In modernizing the GVN’s police forces, MSUG sent qualified uniformed police officers to study at Michigan State for a year. Theoretically, these individuals became police chiefs upon their return to South Vietnam; in fact, any official who wanted to remain in the Ngô family’s good graces did not stray far from home.
As Nhuận explained, officials were not promoted into positions of authority unless they met the four D criteria. All civil servants and military personnel had to join the first D: Đoàn Công-Chức Cách Mạng Quốc Gia, the National Revolutionary Civil Servants Organization. The second D (Đạo) referred to the Catholic religion. The third D (Đảng) referred to members of the Cần-Lao Party. And the fourth D (Địa-Phương) was reserved for those who were born in or related to natives of Quảng-Bình Province and Huế, the home of the Ngôs.
Nhuận, who only qualified for the first D, added that, “Those who had four Đs obtained avuncular position in life.”
In 1957, while serving as chief of administration at the Huế police office, Nhuận was selected for training in the US, but was forced to cancel when his grandfather became seriously ill. His language skills were highly prized, however, and he continued to translate articles into Vietnamese for publication in the Bạn Dân (People’s Friends) magazine distributed nationally by the General Directorate of Police and Security.
In 1959, Nhuận again missed his chance for…