa was named Camp Frenzell-Jones to honor two of the brigade’s first casualties from this unit. The 199th Light Infantry Brigade’s responsibility was to secure the Northwest infiltration routes into and around Saigon, Long Binh, and Bien Hoa. The unit helped turn the tide of the Tet offensive in 1968. It helped secure Bien Hoa airbase, destroy Viet Cong Headquarters at Phu Tho racetrack and fought house to house in the Cholon district of Saigon, fighting against the 274th and 275th Viet Cong Regiments.
The unit fought primarily in the areas of War Zone D, Xuan Luc, Bien Hoa, the Pineapple Plantation, and around Saigon. During the Cambodia invasion the 199th secured the area know as the Iron Triangle north of Saigon.
The Brigade was transferred to Fort Benning Georgia and disbanded after redeployment from Vietnam.