The
Programs Evaluation Office was a military mission to
LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, established in 1955 by the
United States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military...
.
With the end of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Laos was no longer under the
French UnionThe French Union was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial system, the "French Empire" and to abolish its "indigenous" status.-History:...
but entirely sovereign and was governed by the
Royal Lao GovernmentRoyal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
. The
Royal Lao Army-Origins:The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the Armee Nationale Laotienne of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
was placed under the Ministry of Defense in
VientianeVientiane is the capital city of Laos, situated in the Mekong Valley. It is also Laos's largest city. The estimated population of the city is 200,000 while the number of people living in the Vientiane metropolitan area is believed to be over 730,000...
. The agreements reached at the
Geneva Conference (1954)The Geneva Conference was a conference between many countries that agreed to end hostilities and restore peace in French Indochina and Vietnam...
prohibited Laos from having foreign military bases and participating in any foreign military alliance, but allowed a small French military training mission which supported the Royal Lao Army.
The
Programs Evaluation Office was a military mission to
LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, established in 1955 by the
United States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military...
.
Motive
With the end of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Laos was no longer under the
French UnionThe French Union was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial system, the "French Empire" and to abolish its "indigenous" status.-History:...
but entirely sovereign and was governed by the
Royal Lao GovernmentRoyal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
. The
Royal Lao Army-Origins:The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the Armee Nationale Laotienne of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
was placed under the Ministry of Defense in
VientianeVientiane is the capital city of Laos, situated in the Mekong Valley. It is also Laos's largest city. The estimated population of the city is 200,000 while the number of people living in the Vientiane metropolitan area is believed to be over 730,000...
. The agreements reached at the
Geneva Conference (1954)The Geneva Conference was a conference between many countries that agreed to end hostilities and restore peace in French Indochina and Vietnam...
prohibited Laos from having foreign military bases and participating in any foreign military alliance, but allowed a small French military training mission which supported the Royal Lao Army. As part of its goal of
containmentContainment was a United States policy using military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to temper the spread of Communism, enhance America’s security and influence abroad, and prevent a "domino effect". A component of the Cold War, the policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet...
, the U.S. sought to ensure that the Royal Lao Army was capable of meeting the threat posed by the
Pathet LaoThe Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after a civil war, or insurgent revolution, lasting from the 1950s to 1975. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with...
, who were backed by communist
North VietnamNorth Vietnam, also called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976....
.
As a subterfuge to get around the prohibition against foreign military personnel imposed by the
Geneva AgreementsThe Geneva Agreements of 1954 arranged a settlement which brought about an end to the First Indochina war. The agreement was reached at the end of the Geneva Conference. A ceasefire was signed and France agreed to withdraw its troops from the region. French Indochina was split into three...
– which the United States had pledged to honor – the Department of Defense in December 1955 established a disguised military mission in
VientianeVientiane is the capital city of Laos, situated in the Mekong Valley. It is also Laos's largest city. The estimated population of the city is 200,000 while the number of people living in the Vientiane metropolitan area is believed to be over 730,000...
called the Programs Evaluation Office (PEO). The PEO became operational on December 13, 1955 and worked under the cover of the civilian aid mission and was staffed by United States military personnel and headed by a general officer, all of whom wore civilian clothes and had been removed from Department of Defense rosters of active service personnel. From 1955 to 1961, the PEO gradually supplanted the French military mission in providing equipment and training to the Royal Lao Army.
Change of Government in Laos
A coalition government emerged in Vientiane in 1957, which included royalists as well as the
Pathet Lao, but lasted only until July 1958, when there was a right-wing coup through which General
Phoumi NosavanPhoumi Nosavan was a Lao military and political figure of the Vietnam War . Nosavan was of Chinese descent.Backed by the CIA and the Programs Evaluation Office, Phoumi, then a colonel, became a cabinet minister in the right-wing government of the Kingdom of Laos in February 1959 and a general...
emerged as a head of state. As an anti-communist, Phoumi was concerned by the spread of the
Pathet Lao's influence, and he requested additional help from the United States. By 1959, the PEO had more than 100 members on its staff, and the United States was paying the entire cost of the Royal Lao Army's salaries.
Up-grade
On August 9, 1960, Phoumi’s government was removed in a lightning
coup d'état by a group termed the Neutralists led by Captain
Kong LeKong Le is a former paratrooper captain in the Royal Lao Army known for overthrowing the government of Laos in a 1960 coup d'état.-Coup of 1960:On August 9, Kong Le led the Second Paratroop Battalion in a nearly bloodless coup...
, a paratroop officer of the Royal Lao Army. PEO headquarters in Vientiane became inactive following the coup, but the PEO branch office in Savannakhét -- Phoumi's headquarters -- continued to supply and pay Phoumi's troops. Eventually, Phoumi re-captured Vientiane. In April 1961, the PEO was upgraded to a
Military Assistance Advisory GroupMilitary Assistance Advisory Group is a designation for American military advisors sent to assist in the training of conventional armed forces of Third World countries...
(MAAG), and its members were allowed to wear uniforms. The MAAG was withdrawn in 1962 under the terms of the Geneva Agreement, and CIA personnel operating from a base in
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
took over the support of those opposed to the
Pathet Lao.