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.  Originally a Central Intelligence Agency sponsored project, control
was passed to Military Assistance Command Vietnam during Operation Switchback in 1963.
These units operated more or less under direct US control until the end of 1970.
*
An official table of order and equipment existed, but from most evidence was rarely 
followed.  As a result the weapon platoon element fluctuated wildly from unit to unit,
and some units were known to reorganize the weapon sections into various specialized elements
including individual recon teams.
*
Organizations provided here are approximations based on
available evidence.