In 1968 the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam (RVNAF) totaled more than 620,000 men. These included a small Air Force of 15,000 men, a Navy of nearly 18,000, an even smaller Marine Corps of 8,000, nearly 300,000 in the Army, and another 291,000 in the local militia, the Regional and Popular Forces (RFs and PFs). Nominally, all of the service military commanders reported directly to the Chief of the Joint General Staff, General Cao Van Vien, who also commanded the Army. In fact, however, the actual control of the military remained with the coalition of senior generals centered around President Thieu who formed the military council that had run the country since 1965.

MACV Command History 1968
pages 142-143