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South Vietnam - Leadership

The problems of leadership, promotions, and grade were interrelated and deserve special attention. Thieu made loyalty, rather than professional competence, his main criteria for flag officer appointments. The rank and file recognized how senior officials were selected, and their morale and motivation suffered. There were always some capable commanders and some good units, but they were not typical of the whole.

ARVN officers as a group came from the middle and upper-educated classes of Vietnamese society, comprised primarily of a few of the old aristocracy, the officer group created by the French military during the Indo-China War, and the rising Commercial/business classes from the major cities, particularly Saigon. While there were many outstanding exceptions, surprisingly large numbers of this officer corps seemed to lack aggressiveness, leadership ability, and a full professional commitment to their profession. Considerable numbers of ARVN field officers seemed to prefer rear area assignment rather than combat command. Some sought political jobs (in provinces and districts), so that they could avoid the rigors, boredom, and dangers of training and combat, and a few sought to use their positions for personal or even financial advantage.

Promotions did not come easily in the ARVN. A colonel may command a division, as the popular Tran Ba Di did in the Ninth. Regiments were given to lieutenant colonels and sometimes majors. Captains often command battalions. Rank is tight, but there were programs inaugurated after Tet to give merit promotions in the field, especially in raising promising young noncommissioned officers to company-grade officer level. But most promotions still were based more on seniority than merit, and a number are across-the-board promotions of one grade for all enlisted ranks ordered by the government to celebrate, for instance, a new national holiday. During 1969 additional promotions were be given officers, noncoms and enlisted men in July, October and December, with first priority being given men with more than two years of service who have been passed over once by the Promotion Council.

In 1967 extra efforts were made to upgrade the training of officers and noncoms. The Thu Duc Officers School was expanded and the curriculum improved. Special command and staff schools were inaugurated for field-grade officers at Dalat, with attendance a prerequisite for promotion. The Dalat Military Academy graduated its first class of 90 students with four years of education. Since its founding in 1948 it has had only nine-month and two-year courses, and the expanded curriculum was considered a major step in providing the army with an educated corps of professionally trained young officers. Ranking officers were being given advanced command training at the newly established National Defense College in Saigon.

Key officers continued to be sent to advanced schools in the United States such as the infantry course at Fort Benning and the command and general staff schools at Fort Leavenworth. More than 8,000 officers and men had received training in U.S. military schools from 1957 to 1969. But most ARVN officers had been developed in the hard furnace of actual combat, and in 20 years a number became extremely proficient. ARVN officers also have had to learn to be adaptable. Trained in conventional warfare tactics to meet World War II or Korea War situations, first by the French and then by the Americans, they had to adapt to the communists' guerrilla warfare. And then, from the start of the big unit war in mid-1965, they had to adapt to the mobile warfare in which the helicopter has revolutionized tactics.

The civil unrest and political instability that gripped the Republic of Vietnam from 1963 to 1965 had disastrous effects on the armed forces whose morale dropped to a new low by mid-1964. Two successive coups created numerous changes in the command structure and seriously impaired the administrative and military efficiency of the Army. Short tenures prevented commanders from gaining the full support of their troops, and the confusion was further aggravated by junior officers who openly expressed dissatisfaction and spread discontent among the rank and file. In this atmosphere there was little incentive for conducting normal operations, and the war effort ground to a halt.

The greatest obstacle in improving and training the armed forces was the lack of qualified leadership at all levels, both officer and noncommissioned officer. This deficiency had been a continuing source of concern and one which seriously affected all efforts to create an effective combat force. Battalion and company commanders were often inexperienced and lacked initiative; few operations were conducted in the absence of detailed orders. Senior commanders issued directives, but failed to supervise their execution, and results were usually negligible. U.S. advisers continually cited poor leadership as the foremost reason for unit ineffectiveness. But with the lack of replacements, unsatisfactory commanders were seldom relieved. This situation was an unfortunate by-product of the rapid expansion of the military without a strong base of experienced leaders; the shortage of able personnel to occupy civil administrative positions only made the military problem more severe.

In 1969, the actual grade structure of Vietnamese armed forces units was far below the authorized level. This condition was most apparent in senior command and staff positions and especially in the infantry battalions and armored cavalry squadrons. In 1969, for example, 47 percent of the infantry battalion commanders were two grades below authorization, and lieutenants and aspirants (officer candidates) were called upon to assume responsibilities beyond their experience or training. A major effort during 1969 year centered on identifying and promoting qualified leaders. Yet, despite an increase of 2,653 senior officers between December 1968 and October 1969 (more promotions than in any other year), the regular Army still had only 63 percent of its authorized senior officers assigned: Rapid force expansion simply outpaced officer strength increases, and the armed forces supplemental August promotion board actions had little effect in raising the percentage of assigned senior officers. Additionally, most officers lacked formal training, although the amount of such training conducted at the Vietnamese armed forces leader-producing schools was slowly rising.

Another major headache, which continued to plague both the regular and territorial forces, was an imbalance of mid-level officers and noncommissioned officers grade structures. The situation stemmed mainly from what had been the inability of the Vietnamese armed forces officer and noncommissioned officer production and promotion systems to keep pace with the rapid mobilization. This problem was compounded by the fact that most of the officer and noncommissioned officer input had necessarily been at the bottom of their respective grade structures. The armed forces had no large pool of reserve officers or noncommissioned officers from which to draw; when some 1,055 reserve officers were recalled to active duty in early 1968, the pool was almost depleted. The armed forces developed a "three-year officer and NCO realization plan" which stipulated a progressive system of officer and noncommissioned officer promotions designed to achieve at least a 90 percent fill in all grades by the end of 1970. Owing in part to continued force structure increases, however, lack of eligible and qualified personnel for promotion and unrealistic promotion goals, all such projections proved too optimistic.

A third difficulty was the length of officer assignments. Some officers had never served away from the JGS headquarters, while others had stayed in combat units during their entire service. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, initiated the development of a combined Personnel Systems Evaluation Committee to push a career management program, and the Joint General Staff finally adopted a limited officer rotation program which permitted officers who had served two years in one unit, upon request, to be reassigned to more desirable duties such as central agencies, schools, or the Joint General Staff. The policy was not fully implemented, however, and progress in the program was slow.

The most significant breakthrough in career management discipline was a plan for the progressive development of infantry officers. This plan was the Joint General Staff's first manpower management effort concerned with a particular category of personnel. It spelled out provisions for the career management of infantry officers, specified rotation of duty assignments between remote and more desirable areas, and included provisions for alternating tours between command and staff duty. Newly commissioned infantry officers were to serve their initial tours with combat units. Educational criteria for both military and civilian schools were prescribed for the selection of division, regimental, battalion, and sector commanders, for staff officers at all levels, and for service school cadres, to include the Command and Staff School. The program was basically similar to the U.S. Army's program for officer career management.

Efforts to remedy the grade structure by reforming the promotion system met with less success. No major renovation had occurred in the Vietnamese armed forces officer promotion system since 1965, but some reforms took place in 1968 and 1969. Promotions were centralized within the Joint General Staff for all of the armed services, and a selection board was convened annually for all officer and noncommissioned officer grades. Even though well-defined, promotion goals were not met. In April 1970, Military Assistance Command published a comprehensive study of the system and recommended major changes, such as the establishment of separate promotion boards for the South Vietnam Navy and Air Force. The most serious problems and recommendations are noted below.

1. Too little credit was given for technical skill levels and qualifications in the promotion of the Vietnamese Air Force and Navy enlisted personnel. The basic eligibility criterion for their promotion was time in grade. Promotion considerations included nature of the units to which assigned, formal training, evaluation by commanding officers, and awards for meritorious or valorous service. While all criteria were significant, none reflected the actual skill level and degree of qualification each soldier attained. The armed forces promotion system therefore did not ensure that the men who were promoted had the skills and qualifications required for their grade. This situation created difficulties in many technical areas. Personnel attaining senior noncommissioned officer status in the Vietnamese Navy or Air Force were frequently required to supervise the operation and care of sophisticated equipment or to be responsible for complex and important operations. If the senior noncommissioned officer lacked the skills required of his grade, the operational effectiveness of his unit was seriously reduced. Military Assistance Command recommended that grade-to-skill qualifications standards be developed, used as minimal prerequisites for promotion to E-4 and above, and the degree of qualification be given major weight in the promotion point system for the Navy and Air Force.
2. There were inconsistencies in the promotion system as it applied to the Women's Armed Forces Corps (WAFC) personnel. While WAFC personnel were supposed to be considered with all other Vietnamese armed forces personnel in the annual promotion selection, WAFC members in some instances were apparently considered, selected, and listed separately. Military Assistance Command recommended that all promotion selection boards be instructed to consider them at the same time and under the same criteria as other armed forces personnel, and that WAFC selectees be listed in the consolidated selection lists. This action would help provide fair promotion practices and would furnish correct promotion dates for WAFC selectees.
3. The manner in which the prerequisite for eligibility for promotion to major (a ninth grade level diploma required) was applied caused discontent. The requirement was designed to raise the educational level requirements for field grade officers without penalizing those field grade officers who had already achieved their rank without it (the diploma was not required for higher level promotion). Many officers believed this policy was an inequity in the system. Military Assistance Command recommended that the prerequisite be retained but that an explanation of its rationale be disseminated and provision made for educational level equivalency examinations for personnel desiring to qualify for major. Military Assistance Command also recommended that the Chief of Staff, Joint General Staff, be empowered to waive the educational requirement in exceptional cases.
4. There was a need to establish separate Regional Forces and regular force battlefield promotions for noncommissioned officers and enlisted men. The existing system allocated quotas to each corps tactical zone, the Vietnamese Air Force, Navy, Special Forces, airborne, and Marine Corps. The four corps tactical zones and the Vietnamese Navy were allocated quotas, which included Regional Forces personnel as well as regular force members. Results from 1969 showed that for the most part field commanders had not taken maximum advantage of battlefield promotion quotas; during the last six months, for example, only 32 percent of the total allocated quota for enlisted men had been used. By far the greater number of battlefield promotions went to the regular forces. To ensure fair and equitable treatment of Regional Forces personnel, it was recommended that two separate quotas be given to the designated commanders, one for the regular forces and one for the Regional Forces.

Vietnamese armed forces response to these recommendations was slow. In September 1971, the Joint General Staff amended the armed forces promotion policies and adjusted those parameters designed to recognize and accelerate promotions for able leaders; they also awarded extra promotion points to troops serving in combat and combat support units and reduced time in grade requirements for battlefield and non-battlefield (meritorious) promotions. In consequence, the armed forces fulfilled its 1971 regular officer and noncommissioned officer promotion goals. However, sheer numbers and accelerated promotions alone did not necessarily ensure that the most effective leader was selected or that the overall leadership was upgraded. Moreover, despite significant emphasis on officer fill and promotions, commanders of maneuver battalions remained generally below authorized grades. The occupation was simply too dangerous and combat operations often eliminated the best commanders. In December 1970, 37 percent (forty-nine) of the infantry battalions were still commanded by captains. In January 1971, ninety-one of these officers were promoted to field rank, but increased combat operations and casualties took their toll. By 31 May, forty-six of the 133 infantry maneuver battalions (35 percent) were still commanded by captains; eighty of these 133 commanders had been in command one year or less, and fifty-two of those for less than six months.