highway, were inappropriate and inadequate. As a result, little productive work was accomplished considering the high potential of the personnel. In December 1966, the laboratory moved from the small dusty store to a newer building, a Vietnamese constructed barracks. Although the building was larger, the site was less favorable.

In June 1967, authorities decided to construct new facilities for the central laboratories at Long Binh for the purpose of establishing more appropriate buildings, bringing the 9th Medical Laboratory and the 20th Preventive Medicine Unit together for more co-ordinated function, bringing the 9th Medical Laboratory in close support of major hospitals at Long Binh to free a mobile laboratory for service elsewhere, and bringing the 9th Medical Laboratory in close range of its supply and personnel support units. It was not until December 1968, however, that, the laboratory moved into its new fixed facilities, but not before it had been exposed to hostile fire and isolated twice earlier that year.

The 44th Medical Brigade was transferred from 1st Logistical Command to the Surgeon, USARV, in 1967. After this transfer, a set of equipment and supplies, developed by a USAMRDC contract, was ordered from manufacturers in sufficient quantities to provide for all medical laboratory services within the 44th Medical Brigade.

In his role as USARV pathology consultant, Colonel. Baker recommended assignments of all medical laboratory personnel within the 44th Medical Brigade, after their initial 2-week period of special training in the base laboratory in Saigon. (Chart 14)

Innovations

An innovation in staffing that produced outstanding results in 1968 was the assignment of an internist to the laboratory staff to head an infectious diseases department. In the 6-month period after the internist arrived, the output of diagnostic information in febrile cases more than doubled. In 1968, 29,160 diagnostic serology procedures were performed.

Veterinary laboratory officers played an important role in Vietnam. They tested ice for chlorination potability and developed serologic methods for diagnosis of melioidosis, leptospirosis, scrub typhus, and murine typhus.

The thrust of medical zoology in the laboratory system, was for quality control, mainly in laboratory diagnosis of malaria and amebiasis. The malaria smears reviewed by the laboratory increased each year, from 1965 to 1969, as follows: 1965, 300; 1966, 1,199; 1967, 3,312; and 1968, 8,176. This review for quality of smear, staining, and identification of parasites was returned to each unit submitting smears, so that any deficient technique could be recognized. Where needed, special visits by central laboratory personnel were made. Similarly, materials