To better support their mission of providing air support for the Brown Water Navy in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, the Black Ponies were split into two detachments. Detachment Bravo was located on the Army Air Field near the coast town at Vung Tau. Bravo Det. supported operations in the northern and eastern portions of the Delta. These included operations along the Vam Co Tay and the Vam Co Dong Rivers - Operation Giant Slingshot - and the vital Long Tau Shipping Channel, transiting forty-five miles of the Rung Sat Special Zone, from the South China Sea to Saigon. The Rung Sat was a strategic area surrounding the Long Tau River, which connects Saigon to the South China Sea. The shipping channel into Saigon ran mazelike along this river, which made numerous tight turns, often doubling back on itself, as it snaked through the mangrove marshlands. Extracted from Kit Lavell's book 'The Flying Black Ponies'
 
Mark Spedding sent me a large group photo taken at Det. B sometime around August 1969. He wrote the names of those appearing in the photo on the back. A click on the picture below, will take you to the full sized version. 
 
Jeff Vetter sent me a bunch of pictures as well, I ran them all through Paint Shop Pro one time to clean them up some and put them here. If you know anybody's name or can improve the captions, Send to Bob. Have fun :)

On Wing

Ltjg. Ed "Soup" Campbell, Ltjg. Barry Fry, Ltjg. Mike Kersey, Ltjg. Vern Rosenberger, Ltjg. Joel Sandberg, Lt. Art Savard, Ltjg. Charlie Fail
 

Standing - Left to Right

Lt. Jerry Goodman, ADJ3 'Quincy' Quinton, ATN2 Lou Diaz, ATN2 Mike Rowlett, ADCS Joe Crosson, AMS3 'Critch' Critchfield, AKAN Paul Zinn, AMS2 Tom Fontana, AMH2 Jeff Vetter, AO3 'Super Jew' Reine, ATN2 Bruce 'Hippy' Durand, AZ2 Marlin 'Spike' Cross, Ltjg. Pete Dunn, AO2 'Polack' Palzkill, ADJC 'Chief' Sorrell, ADJ2 'Si' Sibert, ADJ3 'Slinger' Riley, AME2 'Rusty' Rush, AO3 'Wheels' Wheeler, AE2 Gary Painter, PRC Ernie Withers, AE2 'Jank' Janke, ADJAN Terry Laatch, CYN3 Jim Wellens, ASM3 Brown (FASU), Ltjg. Bill Robertson, YN1 L. Hunt, WO1 'Gunner' Masson, Lt. Bill Leebern
 

Sitting - Left to Right

AMS1 'Swag' Schweigert, SD2 'Ti' Tinitigan, ATN3 'Mitch' Mitchell, ADJ1 'Johnny' Johnson, PN3 Mark Spedding, LCDR OIC 'Mr. B' Butterfield, ADJ2 'Al' Allison, ASM1 Charles Perrault, AO2 'Val' Valdez, AO3 'Butch' Faubion, ADJ2 'Smitty' Smith, AO2 'Country' Self, Ltjg. Gerry Mahoney, Ltjg. Jim Chadwick