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 (militia) 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 (ARVN 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.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Civilian Irregular Defense Group program
- Civilian Irregular Defense Group program in the context of Grenade launcher
Civilian Irregular Defense Group program in the context of Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke, or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges - for example the widely used 40mm type. The most common type are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons issued to individuals, although larger crew-served launchers are issued at higher levels of organization by military forces.
Grenade launchers are produced in the form of standalone weapons (either single shot or repeating) or as attachments mounted to a parent firearm, usually a rifle. Larger crew-served automatic grenade launchers such as the Mk 19 are mounted on tripods or vehicles.
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