Khmer Air Force: Difference between revisions

Following several attacks on Cambodian airfields early in the war, the KAF Security troops underwent a major reorganization by mid-1971. The battered BFA at Pochentong was expanded accordingly from a single rifle battalion of three companies, to a full security regiment aligning three battalions, receiving the designation of '''1st Air Fusiliers Regiment''' ({{lang|fr|1er Regiment de Fusiliers de l'Air}} – 1 RFA). Between July 1971 and December 1972, Air Force battalions were rotated through intensive infantry training courses manned by the [[U.S. Army-Vietnam Individual Training Program]] (UITG) in South Vietnam to upgrade their combat capabilities, with selected airmen receiving some specialized training as well – by early 1973, 1 RFA aligned two rifle battalions plus one specialized battalion trained for search-and-rescue (SAR) missions, crash-site recovery and VIP protection. The KAF Security command under Colonel [[Sou Chhorn]] was augmented in 1974 when a second unit was brought to strength at Kampong Cham Airbase, which became the '''2nd Air Fusiliers Regiment''' (French: ''2éme Regiment de Fusiliers de l'Air'' – 2 RFA).<ref>Conboy, ''FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975'' (2011), pp. 218; 224, note 9.</ref> 2 RFA battalions were trained in-country by the [[Khmer Special Forces]] at the Ream Infantry Training Centre near Kampong Som.<ref name="McCouaig, 1991 p. 15">Conboy and McCouaig, ''South-East Asian Special Forces'' (1991), p. 15.</ref> By April 1975, KAF Security troops totalled some 1,600 airmen organized in six light infantry battalions, equipped with an assortment of outdated and modern USU.S. and captured Soviet or Chinese small-arms.<ref>Conboy and Bowra, ''The War in Cambodia 1970-75'' (1989), p. 18.</ref>