Roland Broberg Photos

I was part of AST#3 ground HIRAN stations in RVN and based in Thailand, near NKP near the tiny village of Sakon Nahkon. I was TDY out of Topeka, KS on July 1969, the 1374th GES. I am also interested in knowing, now that all appears declassified, if our work might also have been used by the BATCAT aircraft that dropped sensors on the Ho Chi Minh Trail during Igloo White. I am told by younger vets, though 40 years later, that we definitely participated in more than photo mapping. Do you have anything on that?

I cannot identify the mountain top army camp that I spent some weeks at. It had a huge highly secure, air conditioned, air filtered and off limits Morton building housing microwave communications and computer type equipment. There were giant microwave dishes outside the building. The camp was very small, perhaps 150 mostly security folks. The top of the mountain was shaved off and had double 18’ high fences with a no-mans land between. We could not leave the camp without escort. Conditions were fairly primitive, except for that building. There was a training HIRAN site between the fences. Let me know if you can identify someone that might help in that endeavor.

I shall never forget the long helicopter gunship ride from RVN over an unspecified jungle that I now know was Laos. The window gunners, Army, had their fingers on the triggers of the 50 cal's from the moment we passed over that jungle until we arrived in Thailand. We were hit by something that grazed the top of the chopper shredding the engine cowling and sending it up through the blades. It caused quite a panic as there was absolutely no place to land. I had no weapon and wished I did.

Roland Broberg


Roland Broberg Photos from AST#3, Thailand


                                                                                              



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