 The Operation Prairie, a series of actions in defense of the demilitarized zone, began on August 3, 1966, and English again led Task Force Delta.Concerned by the growing PAVN activity along the DMZ and that PAVN units could move past the Marines' positions at the Rockpile and Dong Ha, COMUSMACV General William Westmoreland pushed III MAF to station a Marine battalion at Khe Sanh.English strongly opposed the plan, stating "When you're at Khe Sanh, you're not really anywhere.