Cordon and search of Long Hai DPR/TV/808

The village of Long Hai on the southern coast of Phuoc Tuy Province in Vietnam was searched 26 March for the first time by troops of the Australian Task Force based at Nui Dat. Long Hai is a fishing and holiday village at the foothills of the mountains where elements of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, are continuing Operation Pinnaroo. The operation was carried out by troops of 2RAR, supported by a company from 7RAR, tanks from C Squadron 1 Armoured Regiment, armoured personnel carriers from A Squadron 3 Cavalry Regiment and combat engineer teams from 1 Field Squadron. Code-named Ashgrove Tram, the operation was staged in conjunction with Operation Pinnaroo. Although it was the first time Long Hai had been cordoned and searched, the local population reacted quickly to messages delivered from a voice aircraft and within an hour were assembled in the screening area to the north of the village. Water and food for the villagers while in the screening and staging area was brought in by Chinook helicopter. Some of the villagers were unable to appreciate the purpose of the screening and search and needed this explained to them by military police manning a checkpoint nearby. With the village cleared of the population the detailed search of Long Hai by troops of 2RAR then began. Although the search of the village revealed little of value to the Viet Cong, of the 2,085 inhabitants screened by Vietnamese National police nine were held as Viet Cong suspects. Eighty people without identity cards were apprehended.