CHAPTER III

The CIDG Program Under the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam: July 1963-May 1965

From 1963 to 1965 the Civilian Irregular Defense Group program continued to develop rapidly and there were changes not only in its organization and command structure but also in its mission. New combat techniques evolved and the integral role the CIDG would play in the U.S. counterinsurgency effort in Vietnam began to take shape. The Montagnard uprising forced a re-evaluation of the program and placed new emphasis on developing satisfactory turnover procedures. The U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam became the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Attention continued to be devoted to civic action and psychological operations with further augmentation of the Special Forces in these areas, and there were new developments in the logistical support system for the CIDG program.

With the phase-out on 1 July 1963 of the U.S. Mission's logistical responsibility for the CIDG program, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, assumed complete responsibility for all Special Forces activities in Vietnam, with the exception of four A detachments engaged in surveillance along the Laotian border. These detachments passed to the control of the Military Assistance Command in November 1963 when it became responsible for everything, including the entire border surveillance mission, in the CIDG program. In order to achieve closer co-ordination between Special Forces (Provisional), Vietnam, and Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, a tactical operations center, composed of the S-2 and S-3 sections from Nha Trang, was established in Saigon in March 1964. The logistical support center S-1 and S-4 staff sections and the headquarters section remained in Nha Trang. This split command remained unchanged until the end of October 1964.

Until May 1964 the Special Forces chain of command—from headquarters at Nha Trang to B detachments at the four corps