Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces
| Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa (Vietnamese) | |
 Flag of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces | |
| Founded | September 1, 1957, as the Vietnamese National Armed Forces |
| Service branches | |
| Headquarters |
Ministry of National Defense, Saigon, South Vietnam |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-chief |
 President Phạm Ngọc Khang |
| Minister of National Defense |
 TBD |
| Chief of the Joint General Staff |
 General Lê Sáng |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18–32 enlistment age |
| Conscription | 18–28 |
| Active personnel | 535,000 (2022) |
| Reserve personnel | 710,000 (2022) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers | |
| Related articles | |
| Ranks | Military ranks of South Vietnam |
The Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (Vietnamese: Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa), also called the South Vietnamese Armed Forces, are the military forces of South Vietnam and consist of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam Navy, and the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. The Republic of Vietnam Marine Division is a semi-autonomous branch within the Navy. The combined forces have 535,000 active personnel and 710,000 reservists, as of 2022, and are tasked with defending the sovereignty and independence of South Vietnam.
The Armed Forces of Vietnam were established in their current form in 1957 as the Vietnamese National Armed Forces, before the outbreak of the Vietnam War and the success of the Viet Minh led to the North-South split. The Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces fought against the Viet Cong and the People's Army of Vietnam (armed forces of North Vietnam) during the war. Since the end of the conflict in 1975 with the signing of the North–South Vietnamese Joint Declaration, the task of the South Vietnamese military has been to defend the sovereignty of the Republic of Vietnam. They have also participated in humanitarian and peacekeeping missions as part of the League of Nations. It is one of the largest militaries in the world. There continues to be close military cooperation between the ROV Armed Forces and those of the Anglo-American countries, especially the Sierran Crown Armed Forces.
History
In 1938, the Empire of Vietnam was established by the Japanese after their successful invasion of French Indochina, led by Emperor Bảo Đại. The Imperial Vietnamese Army and Navy were created with a similar organizational structure to the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. After the collapse of the Vietnamese Empire to anti-Japanese insurgents in the aftermath of Great War II, the former Imperial Vietnamese Armed Forces became the Vietnamese National Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam in 1957. By the end of 1959, much of North Vietnam was taken over by communist Viet Minh rebels, who established a rival government and military, becoming called the People's Army of Vietnam. In the south, the Republic's military was renamed the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces.
Command structure
The president of the Republic of Vietnam is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and has the command authority, in accordance with the constitution of the Republic. The president's orders are implemented through the civilian Minister of National Defense, who oversees the uniformed command structure.
Ministry of National Defense
The Ministry of National Defense is the civilian administration of the armed forces.
Joint General Staff
The Joint General Staff, led by the Chief of the Joint General Staff, consists of staff officers from each of the three branches that assist the uniformed head of the armed forces in implementing strategic directives from the Ministry of Defense and maintaining the readiness of the forces.
Service branches
Army
- Army Headquarters
- Army Special Operations Command
- Army Training and Doctrine Command
- Army Logistics Command
- Army Personnel and Mobilization Command
- Army Ground Operations Command
- I Corps
- II Corps
- III Corps
- IV Maneuver Corps
- V Maneuver Corps
- Army Reserve Operations Command
- VII Reserve Corps
- VIII Reserve Corps
Airborne Forces
- Airborne Force Headquarters
- VI Airborne Corps
- Navy Headquarters
- Naval Education and Training Command
- Naval Logistics Command
- Naval Intelligence Office
- Special Warfare Flotilla
- Fleet Command
- First Fleet
- Second Fleet
- Third Fleet
- Submarine Force
- Maritime Battle Group
- Naval Aviation Wing
Marine Corps
- Marine Corps Headquarters
- 1st Marine Division
- 1st Marine Brigade
- 3rd Marine Brigade
- 2nd Marine Division
- 2nd Marine Brigade
- 4th Marine Brigade
Air Force
- Air Force Headquarters
- Air Force Personnel Command
- Air Force Education and Training Command
- Air Force Logistics Command
- Air Operations Command
- Air Combat Command
- Air Mobility and Reconnaissance Command
- Air and Missile Defense Command
Defense strategy
South Vietnam built a series of fortifications along the border of North Vietnam and in several provinces near the border during the 1970s. The strategy of the ROV Army in the event of a war would be to use a defense in depth strategy, using the fortified positions to inflict casualties on the People's Army and being able to retreat to several lines of defense, across several hundred miles of South Vietnamese territory. Western analysts have described South Vietnamese doctrine as a "porcupine strategy" of making it too costly for North Vietnam or another aggressor (in the past, the People's Republic of China) to invade. In recent years, heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific between South Vietnam's allies and China have made the Armed Forces to turn more attention to regional security more broadly.
Personnel
The South Vietnamese Armed Forces are a combination of volunteers and conscripts. Each year, a certain number of male Vietnamese citizens between the ages of 18 and 28 are called up by a lottery, depending on the needs of the military. Under the current system, about 70% of draftees are assigned to the Republic of Vietnam Army, 15% to the Navy, and 9% each to the Air Force or the Marine Corps. After leaving the military, a former conscript will remain on a list of reservists for five years, being required to check in with a military commissariat once a year to ensure that a mobilization of reservists can take place quickly in the event of war or another emergency. The same scheme applies to former enlisted soldiers and commissioned officers. There are three service academies to commission officers and 19 other colleges and institutes to provide specialized training for both enlisted personnel and officers. Along the lines of Anglo-American militaries, every branch also has an officer candidate school (OCS).
Ranks
Equipment
Overseas deployments
See also
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This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).
