 Commanded by a doughty veteran Hmong officer, Major Cher Pao Moua, the fortified village was garrisoned by its few hundred Auto Defense Choc (ADC) militia.Bouamlong was one of the few guerrilla bases that would not be captured by the Communists at some time during the Laotian Civil War.Topography favored Bouamlong by making it easily defensible.