The operational element experienced a mortar attack in Phu Bai at the same time resulting in several shrapnel wounds, only one of which, required evacuation. The new arrivals were integrated with combat veterans and the entire eighteen teams conducted a zone reconnaissance in the CoBi-Than Tan valley northwest of Huế before displacing to Đông Hà. Upon arrival at Đông Hà in early May the Commanding Officer assumed command of 3rd Recon Battalion (Forward), which had reconnaissance responsibility for all of Quang Tri Province except the Khe Sanh Tactical Area of Operations (TAOR). 3rd FORECON patrolled the area north of Highway 9 to the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), while a recon company from 3rd Recon Battalion was targeted south of Highway 9 to the Thừa Thiên provincial border. Occasional circumstances caused deviation from that concept, but, for the most part, those deviations were rare. 3rd FORECON continued that operational commitment until the 3rd Marine Division left the country in November 1969.  3rd FORECON was placed under command of the III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) and operated in general support of III MAF until deactivated in mid-1970.