Interesting watch and military connection. I don’t think the numbers refer to the date of issue as stated by Mark - far too early according to current knowledge. I have seen a few of these unfamiliar brands over the past three years with the same configuration of 844 case and so called "Monnin" dial. As these came from the Monnin works one can surmise that the company offered them around as a new case/dial option. We know that the 844 Heuer Diver started life this way and due to its success they may well have bought some or all the rights to use the case. With a new dial design and movements it sold in large numbers as the Swiss made Heuer divers. This may have ended the fringe brands use of these components which is evident by the lack of later references coming to light. Heuer had great success with this watch and it spawned a whole generation of divers in various sizes, colours, and movements for both the male and female markets. The case itself seemed to find its way into the Chronosport range and others and may even be produced today in homage to the 80's generation of Heuer divers.
regards
Paul
www.heuerworld.com