page_title: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base
section_title: Camp Friendship (United States Army)
hierarchical_section_title: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base / Camp Friendship (United States Army)
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of United States Army Camp Friendship
context_page_description: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base is a base of the Royal Thai Air Force in northeast Thailand, approximately 250 km northeast of Bangkok and about 8 km south of the centre of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, the largest province in Thailand.
  During the Vietnam War, from 1962 to 1975, Korat RTAFB was a front-line facility of the United States Air Force in Thailand.
  During the 1980s and early-1990s, the airfield was jointly operated as a civil airport for Nakhon Ratchasima. This ended with the opening of Nakhon Ratchasima Airport in the early-1990s.
context_section_description: Adjacent to Korat RTAFB to the south was United States Army Camp Friendship.  It was a separate facility which pre-dated Korat RTAFB.
  Camp Friendship was the home of Headquarters, United States Army Support, Thailand (USARSUPTHAI), part of the Army Military Assistance Command Thailand (MACTHAI). The facility was initially set up as a forward operating base for equipment storage of the 25th Infantry Division, which would have deployed to Thailand in the event of invasion. The USAF would be able to airlift the division into Korat where they could pick up their equipment and move into battle.
  The host unit was the 44th Engineer Group (Construction), part of the 9th Logistics Command. It was a large facility (larger than Korat RTAFB) complete with support offices, barracks for about 4,000 personnel, enlisted, NCO, and officer clubs, a motor pool, a large hospital, athletic fields, and other facilities. It was assigned APO San Francisco 96233.
  Its mission was to build roads and a support (logistics) network in support of US Army and USAF operations in Thailand by executing the troop construction portion of the military construction program, performing engineer reconnaissance, and accomplishing civil action projects as resources permitted. The group constructed the Bangkok By-Pass Road, a 95 km asphalt highway between Chachoengsao and Kabin Buri, which was opened in February 1966. For their performance in the construction of this road (now Route 303), the 809th Engineer Battalion (Construction) and the 561st Engineer Company (Construction) were awarded Meritorious Unit Commendations.
  As soon as the Bangkok bypass road paving was completed, Company B moved to Sattahip to begin construction of Camp Vayama, a 1,000-man troop cantonment area which would eventually become part of a vast port and logistical complex. Joined by Company C in the later part of May, construction continued. In August, the main portion of Company C was moved to Sakon Nakon where it built a troop cantonment area, a special forces camp, and a POL tank farm at Nakom Phanom (NKP) in support of the air force.
  On 3 January 1967, Company C returned to Phanom Sarakam to begin work on the "inland road", a 122-kilometer, all-weather highway which would connect the Port of Sattahip with the Bangkok bypass road. Upon its completion, the inland road became a vital contribution to the economic development of Thailand and served as an important link in the supply and communication lines between the Gulf of Siam and northeast Thailand.
  In 1970, the 44th Engineer Group was inactivated in Thailand as part of the draw down of United States forces in Southeast Asia. Camp Friendship closed as a separate facility in 1971 and much of the facility was turned over to the Royal Thai Army. After its closure, the USAF retained some barracks and personnel support facilities. The 388th Tactical Fighter Wing used those parts of Camp Friendship for overflow of personnel assigned or deployed to it until the USAF turned Korat Air Base over to the RTAF in early 1976.
  Today, Camp Friendship is a Royal Thai Army artillery base. Some of the old US facilities are still in use, and some new construction has also been erected.
  Major organizations assigned to Camp Friendship were
  HHC 9th Logistics
  HHC USARSUPTHAI
  HQ 809th Engineer Battalion
  HQ USARSUPTHAI Liaison
  US Embassy Attache Office
  USARSUPTHAI
  USASTRATCOM SIG Battalion
  USASCCCCA
  7th Airlift Platoon
  7th MAINT Battalion, Direct Support 1965–71
  9th Logistical Command HHD Logistics Support 1963–70
  9th Logistics Pad 55/56
  13th MP Company, Separate 1969–73
  21st MED Depot Medical 1967–70
  28th Signal Company
  31st MED Field Hospital 1962–70
  33rd Transportation TC
  35th Finance Sec Disb
  40th MP Battalion, Military Police Support 1967–70
  41st ORD Company, Direct Ammunition Support 3/1966-9/1966
  44th Engineer Group, HHC/HHD Construction 1962–70
  46th Special Forces (SF)
  55th Signal Company
  57th MAINT Company, Direct Support 1963–71
  57th Ordinance Company DS
  70th Aviation Detachment
  93rd Psyops Co
  128th Medical Battalion
  133rd MED Group, HHD Medical Suppo
caption: General map of Camp Friendship (14°54′44″N 102°04′42″E﻿ / ﻿14.91222°N 102.07833°E﻿ / 14.91222; 102.07833﻿ (Camp Friendship))
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