Civilian Irregular Defense Group program

Civilian Irregular Defense Group
CIDG unit training
Active	1961–1970
Country	South Vietnam
Allegiance	Central Intelligence Agency U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
Branch	Republic of Vietnam Military Forces
Type	Militia
Role	Counter-insurgency Direct Action Jungle warfare Raiding Reconnaissance Unconventional warfare

The Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG, pronounced /ˈsɪdʒiː/, SID-jee; Vietnamese: Lực lượng Dân sự chiến đấu) was a military program developed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Vietnam War, which was intended to develop South Vietnamese irregular military units from indigenous ethnic-minority populations. The main purpose of setting up the CIDG program was to counter the growing influence of Viet Cong (VC) in the Central Highlands by training and arming the villagers for village defense. The program rapidly expanded after the US military transferred its control from CIA to MACV after two years since its inception and changed its focus from village defense to more conventional operations. From June 1967 onwards the CIDG members were made part of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) or other government agencies to increase Vietnamese participation. By late 1970, the remaining CIDG camps were converted to Vietnamese Rangers camps. The indigenous ethnic-minority people that formed the CIDG reaped significant benefits by the government of South Vietnam for their allegiance and it was the first time that minority groups were given full status as citizens of South Vietnam.