U.S. Navy Mine Squadron 11

As part of Operation GAME WARDEN, the U.S. Navy establishes Mine Squadron 11, Detachment Alpha, under the command of Task Force 116. The squadron of a dozen minesweeping boats is assigned to keep the Long Tau River shipping channel clear of mines.

The shipping channel is a vital avenue for merchant and military vessels heading to Saigon, and Viet Cong mining of the waterway would threaten to damage the economy of South Vietnam as well as the war effort, as the United States relies on the channel heavily to get goods and materials to Saigon.¹