Above: Participants of the inter-agency counterinsurgency Operation PHOENIX administered by the CIA and activated under the Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support Program in South Vietnam - July 1968 (Source: www.cia.gov)
This seemingly unassuming tigerstripe shirt was previously owned by Maurice Neill Prew, a Florida-born CIA agent, otherwise known by his pseudonym; ‘Roy V. Watlington’.
Neill Prew was an aide to Bill Harvey (known for his involvement in Operation Mongoose) in the mid-1950s [1,2]. He is also known to have attended JMWAVE [2], a CIA training facility for anti-Cuban operations. Under his pseudonym ‘Roy Watlington,’ he worked in counterintelligence during the 1960s.
In 1965-66 a CIA officer named Roy V. Watlington started to appear in official records. In December 1966 - CI/Watlington is inserted in place of the name "Neill" in a memo from Jack Stewart/Henry Pachankis [6].
Neill Prew is linked to Junius Adelbert Watlington, Jr. of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (ACSI), who strengthened coordination with JMWAVE in 1962 [7]. It is believed that this is his second pseudonym. Major Junius A. Watlington, Jr. worked with the CIA in Miami in 1963 and afterwards [3].
Another name, ‘Major James Watlington’, Special Operations Branch, ACSI, U.S. Army, Miami also appears on a 1963 record [10]. Another probable pseudonym.
Junius Watlington Jr. was reported to have died in 1999 [1]. M. Neill Prew died in 2006 [2].
The Zippo lighter shown below was originally purchased with his shirt but was sadly sold to another collector before I acquired it. Fortunately, the photos were taken with the shirt underneath. It denotes his years spent in Vietnam (1968-69) in Quảng Ngãi province.
The above photographs are provided by Jack Ewing
RDC/P: Revolutionary Development Cadre / Plans Division (or Revolutionary Development Cadre Program) - Part of the CIA-led Phoenix program
The Revolutionary Development Cadre Program was a US-backed counterinsurgency initiative aimed at weakening Viet Cong influence in rural South Vietnam. Operated by the South Vietnamese government with support from the CIA and U.S. military, RDC teams were trained in psychological warfare, intelligence gathering, and civic action to promote loyalty to Saigon. While their main focus was development, they also gathered intelligence on enemy activity, which sometimes fed into counterinsurgency operations like the Phoenix Program. The Plans Division was a key part of the RDC Program, overseeing strategy, coordination, and pacification efforts.
Members of the Rural Development Cadre armed as military auxiliaries alongside soldiers (Source: www.rvnhs.wordpress.com)
The RDC program operated under the broader Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) initiative, a broader U.S.-led effort established in 1967 to coordinate pacification across South Vietnam, integrating civilian and military resources under MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam). CORDS unified efforts from the CIA, USAID, U.S. military, and the State Department, ensuring that pacification, intelligence, and counterinsurgency worked together. As part of its mission, CORDS oversaw both the RDC program and the Phoenix Program, directing resources to both rural development and anti-communist operations. While CORDS helped expand economic aid and local self-defence programs, it also played a key role in targeting the Viet Cong’s underground infrastructure, blurring the line between pacification and counterterror tactics.
CORDS personnel from the Foreign Service and the now-defunct U.S Information Service (Source: www.adst.org)
The Phoenix Program, initiated by the CIA and South Vietnamese intelligence services, was a targeted counterinsurgency and intelligence operation designed to identify, capture, or eliminate Viet Cong Infrastructure (VCI). Using intelligence from sources like RDC teams, Phoenix operatives conducted raids, interrogations, and assassinations against suspected Viet Cong operatives. While CORDS provided oversight and funding, Phoenix was a distinct, more aggressive arm of the pacification effort, relying on a network of informants, defectors, and special police units. The program became infamous for its controversial use of torture and extrajudicial killings, leading to both successes in disrupting Viet Cong networks and accusations of human rights abuses. Despite their differences, the RDC, CORDS, and Phoenix were all interwoven, with RDCs gathering intelligence, CORDS overseeing coordination, and Phoenix executing direct action against the Viet Cong.
Sources:
https://www.maryferrell.org/php/pseudodb.php?id=WATLINGTON_ROY
1. Bayard Stockton, Flawed Patriot [Potomac Books, 2006].
Page 53: Neill Prew, who handled a number of tricky assignments for Harvey, recalls, "Bill developed a routine. Page 55: Neill Prew was so discreet he at times seemed taciturn. Because of this quality, if for no other reason, he had Bill's complete trust...Page 56: Neill Prew rode shotgun on what the base finance officer "thought was far more important than any state secrets we might have"...Neill Prew thought "he was probably at the Maison de France drinking martinis with the Dutch chief of base, who was a buddy of his.
2. AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #16-06 dated 24 April 2006
https://www.afio.com/sections/wins/2006/2006-16.html#PREW_OBIT
M. [for Maurice, a name he never used] Neill Prew died of throat cancer at 84 in his hometown of Sarasota in early April 2006. Neill was a quiet guy, invaluable, rock steady, with a whimsical sense of humor. . He served Bill Harvey (CIA) in Berlin in the early-mid 1950s, doing small-but-necessary jobs discreetly and with sly good humor. He was also at JMWAVE, and later went upcountry in Vietnam. In retirement, he loved nothing more than climbing into his ancient Land Rover and exploring the Florida mangrove swamp country. (Submitted by Bayard Stockton) Official obit unseen.
3. MI CORPS HALL OF FAME. - Free Online Library
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MI+CORPS+HALL+OF+FAME-a06754423
1925-1999: Lieutenant Colonel Junius A. Watlington (Deceased) Discipline: HUMINT MI HOF Inductee: 1992 Junius A. Watlington's military career began in June 1944. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in August 1968. In the early 1960s, Mr. Watlington served on a staff responsible for human intelligence (HUMINT) operations in Latin America. He then commanded a unit in Miami, charged with conducting operations against Communist Cuba. In the mid-1960s, he served as the Deputy Commander, 502d Military Intelligence Battalion in Korea. Later, he served with the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence where his HUMINT expertise was paramount in developing organizations, training, and doctrine for Army Intelligence in Vietnam. His extensive military experience superbly qualified him for managerial duties with the Army's Military Intelligence Civilian Excepted Service Career Program. He served as the Operations Officer for the 500th Military Intelligence Group's clandestine HUMINT collection unit in Japan. He later received a promotion and served as Liaison Officer for the Commander, 500th MI Group. The culmination of Mr. Watlington's 35-year HUMINT career was his service for seven years as Director, Collection Operations, U.S. Army Operational Group, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). Under his tutelage, this collection unit spearheaded HUMINT collection in the Third World. Four times the Director of Central Intelligence honored its accomplishments as the "National HUMINT Collectors of the Year."
4. Bill Simpich, State Secret: Chapter 3:
https://www.maryferrell.org/pages/State_Secret_Chapter3.html
“In the days following the Azcue memo, there was an explosion of activity led by two Harvey confidants from their days in Berlin, Neill Prew and Anita Potocki. Prew was a man of action, described by Harvey’s biographer as “recruit(ing) agents in the Cuban community, ran raids, and landed men in Cuba”. Despite his background, Prew was not enamored of the situation in Miami: “Bill and Shackley tried to bring [Berlin] people to JMWAVE because they trusted them…”
“On September 19, just a week before Oswald’s arrival to Mexico City, LITAMIL-3 made his pitch to recruit consul Eusebio Azcue. Azcue said, “You know my feelings on this. Have not changed mind, will not change mind.” The memo from Mexico City has handwritten notes on it, saying “Good try. Nothing lost”, and “…let’s wait for further developments.”( 100 ) It looks like Jack Whitten’s initials, “JHS”, used for his alias “John H. Scelso”. Harvey’s colleague Neill Prew is also copied on this important document.”
5. Bill Simpich, State Secret, Chapter 5:
https://www.maryferrell.org/pages/State_Secret_Chapter5.html
September 1963: Bill Harvey's long-time aides Neill Prew and Anita Potocki (Harvey’s assistant at Staff D) and Lou DeSanti are copied on a memo in January 1963, showing them watching Sylvia Duran very carefully during her affair with Lechuga. These officers are kept in the loop repeatedly in the following weeks while monitoring Proenza and other attachés. Prew is copied again right before the attempt to recruit Azcue in September 1963.
6. NARA Record Number: 104-10216-10043 - MEMORANDUM: INTERVIEW WITH: ANGEL HERRERO VELEZ AND HIS WIFE, YOLANDA CAGNA NAVA
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=47940#relPageId=2
7. NARA Record Number: 104-10069-10185: OPERATIONAL: AGREED ACTIVITIES W/ACSI
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=31689#relPageId=5
8. NARA Record Number: 104-10069-10185: OPERATIONAL: AGREED ACTIVITIES W/ACSI (Cont.)
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=31689#relPageId=5
9. NARA Record Number: 104-10169-10082: FIELD INFORMATION REPORT: ACTIVITIES OF CUBAN EMIGREE IN PUERTO RICO
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=38054#relPageId=2
10. NARA Record Number: 124-10203-10305: No Title
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=144285#relPageId=2
11. NARA Record Number: 124-10277-10409: No Title
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=92207#relPageId=3
12. NARA Record Number: 124-90019-10026 - No Title
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=69222#relPageId=4
Further Learning:
CORDS/Phoenix Counterinsurgency Lessons from Vietnam for the Future
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/PDF-UA-docs/Andrade-Willbanks-UA.pdf
Rural Development Cadre -RDC
https://rvnhs.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/rural-development-cadre-rdc/
CORDS: A New Pacification Program for Vietnam
https://adst.org/2020/10/cords-a-new-pacification-program-for-vietnam/
Sifting the Ashes of Counterinsurgency: The Role of America’s Phoenix Program in the Vietnam War
https://www.readex.com/blog/sifting-ashes-counterinsurgency-role-americas-phoenix-program-vietnam-war
The CIA's Phoenix Program: Mercy of the Wicked
https://greydynamics.com/the-cias-phoenix-program-mercy-of-the-wicked/
Phoenix Program 1967
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7AUYEe2hsg