The Cadillac Gage Commando, frequently denoted as the M706 in U.S. military service,[7] is an American armored car designed to be amphibious.

[6] It was engineered by Cadillac Gage specifically for the United States Military Police Corps during the Vietnam War as an armed convoy escort vehicle.

[8] Its notable height, amphibious capability, and waterproofed engine allowed American crews to fight effectively in the jungles of Vietnam by observing their opponents over thick vegetation and fording the country's deep rivers.

[5][9] The V-100 series of vehicles was developed in the early 1960s by the Terra-Space division of the Cadillac Gage company of Warren, Michigan.

A Commando's armor consists of high hardness alloy steel called Cadaloy, which protects against projectiles up to 7.62×51mm.

[12] The Cadillac Gage company also intended to use the solenoid trigger equipped fixed machine gun version of the Stoner 63 weapon system, but this was dropped after tests showed the smaller caliber cartridge to be unsuited to this role.

[15] Relatively large-gunned variants of the V-100 began appearing in 1964, when Cadillac Gage marketed the Commando against the Alvis Saladin and Panhard AML-90 for a Royal Saudi Army requirement specifying a wheeled armoured vehicle equipped with a large semi-automatic cannon.

Subsequent V-150 models incorporated a slightly larger turret armed with a much more powerful Cockerill Mk.III 90 mm gun, the same as that carried by the EE-9 Cascavel.

A third fire support option involved the retrofitting of the Commando chassis with the complete turret and 76 mm L23A1 gun of the British FV101 Scorpion tracked reconnaissance vehicle.

Within the U.S. Army it was affectionately known as the Duck, or the V. The main differences between the XM706 and XM706E1/M706 were in the design of the gas tank fill port covers, side windows, front vision blocks, and most importantly in the weaponry.

[23] Compared to the American counterparts ARVN V-100 units had larger crews, including a commander riding shotgun, and a radio operator outside the rear hatch.

[citation needed] Another model, the XM706E2, was supplied to the U.S. Air Force for base protection purposes, post-attack reconnaissance against munitions and EOD use.

In road patrol, convoy duty and base defense use by the U.S. Army's Military Police, it usually had a crew of two: driver and gunner.

It was used by the Malaysian Army in Second Malayan Emergency (now retired) and Royal Malaysia Police (GOF- Pasukan Gerakan Am) until now.

They pioneered the first SWAT teams and were the first to use the V-100 as a law enforcement vehicle, obtaining them from the U.S. Department of Energy in the early 1980s for Los Angeles' hosting of the 1984 Summer Olympics.

On a moment's notice the LAPD Metropolitan Division could have a V-100 (nicknamed the "tank") in the field for shooting scenarios as well as officer assistance calls.

The V-150's hull was also designed specifically to carry heavier weapons systems, such as large smoothbore guns for fire support and anti-tank purposes.

[25] In the 1980s Portugal updated its Chaimites (originally built between 1967 and 1974) with a 90 mm turret (V-400), but the Portuguese Army also bought 15 examples of the U.S.-made V-150 Commando.

[26][27] The Philippine Army continue to use their V-150s in 2017, when several photos appeared on social media of a vehicle with heavy wooden planks and flattened ammunition crates were applied as improvised armor against ISIL insurgents in the southern islands.

[28] The effectiveness of the improvised vehicle armor against proper rocket-propelled grenades is doubtful, but it has been judged to reduce some of the RPG's damage.

[36] ST Kinetics upgraded the Singaporean fleet of V-200 vehicles in 2002 with electric turret drives and made some detail improvements to both the engine and transmission.

The Singapore Army continued to hold two hundred V-200s in reserve until 2015, when they were formally retired and replaced by the Peacekeeper Protected Response Vehicle (PRV).