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GV South Vietnamese troops walk along jungle path in Aro Valley, Laos.
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CU Soldier using walkie talkie radio
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SV Soldier climbing down into bunker
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Sign in Vietnamese
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CU Captured arms
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SV Heavy equipment being manhandled by troops to helicopter
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SV Soldier goes into underground shelter entrance
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CU Bag of grain being handled, rice spills out.
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SV Bunker PAN TO tyre lying in jungle
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TELERECORDING

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: The South Vietnamese operation in Laos in aimed at strangling the Ho Chi Minh supply trail, but the troops have also been engaged in searches for enemy supply dumps. The South Vietnamese troops claim so far to have captured 40,000 tons of enemy supplies, and an NBC cameraman in the field was on the spot to film the discovery of one such arms cache.

SYNOPSIS: Men of the South Vietnamese Army's first division have been fanning out into the Aro Valley of laos looking for hidden enemy arms supplies. Some of the eastern branches of the Ho Chi Minh trail network run through this valley. The South Vietnamese troops claim that so far in their search of this area they have captured 40,000 tons of enemy supplies, including 200 barrels of fuel.

Most of the material, including fuel and ammunition, is destroyed. Weapons and machinery left behind by the Communists is salvaged. South Vietnamese commanders say that from the appearance of the area, the Communists got away with half their supplies before the operation to clear the Ho Chi Minh trail began. For the South Vietnamese army this is just the beginning. There are hundreds of other bamboo trails like this one in Southern Laos. The South Vietnamese troops are going to have to check them all if they effectively want to cut off the flow of supplies from the North.