In 1964 an Army gunship platoon was created in South Vietnam and was originally based at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon. One of the pilots was a recent graduate from Arkansas and the platoon chose Razorbacks as its call sign. The Razorbacks primary mission starting in 1965 was Saigon security and the support of ground troops, both U.S. Army and ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam). During the TET offensive in 1968, the Razorbacks were instrumental in the defense of Saigon and Tan Son Nhut.