SAIGON 4140 RE CONSOLIDATED MILITIA - 1967/11/03

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05009842
• Document Creation Date: July 27, 2018

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1. SENDING INTERIM REPLY
AS WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS TO
GET RETURNS
SO FAR NO INFORMATION OF "CONSOLIDATED
3.3(h)(2)
MILITIA/ GUERRILLA ORGANIZATION"
OTHER THAN IV CORPS
REPORTS,
3.3(h)(2)
SPECIFICALLY FROM CHUONG THIEN PROVINCE. OB NUMBERS
PROBLEM MORE COMPLEX EVEN THAN REFERENCE SUGGESTS.
2. SPEAK OF CONSOLIDATING HAMLET '
AND VILLAGE.GUERRILLAS BUT DO NOT MENTION MILITIA.
L
MENTIONS "ART-TIME" GUERRILLAS. A NUMBER OF !,E)17! !ELL
OF BREAKING GUERRILLA UNITS INTO SAPPER GROUPS D GIVING
THEM SPECIAL. TRAINING. '
3. REVIEW, OF. SEPTEMBER PROVINCE REPORTS AND RECENT
DOCUMENTS (E.G.
:
INDICATE GUERRILLA PROGRAM-- BOTH PLANS AND ORGANIZATION-
. r.
. _
IN STATE OF FLUX THROUGHOUT COUNTRY AND APPARENTLY MOVING '
-
DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS IN DIFFERENT PROVINCES. VILLAGE '
3.3(h)(2)
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PAGE TWO SAIGON
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SE ET
3.5(c)
COMMITTEES BEING GIVEN CONTRADICTORY ORDERS TO ENCOURAGE
MORE GUERRILLAS TO MOVE UP TO MAIN FORCES AND TO STRENGTHEN
GUERRILLA UNITS.
4. WE ARE PROBABLY KIDDING OURSELVES IF WE THINK IN
TERMS OF TWO RATHER UNIFORM AND DISPARATE CLASSES OF IRREGULARS--
GUERRILLAS AND MILITIA. THE IRREGULAR STRUCTURE APPEARS
TO HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF ORGANIZATIONS AND TO
VARY FROM REGION TO REGION, PERHAPS FROM PROVINCE TO PROVINCE.
IT IS A ROUGHLY PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURE THE BASE OF WHICH
DISOLVES INTO THE MASS OF THE PEOPLE UNDER VIET CONG CONTROL
IN A MANNER THAT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DRAW A SHARP LINE
AND SAY THAT THOSE ON ONE SIDE ARE IRREGULARS AND THE OTHERS
ARE NOT. SIMILARLY, THOUGH PERHAPS TO A LESSER EXTENT, THE
EXISTENCE OF "PART-TIME GUERRILLAS :AND, POSSIBLE FULL-TIME
MILITIA MAKES THE LINE BETWEEN THESE CATEGORiES A VERY
FUZZY ONE.
5. THE.ATTEMPi TO ENUMERATE THE IRREGULARS WITHIN
PRECISE CATEGORIES IS A SISYPHEAN TASK. THERE WILL ALWAYS
BE OVERLAP'S bR OMISSIONS. THIS SEEMS FAR LESS IMPORTANT
THAN THE FACT THAT MACV j��2 IS STILL OFFICIALLY CARRYING
THE RIDICULOUS FAGURE OF 112,760 IRREGULARS, UNCHANGED FOR
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PAGE THREE SAIGON S R E T 3.5(c)
OVER A YEAR AND A HALF. AND, IF THEY CHANGE FROM THIS TO
THE FIGURE THAT WAS AGREED AT THE CONFERENCE HERE, 70,000
TO 90,000 GUERRILLAS, ALTHOUGH IT WILL BE A GREAT IMPROVEMENT,
THE SPREAD IS TOO NARROW AND PROBABLY SHOULD BE RAISED
CONSIDERABLY ON THE UPPER SIDE.
6. I WOULD URGE THAT INSTEAD OF STRUGGLING WITH MACV
OVER WHETHER THE LINE BETWEEN GUERRILLAS AND MILITIA HAS BEEN
FURTHER FUZZED AND FURTHER INACCURACY ADDED TO ALREADY
DUBIOUS GUERRILLA OB FIGURES, WE OUGHT TO STRIVE TO ACHIEVE
A WHOLE NEW APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF QUANTIFYING VIET CONG
IRREGULAR STRENGTH. I SUGGEST THAT COMMUNIST "PEOPLES FORCES"
SHOULD BE THOUGHT OF MORE IN TERMS OF EXPLOITATION OF
POPULATION RESOURCES RATHER THAN IN TERMS OF CLASSICAL MILITARY
OB. I %romp LIKE TO SEE THE PROBLEM HANDLED 'IN. TERMS
SOMEWHAT LIKE THE PARAGRAPH WHICH FOLLOWS.
7. THE VIET CONG HAVE ACCESS TO BETWEEN 2.5 MILLION
AND 3 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE TERRITORY THEYCONTROL. PLUS SOME
IN DISPUTED AND GVN-HELD TERRITORY. THEY CONSIDER. ALL OF
THEM RESOURCES TO BE USED IN WAR. A LARGE PART OF THEM ARE
DIRECTLY EMPLOYED ON A SPORADIC, PART-TIME, OR FULL-TIME BASIS
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1
PAGE FOUR SAIGON S E T 3.5(c)
IN MILITARY AND QUASI�MILITARY ACTIVITIES. ,PERHAPS AS MANY
AS 100,000 ARE SERViNG AS FULL�TIME GUERRILLAS AND AT ANY
GIvEN TIME THERE MAY BE 100,000 OR MORE OF THE OTHERS
STANDING GUARD. BUILDING FORTIFICATIONS, REMOVING WOUNDED
AND DEAD, PERFORMING WOGISTIC SERVICES OR OTHERWISE PARTICIPATING
IN THE VC WAR EFFORT. VHAT THEY DO FOR THE VIET CONG IS
LARGELY DONE BY UNIFORMED FULL-TIME TROOPS IN ALLIED FORCES,
WHICH MAKES COMPARISON OF NUMBERS MISLEADING.
8. WILL REPLY BY CABLE AS SOON AS ANSWERS ARE RECIEVED �
FROM OUR IV CORPS REGIONAL OFFICE AND MACV OB.
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� SEPTEMBER VC ACTIVITIES REPORT OF CHUONG TH1EN PROVINCE
(PARA I. REF A) INDICATES THAT
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STATED 3.3(h)(2)
THAT A COSVN DIRECTIVE or JULY 1967 "DID AWAY" WITH VC HAMLET AND
VILLAGE GUERRILLAS. AND "CONSOLIDATED A MILITIA/GUERRILLA ORGANIZA-
TION." REPORTED ORGANIZATION APPEARS TO COMBINE GUERRILLAS AND
SELF-DEFENSE MILITIA. REF A FURTHER STATES THAT "MEMBER OF VC TRA
V/NH PROVINCE MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, . VERIFIED THE ESTABLISH
MENT OF MILITIA/GUERRILLA UNITS." VC ACTIVITIES SEPTEMBER REPORT or
tv CORPS (REF B. PARA k). COMMENTED THAT "VC APPEAR TO BE TRYING TO
CONSOLIDATE THEIR LOW-LEVEL UNITS."
k. BECAUSE OF IMMINENT DROPPING FROM MACV 05 OF VC SELF-
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DEFENSE ELEMENTS (ONE. OF TII:A.Ma ,ikRENT COMPONENTS OF CONSOLI-b
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DATED "MILFI'IAFGUJJL.hA JW TE, R r:PDX
STICKY BUT FUNDAMENTAL, ORM- T7). ACCOUNTING PROBT,EM FOX
EXAMPLE HOW WOUL ON COP FLI REPORT OR DOCUME1,gr`
LISTING 10, 000 "MILITIAMUERR11_,', A:;" FROM PROVINCE X, SHOULD THE ENTIRE
10, 000 BE EXCLUDED OM THE OB,, OR ALL OF THEM INCLUDED, OR SHOULD
ONE MAKE AN ARBITRARY ECI.SION 70 INCLUDE SOME OF THEM AND NO T�
OTHERS. THE LAST COURSE WOULD RAISE VERY DIFFICULT AND POTENTIALLY
CONTROVERSIAL PROBLEMS EGAR DING CRITERIA.
BECAUSE THIS PROBLEM COULD DIRECTLY AFFECT WHOLE OB
PICTURE. REQUEST YOU TAKE FOLLOW INC STEPS:
A, DETERMINE STATE OF EVIDENCE CONCERNING SO-
CALLED "MILITIA/CUraRILLA" UNLTS (WHETHER e FOR EXAMPLE,
SUCH EVIDENCE IS CONFIN) �0 IV CORPS CAS REPORTSiL �
B. INFORM CHIEF OF MACV OB BRANCH OF THE POTENTIAL
ACCOUNTING PROBLEM (WHICH HE MAY WELL BE AWARE OF '
WINCOR
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