The U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy jointly formed the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF), a substantial part of the brown-water navy. The brown-water navy is a naval force capable of operations in littoral zone (close to shore) waters. The term originated during the American Civil War. The Navy had barracks ships and barrage barges to house both Army and Navy personnel. The purpose of the riverine forces was to take advantage of the inland waterways. As there were several distributaries of the Mekong River, it was difficult for the South Vietnamese to adequately protect the waterways. The intent of the U.S. Mobile Riverine Force was to seize the initiative from the communist Viet Cong. The Viet Cong used the distributaries to move and resupply their forces. The Mobile Riverine Forces’ permanent base was Dong Tam, near My Tho. Eleven umbrella operations in the Mekong Delta were launched by the Mobile Riverine Force. This occurred from June 1967 to March 1968. Due to the remarkable cooperation between the Army and Navy, the Mobile Riverine Force was able to transform the Mekong Delta from terra incognita (uncharted land) to chartered and American controlled area. This week we salute Cliff Locke. Cliff served in the U.S. Navy and was stationed in South Vietnam from January 1967 to 1968. Cliff was a deckhand, a 3rd Bosum mate. Bosun’s mates are responsible for training and supervision of all deck crew in matters related to deck maintenance, watch standing, and deck operations. He was part of a mobile river group who lived on a barge patrolling the rivers of Vietnam. He retired in 2004 from Burlington railroad. Although not a native Montanan, he stayed in Rosebud county after retirement.
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