The Civil Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) was a US Sponsored local milita organization 
created in South Vietnam.  The purpose of the CIDGs were to provide protection for so-called 
"fortified hamlets" and special force camps, as well as, to harass the Viet Cong and patrol 
the countryside.  These units were under direct US control through the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV).
The CIDG program was transfered to the South Vietnamese government at the end of 1970. 