I am currently working on my fourth novel which will involve Swift Boat ops in Vietnam to a considerable extent. I have not had much luck in discovering exactly what sailors new to the program were taught before deploying in country.

I did go through counterinsurgency training in 1967 and subsequently had weapons training in early January of 1968 at Pendleton (2nd ITR)before reporting to my PG in country just before Tet.

Years later as I served as OI division Chief in an east coast carrier my LPO was a former Swiftie by the name of RD1 Ron Gagnon. Ron passed away several years back from complications of diabetes presumptively associated with Agent Orange.

Any information on Coronado Swift training and RVN operations would be sincerely appreciated.