Use of Agent Purple, Agent Orange and Agent Blue on Royal Thai Air Force Base Perimeters in Thailand during the Vietnam War  

作　　者：Kenneth R. Olson Larry Cihacek Kenneth R. Olson;Larry Cihacek(College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA;School of Natural Resource Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA)

机构地区：[1]College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA [2]School of Natural Resource Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

出　　处：《Open Journal of Soil Science》2023年第5期243-271,共29页土壤科学期刊（英文）

摘　　要：Seven Royal Thai Air Force bases in Thailand were used by the United States Air Force (USAF) during the Vietnam War as staging hubs for operations in Laos and Cambodia. Five bases in Thailand, including Nakhon Phanom (NKP), Ubon, Korat, U-Tapao and Udorn endured sniper fire interdiction, perimeter penetration, and sapper (combat engineer) attacks. Nam Phong, an eighth Royal Thai Air Force base was used by the United States Marine Corps air operations starting in 1972. US Military personnel stationed throughout Thailand were also attacked by Communists insurgents. Two herbicides, Agent Purple and Agent Orange containing 2, 4, 5-T contaminated with dioxin (TCDD—2, 3, 7, 8 tetrachlorodibenzodioxin) and a third herbicide, the arsenic-based Agent Blue, were routinely received at these Thailand airbases in support of air missions and to keep airbases and perimeter fences clear of vegetation. Udorn Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base, established in the 1950s was consistently a target of enemy attacks during this period. The Thai government allowed the United States to use five bases, covertly, and two other Thai bases, openly, due to concerns that the civil war inside Laos might spread into Thailand. The US Air Force began, in 1961, to provide the air defense of Thailand and to fly reconnaissance flights over Laos. Under the United States and Thailand’s “gentleman’s agreement”, the bases used by the USAF were considered RTAF bases under the command of Thai officers. The USAF at Udorn was under the command of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Thirteenth Air Force and was used to temporarily store and distribute Agent Purple, Agent Orange and Agent Blue to Laos’s airfields for spraying of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Thai air police controlled access to the bases using sentry dogs, observation towers, and machine gun emplacements. The USAF Security police assisted the Thai air police in base defense. In this study, we document the use of Agent Orange, Agent Purple and Agent Blue on Royal Thai Air Force baseSeven Royal Thai Air Force bases in Thailand were used by the United States Air Force (USAF) during the Vietnam War as staging hubs for operations in Laos and Cambodia. Five bases in Thailand, including Nakhon Phanom (NKP), Ubon, Korat, U-Tapao and Udorn endured sniper fire interdiction, perimeter penetration, and sapper (combat engineer) attacks. Nam Phong, an eighth Royal Thai Air Force base was used by the United States Marine Corps air operations starting in 1972. US Military personnel stationed throughout Thailand were also attacked by Communists insurgents. Two herbicides, Agent Purple and Agent Orange containing 2, 4, 5-T contaminated with dioxin (TCDD—2, 3, 7, 8 tetrachlorodibenzodioxin) and a third herbicide, the arsenic-based Agent Blue, were routinely received at these Thailand airbases in support of air missions and to keep airbases and perimeter fences clear of vegetation. Udorn Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base, established in the 1950s was consistently a target of enemy attacks during this period. The Thai government allowed the United States to use five bases, covertly, and two other Thai bases, openly, due to concerns that the civil war inside Laos might spread into Thailand. The US Air Force began, in 1961, to provide the air defense of Thailand and to fly reconnaissance flights over Laos. Under the United States and Thailand’s “gentleman’s agreement”, the bases used by the USAF were considered RTAF bases under the command of Thai officers. The USAF at Udorn was under the command of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Thirteenth Air Force and was used to temporarily store and distribute Agent Purple, Agent Orange and Agent Blue to Laos’s airfields for spraying of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Thai air police controlled access to the bases using sentry dogs, observation towers, and machine gun emplacements. The USAF Security police assisted the Thai air police in base defense. In this study, we document the use of Agent Orange, Agent Purple and Agent Blue on Royal Thai Air Force base

关 键 词：Agent Blue Agent Orange Agent Purple Thailand DIOXIN Arsenic 

分 类 号：TP3[自动化与计算机技术—计算机科学与技术]