In my history class we briefly covered the deployment of military advisors before and throughout the Vietnam war. Just how extensive were their operations and what did they really do compared to what they were said to be doing? Im super curious and would like to do some further reading on it so if possible could you recommend some good titles to read? Thank you all!
There had been military observers in South Vietnam since the early 1950's, usually following the flood of American funds and equipment to the French expeditionary army during its war in Indochina. When France left for good in 1955, the United States took over to help South Vietnam prepare itself from a possible invasion by North Vietnam.
The first advisors to South Vietnam were sent there by the Eisenhower administration and the task was to re-organize, re-equip and modernize the South Vietnamese Armed Forces after their American counterpart. Since the task was to prepare them for an invasion from the north, the focus was entirely on conventional strategies and conventional tactics - something that would backfire on them when the insurgency flared up in the late 1950's.
The role of an advisor in South Vietnam is very easy to define: they were there to help the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) to be self-efficient and shape them into a modern army of the 20th century. After the insurgency flared up and the ARVN was put into action, many advisors accompanied units in the field to show and instruct officers and soldiers in how to face the realities of combat and how to act under it (not to mention all the other realities of soldiering). Essentially, they were doing exactly what they said they were doing.