Lessons Learned From Advising And Training The Republic Of South Vietnam’s Armed Forces

By Major Thomas E. Clinton Jr. USMC

The United States (US) has a long history of employing military advisors, from the American military occupation of the Philippines throughout the 19th century, and the Korea War in the 1950s, the Vietnam War 1950 to 1973, El Salvador 1984 to 1992, to current efforts in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). A strong Iraqi military is needed to support the future democratic government of Iraq. This will allow the US to disengage a large portion of its combat units from Iraq. The US must train the present Iraqi military to successfully take over responsibility for Iraq’s security and combat the current insurgency. The US Army and Marine Corps combat advisors will play a key role in ensuring the Iraqi military is properly organized, trained, and equipped to provide for a secure Iraq. There are lessons learned from training and advising the Republic of South Vietnam’s Armed Forces (RVNAF) during the Vietnam War 1950 to 1973 that could be applied in the ongoing advisory effort in Iraq. The focus of this thesis is to determine the lessons learned from selecting, training, and the organization of US Army and Marine Corps advisors during the Vietnam War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Normanby Press
• Release date: Nov 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781786250056

Major Thomas E. Clinton Jr. USMC

See Book Description

Book preview

This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – [e-mail]

Or on Facebook

Text originally published in 2007 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM ADVISING AND TRAINING THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH VIETNAM’S ARMED FORCES

by

THOMAS E. CLINTON JR., MAJOR, USMC

B.A., Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont, 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ABSTRACT 5

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 5

ACRONYMS 6

ILLUSTRATIONS 7

CHAPTER 1 — INTRODUCTION 8

CHAPTER 2 — LITERATURE REVIEW 12

CHAPTER 3 — THE ADVISORY EFFORT FROM 1950 to 1968 15

The Formative Years: 1950 to 1959 15

Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam 17

The Crucial Years: 1960 to 1964 25

The Buildup Years: 1965 to 1967 31

CHAPTER 4 — THE VIETNAMIZATION ERA FROM 1969 to 1973 38

National Security Study Memorandum 38

National Security Study Memorandum 36 39

The Midway Island Conference 40

The Vietnamization Plan 41

1970 to 1971 44

The Eastern Offensive: 1972 47

The Cease Fire: 1973 51

CHAPTER 5 — LESSONS LEARNED 54

Selection 54

Training 56

Organization 58

CHAPTER 6 — CONCLUSION 62

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 68

BIBLIOGRAPHY 69

ABSTRACT

The United States (US) has a long history of employing military advisors, from the American military occupation of the Philippines throughout the 19th century, and the Korea War in the 1950s, the Vietnam War 1950 to 1973, El Salvador 1984 to 1992, to current efforts in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). A strong Iraqi military is needed to support the future democratic government of Iraq. This will allow the US to disengage a large portion of its combat units from Iraq. The US must train the present Iraqi military to successfully take over responsibility for Iraq’s security and combat the current insurgency. The US Army and Marine Corps combat advisors will play a key role in ensuring the Iraqi military is properly organized, trained, and equipped to provide for a secure Iraq. There are lessons learned from training and advising the Republic of South Vietnam’s Armed Forces (RVNAF) during the Vietnam War 1950 to 1973 that could be applied in the ongoing advisory effort in Iraq. The focus of this thesis is to determine the lessons learned from selecting, training, and the organization of US Army and Marine Corps advisors during the Vietnam War.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the individuals who contributed to this study. My committee members: Dr. James Will banks, Mr. Bud Meador, and Mr. Joe Babb, whom provided invaluable guidance, and first-hand knowledge of a conflict that still haunts the American psyche. I would also like to thank my Staff Group Advisor, Mr. Dave Vance, for his encouragement during this project. My family also deserves credit for putting up with the long hours and missed family time on the weekends in order to complete this study.

ACRONYMS

ARVN—South Vietnamese Army

CG—Civil Guard

CIA—Central Intelligence Agency

CINCPAC—Commander and Chief of Pacific Forces

COMUSMACV—Commander, US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

CORDS—Civil Operations Revolutionary Development Support

CRIMP—Consolidated RVNAF Improvement and Modernization Plan

CTZ—Corps Tactical Zones

DRV—Democratic Republic of Vietnam

ICC—International Control Commission

JCS—Joint Chiefs of Staff

JGS—Joint General Staff

MAAG—Military Assistance Advisory Group

MAAGV—Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam

MACV—Military Assistance Command Vietnam

MAP—Military Assistance Program

MATA—Military Assistance Training Advisory

MOS—Military Occupational Specialty

MR—Military Regions

NSC—National Security Council

NVA—North Vietnamese Army

OIF—Operation Iraqi Freedom

PAVN—Peoples Army of Vietnam

RVN—Republic of Vietnam

RVNAF—Republic of South Vietnam Armed Forces

SDC—Self Defense Corps

TERM—Temporary Equipment Recovery Mission

TRIM—Training Relations and Instruction Mission

US—United States

USMACV—United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Command

USMC—United States Marine Corps

VC—Viet Cong

VNMC—South Vietnamese Marine Corps.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1. Organization, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam

Figure 2. Republic of Vietnam Military Territorial Organization

Figure 3. Organization, US Army Advisory System, Corps Tactical Zone

Figure 4. Organization, CTZ/Region CORDS

Figure 5. Organization, Regional Assistance Command, 1971-1972

CHAPTER 1 — INTRODUCTION

Do not try to do too much with your own hands. Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly. It is their war, and you are to help them, not to win it for them.{1} — T. E. Lawrence

Ever since the end of World War II, American military officers have gone overseas in large numbers to give advice and training to the military personnel of developing countries. The demands of these missions, in many ways subtle or intangible, are quite exceptional. The advisor, or trainer, is called upon to set aside his usual operational procedures as staff officers, or commander, and work in a strange setting outside the military organization to which he is accustomed.{2} — Dr. Edward C. Stewart

The United States (US) has a long history of employing military advisors, from the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) involvement during the Banana Wars of the 1920s; the American military occupation of the Philippines throughout the nineteenth century; Korea in the 1950s; the Vietnam War, 1950 to 1973; El Salvador, 1984 to 1992; to current efforts in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).

A strong Iraqi military is needed to support the future democratic government of Iraq. This will allow the US by design to disengage a large portion of its combat units from Iraq. The US must train the present Iraqi military to successfully take over responsibility for Iraq’s security, as well as combat the ongoing insurgency. The US Army and Marine Corps combat advisors will play a key role in ensuring the Iraqi military is properly trained, staffed, and equipped to deal with