Requirements Office

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The Requirements Office (RO) was a sub rosa Military Assistance Advisory Group set up during the Laotian Civil War. It was established in September 1962 in the United States embassy in Laos, as a replacement for a similar preceding unit, the Programs Evaluation Office (PEO). The RO's role was furnishing the Royal Lao Army with munitions and supplies to support their war effort against the People's Army of Vietnam. The RO would eventually be absorbed into the Defense Attachés Office on 8 August 1973.

The Latin phrase sub rosa means "under the rose", and is used in English to denote secrecy or confidentiality, similar to the Chatham House Rule. The rose as a symbol of secrecy has an ancient history.

Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) is a designation for United States military advisers sent to other countries to assist in the training of conventional armed forces and facilitate military aid. Although numerous MAAGs operated around the world throughout the 1940s–1970s, the most famous MAAGs were those active in Southeast Asia before and during the Vietnam War. Typically, the personnel of MAAGs were considered to be technical staff attached to, and enjoying the privileges of, the US diplomatic mission in a country. Although the term is not as widespread as it once was, the functions performed by MAAGs continue to be performed by successor organizations attached to embassies, often called United States Military Groups. The term MAAG may still occasionally be used for such organizations helping promote military partnerships with several Latin American countries such as Peru and the Dominican Republic as well as in African countries such as Liberia.

Laotian Civil War 1963-1975 civil war in Laos

The Laotian Civil War (1959–79) was fought between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government, with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers. It is called the Secret War among the CIA Special Activities Division and Hmong veterans of the conflict.

Contents

Background

In July 1962, the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was signed by 14 countries, including the United States and North Vietnam. To honor it, the US moved its Programs Evaluation Office monitoring military aid to the Kingdom of Laos to Thailand. When it became apparent that People's Army of Vietnam troops remained in Laos in violation of the treaty, the US established the Requirements Office in September 1962 to replace the disbanded PEO in its secretive support of the Royalists in the Laotian Civil War. The Requirements Office was responsible of determining the military needs of the Royal Lao Army and supplying them accordingly. The PEO, having been moved to Thailand, was renamed Deputy Chief, Joint United States Military Advisory Group Thailand (DEPCHIEFJUSMAGTHAI) and served to expedite shipments to the new Requirements Office. [1] [2]

The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is an international agreement signed in Geneva on July 23, 1962 between 14 states including Laos. It was a result of the International Conference on the Settlement of the Laotian Question which lasted from May 16, 1961 to July 23, 1962.

North Vietnam Former socialist republic in Southeast Asia

North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1975.

The Programs Evaluation Office was a covert paramilitary mission to the Kingdom of Laos, established on 13 December 1955 by the United States Department of Defense. The 23 July 1962 International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos would cause it to be shut down in September 1962. It would be succeeded by the Requirements Office.

Operations

The Requirements Office of the United States Agency for International Development was staffed by 25 U.S. military retirees, supplemented by Third World technicians. Its brief was to supply skilled personnel for the technical tasks beyond the capabilities of the Lao military; its brief was the management of budget and materiel for an army of 15,000 to 20,000 regular troops. Additionally, there was a tentative requirement to supply Forces Armee Neutraliste (Neutralist Armed Forces). The RO worked directly under the U.S. Ambassador to Laos. It also kept DEPCHIEFJUSMAGTHAI informed of operations within Laos. [3] This situation was not without controversy; the Pathet Lao accused the RO of harboring Central Intelligence Agency spies. [4] The Requirements Office was the only instance known of military intercession into USAID's global operations. Nevertheless, USAID Laos not only disguised military cadre and munitions, but supported ongoing war operations with its refugee relief program. [5] The Requirements Office thus performed its supply and logistics function to the Royal Lao Army under civilian cover; it left supply of irregular forces to the Central Intelligence Agency. [6] For a short period in 1963, the RO again supplied the Forces Armee Neutraliste when it allied with the Royalists. [7] The RO's performance was lauded by the man who ran the war in Laos, Ambassador William H. Sullivan. [8]

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world, and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms.

Third World A term coined during the Cold War and for a while used to denote developing countries in general

During the Cold War, the term Third World referred to the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the nations not aligned with either the First World or the Second World. This usage has become relatively rare due to the ending of the Cold War.

Central Intelligence Agency National intelligence agency of the United States

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT). As one of the principal members of the United States Intelligence Community (IC), the CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the President and Cabinet of the United States.

In December 1968, the RO took a survey of the administration and supply of the Royal Lao Air Force. They discovered no accounting for materiel; the Lao logistics system was plagued by theft, erratic distribution of goods, and overstocking on some items. To counter these problems, the RO instituted a troop welfare program for the RLAF financed by sale of such leavings as cartridge cases, scrap lumber, and used cluster bomb units. [9]

The Royal Lao Air Force, best known to the Americans by its English acronym RLAF, was the air force component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and the Kingdom of Laos during the Laotian Civil War between 1960 and 1975.

On 21 February 1973, the Laotian Civil War ended with a ceasefire. U.S. funding dwindled from $300 million per year to $100 million, now that the Royal Lao Armed Forces were no longer a wartime military. As part of reducing the embassy staff by half, the Defense Attache's Office was founded on 8 August 1973, staffed by 30 military personnel and 15 civilian employees. The Requirements Office was moved to DEPCHIEFJUSMAGTHAI as a forward supply unit. [10]

Royal Lao Armed Forces 1949-1975 combined military forces of Laos

The Royal Lao Armed Forces, best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The FAR was responsible for the defense of the Kingdom since its independence in October 1953 from France.

Military attaché military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission

A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission. This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy. Opportunities sometimes arise for service in the field with military forces of another state.

Notes

  1. ↑ Castle, pp. 1–2, 53–54.
  2. ↑ Conboy and Morrison, p. 102.
  3. ↑ Castle, p. 54
  4. ↑ Anthony, Sexton, pp. 72-73, 79.
  5. ↑ Castle, pp. 59–60.
  6. ↑ Castle and Castle, p. 85.
  7. ↑ Conboy and Morrison, p. 100.
  8. ↑ Castle, p. 92.
  9. ↑ Anthony, Sexton, pp. 276-277.
  10. ↑ Anthony, Sexton, pp. 363-364.

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References

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