Civilian Irregular Defense Group
Encyclopedia
Civilian Irregular Defense Group program (CIDG, pronounced "sid-gee") was a program developed by the U.S. government in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 to develop South Vietnamese irregular military
Irregular military
Irregular military refers to any non-standard military. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used....

 units from minority populations.

Purpose

The Civilian Irregular Defense Group program was formed for two reasons:
  1. U.S. mission Saigon believed that the South Vietnamese effort to create similar paramilitary units needed to be bolstered
  2. The U.S. feared that the Viet Cong would be able to recruit large numbers of minority troops.

History

The CIDG program was devised by the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

 in early 1961 to counter expanding Viet Cong influence in South Vietnam's Central Highlands
Tây Nguyên
Tây Nguyên, translated as Western Highlands and sometimes also called Central Highlands, is one of the regions of Vietnam. It contains the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lâm Đồng....

. Beginning in the village of Buon Enao, small A Teams from the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) moved into villages and set up Area Development Centers. Focusing on local defense and civic action, the Special Forces teams did the majority of the training. Villagers were trained and armed for village defense for two weeks, while localized Strike Forces would receive better training and weapons and served as a quick reaction force to react to Viet Cong attacks. The vast majority of the CIDG camps were initially manned by inhabitants of ethnic minority regions in the country (especially Montagnard
Degar
The Degar are the indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The term Montagnard means "mountain people" in French and is a carryover from the French colonial period in Vietnam. In Vietnamese, they are known by the term thượng - this term can also be applied to other minority ethnic...

), who disliked both the North
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

 and South Vietnamese and therefore quickly took to the American advisers. The program was widely successful, as once one village was pacified, it served as a training camp for other local villages.

By 1963, the military felt that the program was a great success, but also that the CIDG units and Special Forces units were not being employed properly, and ordered Operation Switchback, which transferred control of the CIDG program from the CIA over to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, MACV, , was the United States' unified command structure for all of its military forces in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.-History:...

. The CIDG Program was rapidly expanded, as the entire 5th Special Forces Group, U.S. Army Special Forces, moved into Vietnam, and the CIDG units stopped focusing on village defense and instead took part in more conventional operations, most notably border surveillance. Most of these were converted to Vietnam Army Ranger
Vietnamese Rangers
The Vietnamese Rangers, properly known in Vietnamese as the Biệt Ðộng Quân, more commonly known as the ARVN Rangers, were the Rangers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Trained and assisted by American Special Forces and Ranger advisers, the Vietnamese Rangers infiltrated beyond enemy lines in...

 units in 1970.

See also

  • Battle of A Shau
  • Battle of Dong Xoai
    Battle of Dong Xoai
    The Battle of Đồng Xoài was a major battle fought during the Communist Summer Offensive of 1965 as part of the Vietnam War. The battle took place in Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam, between June 9 and 13, 1965. In 1964, General Nguyen Khanh gained control of the South Vietnamese government after...

  • Battle of Hiep Hoa
    Battle of Hiep Hoa
    The Battle of Hiep Hoa was a minor battle of the Vietnam War. On the night of November 22, 1963, an estimated 500 Viet Cong fighters overrun the Hiep Hoa Special Forces Camp, resulting in four American personnel MIA. Vietnamese commando units and the American special operation forces resisted...

  • Battle of Kham Duc
    Battle of Kham Duc
    The Battle of Kham Duc was a major battle of the Vietnam War, also known in Vietnam as the American War. The event occurred in Quang Tin Province , South Vietnam, between May 10 and May 12, 1968. During the Tet Offensive of 1968, the Vietnam People's Army 2nd Division tried to capture Da Nang but...

  • Battle of Nam Dong
    Battle of Nam Dong
    The Battle of Nam Dong was fought on July 5 until the next day on in 1964, when the Viet Cong and PAVN attacked the Nam Dong CIDG camp in an attempt to overrun it.-Battle:...

  • MIKE Force
    MIKE Force
    The Mobile Strike Force Command, or MIKE Force, was a key component of United States Army Special Forces in the Vietnam War. They served with indigenous soldiers selected and trained through the Civilian Irregular Defense Group and were led by American SF and Australian SAS...

    the mobile forces of the CIDG program.
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