The history of the DNC began in the late 1950s when Major General Phoumi Nosavan, the defense minister and strongman of the Kingdom of Laos at the time, appointed his aide de camp Lieutenant colonel Siho Lamphouthacoul Director of National Coordination (Directeur de la Coordination Nationale);[1] the exact date of this appointment is uncertain, though it certainly took place in either late 1958 or early 1959.
[2] When Maj. Gen. Phoumi was deposed by Captain Kong Le's coup in August 1960, it seems not to have curtailed Lt. Col. Siho's power nor the growth of his Directorate of National Coordination.
[3] The new unit soon became involved in Laos' domestic politics during the turbulent period of the early 1960s, with its commander Lt. Col. Siho actively conspiring in Maj. Gen. Phoumi Nosavan's return to power.
Siho and his GMS 1 battalions boarded Laotian Navy landing crafts in Savannakhet on 21 November to participate in the retaking of Vientiane from Kong Le's rebel Neutralist airborne units.
[7] For his actions during the December 1960 countercoup, Lt. Col. Siho was rewarded with a promotion to Brigadier general and given command of a new paramilitary security organization:[8] in March 1961 the GMS 1 was combined with Laotian National Army or ANL (military intelligence, psychological warfare, and military police units) and PRL (the civil police force and the immigration service) units to form the DNC.
Gen. Siho and its new security agency quickly took over police duties in Vientiane, exercising near absolute authority in the capital city and began screening the civilian population for Pathet Lao elements and stragglers, which often led to abuses.
[13][14] During the following year a 30-man contingent was sent to Thailand to attend Airborne and Commando courses manned by Royal Thai Police (RTP) instructors from the PARU at their Camp Narusuan training facilities located near Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.
[16] Although originally intended to be used in intelligence gathering and commando operations and rated as the most capable military unit in Laos, the GMS was primarily kept in Vientiane to support Siho's illicit activities.
[17] In reality, the GMS served principally as Siho's personal bodyguard, gaining a reputation among the civilian populace for both corruption in police duties and military ability as para commandos.
[26] On 1 February 1965 the DNC, which had held de facto control over Vientiane during the previous year, was defeated in yet another coup d'état led by Maj. Gen. Kouprasith, who adroitly kept Brig.
[29] A subsequent ground assault upon the Phou Khao Khouay camp went unresisted, and with the exception of a single company from BS 11, these two battalions were arrested and disarmed.
With exception of a single company tasked of guarding the unit's own HQ, its three paratrooper battalions were permanently based at Phou Khao Khouay, a military camp located 22 kilometers (13.67 miles) north of the capital.
Initially, DNC paratroopers wore dark blue fatigues, whose cut followed closely that of the U.S. Army OG-107 jungle utilities, to distinguish them from the rest of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR).
[34] Unlike the FAR, the GMS and DNC never developed a distinctive unit insignia nor a beret badge, and even rank insignia was seldom seen on uniforms; a commemorative embroidered red round patch edged black bearing a tiger surmounted by the Laotian inscription "Revolutionary Forces" (Lao language: ກຳ ລັງປະຕິວັດ | kam lang pativad), which celebrated Siho's recapture of Vientiane in 1960, was worn on the left shoulder.
In 1962 the DNC adopted a distinctive set of gold parachute wings in three classes modelled after the PARU airborne qualification badge, which were worn above the right pocket of the fatigue shirt.