PARIS Control (Control and Reporting Center)
619th TCS
Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, RVN

(To see more pictures from Saigon and Paris Control, click on the picture above.)

An Overview

The following section was taken almost verbatim from the 619th TCS Training Manual found at the Air University Library, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.  For more text click on Training Manual.

The Paris Control and Reporting Center (CRC) is located on Tan Son Nhut Air Base on the outskirts of the city of Saigon, the capitol of South Vietnam. USAF and VNAF work side by side to operate the principal radar of the 619th Tactical Control Squadron.

The PARIS Control and Reporting Center has the vital mission of supporting Tactical Air Operations and providing air defense for the Saigon Sub-Sec Tan Son Nhut Air Base is said to be the busiest air base in the world. It v follow then that ?KRIS control would be the busiest Control and Reporting Center in the world, handling in excess of 35,000 tracks per month, and providing control and advisories for all free world forces aircraft within this area.

In support of the tactical mission stated before, PARIS controllers must insure that, timely and accurate information is disseminated to aircrews, perform handoffs to the Forward Air Controllers, perform refueling hook-ups, and provide radar monitoring for MSQ missions.

In support of the defensive mission, d. In support of the defensive mission, PARIS

hostile intent, must be declared Unknown and scramble action initiated and intercept control completed. PARIS is also responsible for flight monitoring and providing radar control for VIP'S, airborne Medical Evacuation flights, and coordinating their requests with hospital facilities. In 19'08, PARIS handled 2247 Medical Evacuation Flights and 768 Emergencies ranging from Battle Damage to loss of Navigational Aids.

Todays controller must be equipped to perform a multitude of control tasks while assigned to PARIS control. The purpose of this publication is to provide the newly assigned controller a detailed insight of the operational environment in the Saigon Sub-Sector of South Vietnam.

Upon arrival at the Saigon International Airport Tan Son Nhut Air Base, personnel will be given an initial briefing and clear customs and exchange their money for Military Payment Certificates (MPC). Next, personnel are transported to the 377th CBPO or to the Billeting office, dependent upon the time of arrival in-country. Incoming personnel who have assignments to other than the 619th Tactical Control Squadron or Detachment three (3), 619th Tactical Control Squadron are encouraged to call the 619th orderly room upon arrival (Phone 2708 or 2649), during the hours of 0730 thru 1800 daily. Upon completion of in-processing, (Normally accomplished the day after arrival), all personnel should call the above numbers for transportation and a sponsor to clear into the unit.

Billets are provided on the base for all personnel regardless of rank. Living conditions on Tan Son Nhut are very crowded. All enlisted personnel, except Seniors and Chiefs are double bunked in open air two (2) story structures with screen sides and open bays, or hootches. Company grade officers have very small rooms in two (2) story open louvered, structured barracks.

Tan Son Nhut -has all the facilities normally found on a base in the states of the same approximate size. Due to the population on base and other services in the local area, often these facilities are crowded and service provided is inadequate. The base hosts a huge chapel, Base Exchange, several Barber Shops, two (2) consolidated mail rooms with free letter service, two (2) fully air conditioned theaters, a Bank of America Branch three (3) consolidated dining facilities, Base Locator Service, a twenty four (24) hour cafeteria with food delivery service, Library, Tape Center, Officer, NCO and Airmen Open Messes, Staging hospital and complete Dental Clinic, Clothing sales store, swimming pool, GYM-Gymnasium, Tennis Courts, handball courts, and adjacent to the base is the famous Saigon country club which hosts an eighteen (18) hole golf course.