22 August Thirty Sentry Dog handlers and their K9’s from the 212th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, were deployed to Phu Loi Base Camp based on the increase in enemy ground probes and sapper attacks to which the base camp and the critical support facilities located within were subject to.

     Due to the immediate requirement for the Sentry Dog support, some of the normal requirements such as hot water and the proper kennel facilities were waived in order to exploit deployment. A commitment was made to provide the necessary support by 1 September.

Personal Reflections  "I along with twenty-nine other souls were packed up and shipped off to Phu Loi. We were told that they had requested us because sappers had been attacking them quite regularly. When we arrived we set up and got to work immediately.

     We walked posts between bunkers. The only people we saw during our shift was dog handlers who had adjacent posts, and the Sergeant of the Guard (SOG). We were issued green and red star cluster slap flares. This was to notify the SOG if something was going on in our area. Radio communication was intermittent at best. We were told that we were in a free fire zone and that anything in the wire was fair game.

     One night while I was walking guard with my K9 Duke, we heard a moped out in front of the wire going down path between the rice patties. I heard the crank of the field phone in the bunkers and heard the guards clearly ask for permission to fire. There was nothing but silence and then the field phone of another bunker began to crank and again permission was requested to fire. Once again nothing. The moped stopped and all was silent until you heard the whoosh of rockets being fired toward the helicopter flight line.  Then three or four explosions and the moped sprang to life again going back the way it came. Once again the field phones began to crank and permission was requested to open fire but the permission never came.

     This event went on almost every month with three to four rockets being lobbed in and the guards being told they could not fire on the target. If we were spared the rockets one month, the number of rockets lobbed in doubled the next month". PFC Robert Litton, 212th MP Company (Sentry Dog), 720th MP Battalion.

31 October The kennel facility upgrades promised by command at the Base Camp by 1 September had yet to be initiated, and the lack of proper facilities endangered the health of the K9’s so a command letter outlining the problems was forwarded through channels requesting expeditious action. Eventually the detachment compound was improved.

29 November The 18th MP Brigade commanding officer BG Timmerberg presented the 18th MP Brigade Gold Medallion Award for outstanding professionalism and dedication to SFC Samuel Nickens NCOIC of the 212th MP Company (Sentry Dog) Phu Loi Detachment. The award was presented in a brief ceremony after an inspection at the detachment by the general on the progress of the building and refurbishing of the detachment area begun on 22 August with the assignment of the 30-man team.