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PART II - NARRATIVE SUMMARY
PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION
The total strength of 1st Tank Battalion is 50 Marine Officers, one Naval Officer, 912 Marine enlisted, and 17 Naval enlisted. The battalion joined four Marine Officer, one Naval Officer, 235 Marine enlisted and two Naval enlisted during March. This includes five Marine Officer, 130 Marine enliste and two Naval enlisted as Company B, 5th Tank Battalion. Loses were three Marine Officer, two Naval Officers, 38 Marine enlisted and one Naval enlisted.
The battalion anticipates the loss of five Marine Officers and 41 Marine enlisted during the month of April.
Eighteen requests for extensions of overseas tour were forwarded during March. These extensions bring the total man-months gained through extensions during 1968 to 162. The major incentive for extension of overseas tour was the special 30-day leave program.
On 13 March 1968, Company B (Rein), 5th Tank Battalion, with a strength of five Officers, 130 Marine enlisted and two Navy corpsman was attached to the battalion. With the addition of one more tank company, the S-1 is now administratively supporting two and one-third additional companies, withourt augmentation of administrative support personnel. At present the battalion is suffering a critical shortage of NCO's in the 0141 field. Of the seven sergeants rated by manning level, present on board strength is four, with three of these rotating to CONUS with 45 days. Of the seven corporals rated, the battalion has four though it is anticipated that two will be gained through promotions in the near future. Through a reorganization of the Battalion S-1, a redistribution of all 0141 NCO's was made to companies in an attempt to gain full utilization of their experience. Although placing a heavier burden on the battalion, the reorganization proved itself by reducing unit diary error rate to .2 percent.
The battalion's morale during this period was excellent although all personnel were required to work long hours in varied jobs.
A total of 15 casualties were sustained during March, four med-evac, and 11 non-med-evac. There was one non-hostile casualty, requiring hospitalization who eventually expired.
There was one special courts-martial and two summary courts-martial during March. There were three punishments under Article 15.
ENCLOSURE (1) 2 (MARKED OUT)
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