Familiar Places
There were many places within NSA/NSF DaNang where personnel were assigned. These places had many different names, abbreviations, acronyms, terms, and phrases. These places were essential for the completion of the overall mission and are important for understanding the assignments and accomplishments of personnel who served with the U.S. Naval Support Activity DaNang (1965-1970), the U.S. Naval Support Facility DaNang (1970-1972), and the Detachments. The responsibilities were so numerous and varied that it is difficult to list them. This confirms how huge the operations were. The U.S. Navy has had many Naval Support Activities in the US and around the world, but NSA DaNang was the Navy’s largest overseas shore command of its kind with more than 30,000 men and women serving there.
The following list is an attempt to identify many of the places, assignments, and responsibilities that Naval personnel fulfilled. The overall operations were sometimes listed as NSA DaNang, NSF DaNang, NavSuppAct DaNang, or NavSupAct DaNang.
The location where we served has been spelled in many different ways including DaNang, Danang, and Da Nang. The city and the NSA/NSF Detachments were within the “I Corps” tactical zone in the northernmost region of South Vietnam. More about I Corps and the Detachments can be found in the “History” menu item of this website.
This list is expected to grow as more research is completed. We invite anyone who served with the organization to send facility names and locations that are not yet included, or correct any name where needed. You can send an email with suggestions to the webmaster by selecting that option in the dropdown list of the “Contacts” menu item.
Partial list of NSA/NSF Operations, Shops, and Facilities (in no particular order):
NSA Bridge Ramp
NSA Lighterage Division, Lighterage Causeway, Lighterage Engineering & Repair Division, and the Lighterage Armory
NSA Small Craft Repair Facility DaNang (SCRF)
NSA DaNang Divers
NSA DaNang Security and Intelligence Division (including the Sentry Dog Unit)
NSA DaNang Harbor Security
NSA DaNang Fire Department
NSA DaNang Electronics Repair Facility
CB (or Construction Battalion) – CBs were also called Seabees and fulfilled many responsibilities. Most were builders, electricians, equipment operators, and mechanics. Examples of service with NSA DaNang included:
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- Triangle Equipment Repair – This included yellow forklift shop, RT shop, & heavy equipment shop.
- China Beach Transportation – This included the generator shop, remote generators, electrical shop, auto/truck repair, and production control.
- Names for some of the critical transportation and equipment organizations are not yet identified, but they were responsible for necessary services such as personnel carriers and movement of cargo, fuel, and water.
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NSA Communications Facilities: These included Triangle Communications (Relay Technical Control Facility), Marble Mountain Transmitter Site, and Monkey Mountain Receiver Site.
NSA Supply Depot: This included Covered Storage Warehouses, Acres of Open Storage, Refrigeration, Ice Plant, Foremost Dairy Recombining Plant, Physical Inventory Branch (PIB), Quality Assurance (QA), Liaison Services, Supply Operations, and others.
NSA Supply Yards: These included Petroleum, Oil, & Lubricants (POL), Lumber & Telephone Poles, & others.
NSA DaNang Deep Water Piers
NSA DaNang Naval Operations Headquarters (known as the White Elephant)
NSA DaNang Public Affairs
NSA/NSF DaNang Public Works Department
NSA DaNang Special Services (military recreation)
NSA DaNang Hospital or NSA Station Hospital DaNang
Camp Tien Sha (sometimes identified as Camp Tien-Sha, Camp Tien Shau, or Camp Tien Sa)
Camp Tien Sha Armory
Camp Tien Sha ET Shop (Electronic Technicians)
NSA DaNang Airbase Shops and Barracks
(Also called NSA Air Base Cantonment – a self-sufficient detachment of Camp Tien Sha)
Camp Carter
Camp Carter Armory