This study is the first of a two-part history of Air Force forward air control operations in Southeast Asia. Part II currently in preparation, will take the story through the years 1965-1970, a period which witnessed many thousands of air control missions flown in support of U.S., South Vietnamese and Allied ground combat units during operations against enemy forces. In this narrative, Major Rowley describes the many problems which faced the first air controllers after their arrival in South Vietnam in early 1962. He discusses their efforts to overcome the language barrier and help train Vietnamese Air Force personnel, their role in establishing a centralized air control system, and the tactics and techniques they developed during the years prior to President Lyndon B. Johnson's decision in 1965 to dispatch large U.S. ground forces to Southeast Asia to help thwart the attempted conquest of South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese. Major Rowley's study is one of a series of historical works currently being written by Air Force historians on air operations in Southeast Asia. His account is based on primary source materials in the Office of Air Force History; the USAF Historical Archives at Maxwell AFB. Ala.; the Air University Library; and the records of the Air Staff and the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. The author has examined official correspondence- - letters, memoranda, and working papers- -plus a variety of historical studies and reports, including organizational histories. Interviews with forward air controllers and other key personnel-conducted both by the author and other military historians- -also were drawn upon. Transcripts of these are available in the Office of Air Force History or in the collections of the Historical Archives at Maxwell AFB. Ala.