Early Years in The Army of The Republic of Vietnam
Khánh then joined the Vietnamese National Army (VNA) of the French-backed State of Vietnam under the leadership of former Emperor Bảo Đại. The State of Vietnam was an associated state of the French Union and fought in the First Indochina War alongside French forces against the Việt Minh.
Khánh was part of the first batch of Vietnamese officers trained by the French in the country. Of the 17 students who started the course, only 11 passed. The six that failed to finish and eight of the graduates defected and joined the Việt Minh. Khánh was one of only three to join the VNA. Khánh claimed he tried to dissuade his classmates to not join the Việt Minh as they were communist, but he also briefly rejoined Hồ's side before being commissioned with the VNA.
From 1949-52, he was a Lieutenant and commanded the first airborne unit in the VNA after being sent to France for training. He was then promoted to the rank of captain and commanded the first ever VNA airborne, participating in the Hòa Bình Operation in northern Vietnam under the command of General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. Khánh jumped with his paratroopers into the Hòa Bình after a heavy French defeat and carried out a rearguard action to cover the French retreat. He was wounded and ended as a regimental combat team. After the partition of Vietnam, Khánh was chosen by President Ngô Đình Diệm as the inaugural commander of the Vietnam Air Force. He took a crash course in flying, and took to the air unaccompanied after 11 hours of instruction.
From 1956-57, he was promoted to Colonel and commanded the First Infantry Division stationed at the 17th Parallel. In 1957, he was chosen to attend the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S. Joint & Combined School in Okinawa, Japan, and he graduated from the U.S. High Command as Chief of Staff in France. In 1957, he was assigned as Region Commander of the Hau Giang region, consisting of Kiến Hòa, Mỹ Tho and Vĩnh Long. He was appointed Secretary General of the Defense Ministry in 1959. In 1960, Khánh was promoted to Major General and made ARVN Chief of Staff.
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