Culture of Corruption

     In the last blog, I mentioned that for the most part, the only units in Vietnam that fought well, aside from U.S., were those that were led by U.S. personnel, such as the CIDGs (Civilian Irregular Defense Groups), Mike Forces (Mobile Strike Forces), PRUs (Provincial Reconnaissance Units), etc.  Of course there were exceptions and there were ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) and VN Marines that fought well, but, sadly, there weren't many.  It wasn't because the Vietnamese were incapable of being good soldiers, all you had to do was look at the NVA and VC, but it was simply that the Vietnamese units lacked leadership and corruption ran deep in the Vietnamese society.  Things such as commanders pocketing the payroll meant for soldiers was a very common practice, as well as selling off supplies that were meant for troops.  So basically, those in leadership position got "fat" off the war, while the common soldiers suffered!  Who would fight under such conditions?  If I was a Vietnamese soldier, I think it would have been very difficult for me to be motivated to fight for that country!
     In a typical US Special Forces camp, there was the US Special Forces "A" Detachment, 2 officers and 10 enlisted men.  This small unit was charged with training and leading either a CIDG or a Mike Force unit to keep a particular sector free of enemy, VC or NVA, and to gather intelligence.  The CIDGs or "Strikers" were composed of local Vietnamese villagers for the most part, while the Mike Force was made up of hill tribesmen such as the Meo or Hmong, the ethnic Chinese Nungs, and other groups.  Usually they were about the size of one or two infantry companies, sometimes infantry battalion size.  They were all completely trained and led by US Special Forces.  In this way, it was quite common for a young US Special Forces sergeant to end up being a company commander in combat!  However, there was always also an ARVN "counterpart" VNSF, the Vietnamese Special Forces team in camp.  The idea was that the Vietnamese Special Forces would learn from the US members on how to train and lead the irregular forces and ultimately take over when the US left.  As we all know, that never happened.  The VNSF, called Luc Luong Dac Biet (LLDBs), rarely ventured outside of camp perimeter and were derisively referred to by some Americans as "Lousy Little Damn Bugouts," not exactly a complimentary nickname.
     Most US military personnel in Vietnam, especially combat units, had very little to do with the Vietnamese, so they were not exposed to the degree of corruption that existed in Vietnamese society in general and army in particular.  All of the irregular forces in Special Forces camps were completely supported by the US.  They were trained, armed, fed, led in combat, and paid by the US.  On pay days, a table was set up and the Vietnamese insisted that they handle the pay procedure so as to show the irregulars that it was Vietnam, after all, that was paying them.  Of course everyone knew that it was not so, but played the game any way.  However, we learned very quickly that we could not let the LLDBs handle the distribution of pay.  They would pocket most of it!  So, each pay day, at the pay table, an American sat next to the Vietnamese, to make sure there was no funny stuff going on!
     The irregular units fought very well, particularly the hill tribesmen and the Nungs.  They were extremely loyal to us and would openly declare that they were fighting for us, not the Vietnamese! Of course they were mercenaries. The US Special Forces members had to constantly keep an eye on the Vietnamese counterparts, the LLDBs, to keep pilfering and stealing to a minimum.  Quite often, the LLDBs would wait until all of the "Strikers" (Strike Force or CIDG members) were paid, then go around and collect "taxes"!  They couldn't do this with the Nungs or hill tribesmen, but they could intimidate their own villagers.  It was a constant battle.  Those camps that did not have VNSF counterparts were fortunate and did not have to put up with that stuff!
     One of the reasons that the Communists set up "reeducation" camps after they took over the country was because they were trying to come up with a way to break this pattern of culture of corruption.  It was the very same thing that Mao tried to do in China after he took over.  China may have had some success with their brutal "reeducation" process.  After all, they had over 60 years to try and break the culture of corruption.  However, with the recent economic growth and appearance of "rich" class, it is quite apparent that corruption is alive and well, although not as endemic as it was before.  Vietnam has not had as much time yet.  They've only been trying to change the "culture" for 40 years.
     It is extremely hard to break the pattern that has been in place for centuries!  It seems that the only way to do this is by drastic measures!  Education is the key, and it has to start early, from practically pre-school level.  It has to take place at school and at home!  Mao knew this and tried to change everything right from the start.  The cultural revolution was in response to the fact that change was too slow, there was still a lot of corruption in China.  Whether the cultural revolution helped or not is debatable, it certainly made life miserable for many.  But whatever the case, all of it was in part an attempt to break the pattern of deep rooted corruption in the culture. 
     The Chinese and the Vietnamese have managed to at least control the rampant corruption that used to exist.  After all, there is corruption in every society.  The developed countries are not exempt.  Almost daily we hear about cases of corruption involving individuals or organizations.  But, we do manage to control it to a point so that it does not completely dominate our lives!  Such is not the case in some parts of the world.  The middle east, in particular, is so steeped in corruption that even Mao's extreme measures would not work.