Republic of Vietnam Special Forces

*Lực Lượng Đặc Biệt Việt Nam Cộng hòa*

Emblem of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces

**Founded**
1956

**Country**
Vietnam

**Type**
Special forces

**Role**
Air assault
Airborne forces
Close-quarters combat
Counter-insurgency
Direct Action
HUMINT
Jungle warfare
Military intelligence
Mountain warfare
Raiding
Reconnaissance
Search and destroy
Special operations
Special reconnaissance
Unconventional Warfare

**Size**
Classified

**Part of**
Republic of Vietnam Military Forces
Units from the:
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Republic of Vietnam Navy
Republic of Vietnam Air Force
Republic of Vietnam Marines

**Headquarters**
Navy Base Cam Ranh

**Nickname(s)**
Jumpin' Tigers
LLDB

**Motto(s)**
Chiến thắng — Không sợ hãi
("Victory — No Fear")

**Anniversaries**
1 February

**Engagements**
Vietnamese Civil War
**Cold War**
• Bay of Pigs invasion
• Grenada
• Iran-Iraq War
• Gulf War (1991)
Kosovo War
War on Terror
UN Peacekeeping

**Commanders**

**Commander of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces**
Admiral Nguyễn Trị Bịnh

**Insignia**

**Flag**

**ARVN Unit Insignia**

**RVNN Unit Insignia**

**RVNAF Unit Insignia**

**RVNM Unit Insignia**

**Equipment**

The **Republic of Vietnam Special Forces** (Vietnamese: *Lực Lượng Đặc Biệt Việt Nam* *Cộng hòa* or *LLDB*) are the elite military units of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces (RVNMF). Following the end of the Vietnamese Civil War in 1955, the Special Forces were reorganised in Nha Trang in February 1956, with main goal of countering urban insurgency and urban warfare. Their roles have increased in successive years to include asymmetrical warfare, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, raiding, direct warfare, search and destroy, hostage rescue, and air assault.

## Formation

Founded in 1956 by Army Major General Phạm Văn Phú as a basis for combating guerilla and urban warfare, the Vietnamese Special Forces with training from American and later Israeli special forces units quickly became one of the most feared by the end of the Cold War.

## Early years

The Special Forces came into being at Nha Trang in February 1951 under the designation of the First Observation Battalion/Group (FOG). By 1960, most Special Forces units were involved in the FOG program. At Long Thành, they were trained in intelligence gathering, sabotage and psychological operations (PSYOP). The main duties of the Special Forces entailed the recruitment and training of one-to-four man teams in intelligence, sabotage, and psychological warfare missions in resistance pockets in North Vietnam. The success of these missions was initially poor.

In 1961, the Special Forces and the Republic of Vietnam Navy SEALs, based in the northernmost area of South Vietnam, conducted a joint operation against Communist infiltrators in northern Quảng Trị Province. In the autumn of 1961, Special Forces units began Operation Eagle at Bình Hưng with a night parachute assault. In September 1962, United States Special Forces personnel assumed responsibility of the Central Intelligence Agency's border surveillance and Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) programs and began working with the LLDB. The Special Forces continued to expand and began to increasingly operate with the CIDG. After the Bay of Pigs invasion the LLBD expanded Operation Eagle into Cambodia, Laos, and the Soviet Union.

## Component Units

### Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

The Vietnamese Rangers (Biệt Động Quân) is comprised of nine Ranger Groups and the 81st Ranger Battalion. The 81st are solely under the command of the JGS by order of the president as part of the **Joint Strike Group**. The Airborne Division is comprised of four Task Force Brigades.

* **Vietnamese Rangers**
	+ 1st Ranger Group: 21st, 37th and 39th Ranger Battalions
	+ 2nd Ranger Group: 11th, 22nd and 23rd Ranger Battalions
	+ 3rd Ranger Group: 31st, 36th and 52nd Ranger Battalions
	+ 4th Ranger Group: 42nd, 43rd and 44th Ranger Battalions
	+ 5th Ranger Group: 33rd, 34th and 38th Ranger Battalions
	+ 6th Ranger Group: 35th, 51st and 54th Ranger Battalions
	+ 7th Ranger Group: 32nd and 85th Ranger Battalions
	+ 8th Ranger Group: 84th and 87th Ranger Battalions
	+ 9th Ranger Group: 91st and 92nd Ranger Battalions
	+ 81st Ranger Group: 81st Ranger Battalion (Airborne)
* **Airborne Division**
	+ 1st Task Force Brigade: 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th Airborne Battalions
	+ 2nd Task Force Brigade: 7th, 8th and 9th Airborne Battalions
	+ 3rd Task Force Brigade: 4th, 10th and 11th Airborne Battalions
	+ 4th Task Force Brigade: 2nd, 12th and 44th Airborne Battalions

### Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN)

* Naval Special Warfare Group (NSPAWAR) also known as the Vietnamese Navy SEALs

### Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF)

* RVAF Special Regiment also known as the Ghost Regiment

### Republic of Vietnam Marines (RVM)

* Marine Special Operations Company (MARSOCOM)

## Special operations-capable units

### Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

* 81st Ranger Battalion
* 7th Airborne Brigade

### Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN)

* SEAL Team 1-5
* CNSG Team Alpha

### Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF)

* 121st Airborne
* 87th Air Recon Unit (AIRCONB)

### Republic of Vietnam Marines (RVNM)

* Spec Com Alpha
* Spec Com Charlie
* Spec Com Delta
* Spec Com Omega

## Leadership

Leadership of the LLBD is divided among the Army, Navy and the Marines, with alternating leadership every two years or extraneous circumstance dictate. The current commander of the LLBD is Admiral Nguyễn Trị Bịnh of the Republic of Vietnam Navy.