Caribou Air Force Station
Caribou Air Force Station was the first of five, United States Air Force, Air Material Command (AMC) installations that were constructed during the period of 1951 – 1953. Each of the five installations was built specifically to provide operational storage of the nuclear stockpile, and to provide a specified number of weapons to their adjacent Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases. The first four installations were built and occupied by 1953. The fifth installation, although completed in 1953, would not be utilized until 1955. The first installation, code named “Site Easy” was originally known as the “North River Depot”. It was constructed between 1951-1952, and operations began in 1952. Funds were provided in 1951 to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP), for the planning and construction of an ordnance storage site in the vicinity of a new Strategic Air Command Base. The AFSWP was directed to utilize the services of the Corps of Engineers, Department of Army, for planning and construction, and was made responsible for monitoring such work, and for operational security measures during these phases. The original directive to the AFSWP stipulated that upon completion of construction the installation would be turned over to Headquarters, Air Material Command for operational responsibilities.
RMK-BRJ
In 1960, the government of South Vietnam requested the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to develop plans for new military airfields at Bien Hoa north of Saigon, and at the central highlands town of Pleiku, as well as improvements to the French-built airfields in Saigon and Da Nang (, p. 22). One of the first projects for RMK-BRJ was construction of a new airfield at Pleiku. The MAAG made this their priority in January 1962, and wanted the completed airfield by July 1962. Design for the facility had not been started yet. But RMK-BRJ completed it on time and it was opened in July (, p. 30). Air control radar stations at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon and Monkey Mountain Facility in Da Nang were constructed at the same time.