Primarily assigned to anti-guerrilla warfare, counterinsurgency and humint duties, CSDC companies and battalions were also employed in various other tasks such as guarding important public buildings, VIP protection, public security, counterintelligence, riot control, cordon and search, jungle, mountain and urban combat operations.
Between 1967 and 1972, the CSDC was deeply involved in the highly controversial CIA-run Phoenix Program (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Phụng Hoàng), participating actively in the "neutralization" – which often involved arbitrary arrests without charge, routine torture,[2] and extrajudicial executions – of suspected members of the civil infrastructure or "shadow administration" of the Viet Cong (VC).
[3] CSDC members' were usually National Policemen that volunteered to Field Force service, although the unit also accepted military personnel either transferred or retired from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).
Two independent companies of four platoons each were based respectively at Vũng Tàu and Da Nang, two autonomous port cities which had their own municipal police services separated from the province in which they were located.
Also headquartered at Saigon, BD 222, a smaller battalion with just six combat companies, was in turn assigned to the General Reserve (Vietnamese: Tổng dự trữ) of the National Police as a quick reaction unit that could be deployed nationwide, being tasked with specific missions and reinforcement duties.
Engaged in Saigon during the Tet in 1968, the field policemen of BD 222 succeeded in flushing out the VC "Sappers" (Vietnamese: Đắc Cộng) entrenched in the National Radio Broadcasting Station building,[9] located a few hundred meters away from the American Embassy, but also fought elsewhere.
Between 1968 and 1975, the Battalion's combat companies were deployed at various times and locations throughout the country, engaging in defensive and offensive operations in conjunction with other National Police or ARVN units at Huế, Da Nang, Bình Định, Tuyên Duế, Gia Định, Long An, Biên Hòa, and Phú Quốc Island.
[10] National Policemen who volunteered to Field Force service, in addition to their basic police instruction, also received advanced paramilitary training.
Probatier officers recently graduated by the Saigon Police Academy or the Da Lat Military Academy had to undergo a complete instruction cycle on combat tactics at the ARVN Infantry School for officers in Thủ Đức, Saigon, whilst patrolmen who had completed their basic training at Rach Dua also attended a similar program at the ARVN Combat Training Centre and NCO School co-located at Da Lat.
At this stage, all combat training was carried out at squad- and platoon-level, which enabled the recruits to attain a good tactical manoeuver capacity in the field.
[12] Selected officer students were also sent to the Royal Malaysian Police Field Force Special Training Centre (Malay: Sekolah Latihan Pasukan Polis Hutan; SLPPH) at Kentonmen, Ulu Kinta, Perak in Malaysia to attend advanced specialized police and instructor's courses.
Berets were often carefully molded to achieve a pointed shape or 'Cockscomb crest', affected by so many South Vietnamese military personnel since it reportedly gave the wearer a more imposing figure and aggressive 'Shock trooper' or 'Commando' allure.