Task Force 116 Established for Operation GAME WARDEN

December 18, 1965

Overview

The U.S. Navy establishes the River Patrol Force (Task Force 116) for Operation GAME WARDEN. The force’s mission is to patrol the waterways of the Mekong Delta and disrupt Viet Cong activities and supply lines. U.S. naval commanders envision GAME WARDEN as an inland, riverine complement to the coastal interdiction of Operation MARKET TIME.

Task Force 116 is equipped with a fleet of river patrol boats (PBRs). PBRs are shallow-draft, fast, and maneuverable craft used to intercept and inspect river traffic, sweep for mines, and support allied personnel on shore, including U.S. Navy SEALs. By 1967, the task force also utilizes UH-1 “Huey” helicopters of Navy Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron 3 (HAL-3), known as the “Seawolves.” Task Force 116 works to secure the major rivers in the Mekong Delta against enemy infiltration until December 1970.¹

¹Edward J. Marolda, By Sea, Air, and Land: An Illustrated History of the U.S. Navy and the War in Southeast Asia (Washington D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1994), 162–163, 166–171; Spencer C. Tucker, ed. The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History, (2nd edition; Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011), 406–407; Ronald B. Frankum, Jr., Historical Dictionary of the War in Vietnam (Lanham, MD.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2011), 177–178; Craig L. Symonds, Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995), 212–213.