The Roles of Paramilitary Forces in the Vietnamese Insurgency 1960-1965

Abstract

This case study begins with a discussion of the Communist insurgent organizational structure in the Republic of South Vietnam. The purpose for this review was to bring into focus the basic problems the South Vietnamese government forces faced in combatting the insurgent movement. Paramilitary forces are ideally suited to combat insurgency at the base of its very strength- -the populace. Paramilitary forces are found at this 'grass roots' level and if properly motivated, equipped, and led can materially aid in the total counterinsurgency effort. In Vietnam the Popular Forces, Regional Forces and to a lesser extent, the Civilian Irregular Defense Group were not integrated into the total military effort during the period covered by this study. Responsibility for this failure can be traced: (1) to the early USMAAG concepts that internal security was a police function, and (2) to training the ARVN to fight a conventional war.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 08, 1971
Accession Number
AD0529260

Entities

People

  • William E. Crouch Jr.

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Governments
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • Minority Groups
  • National Governments
  • Organizational Structure
  • Paramilitary Forces
  • Psychological Operations
  • Security
  • South Vietnam
  • Southeast Asia
  • Training
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Library and Information Science/ Studies, Southeast Asia Studies, Bibliography of Vietnam and Lao Studies.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.