In the year of 1960, the Laotian government was collapsing, and the powerful and demanding communist forces were invading. A revolutionary war was being fought in Laos and the communist were winning. The Laotian military was fighting guerilla warfare against the communist forces, which was impossible to fight with former tactics. Guerilla warfare is characterized by short, sudden engagements and rapid attacks designed to harass and demoralize the enemy. This guerilla warfare, employed by the communist Pathet Lao and Vietcong forces, was defeating the Laotian military. The United States was not going to lose another country to a communistic government. The United States Air Force felt threatened by the communist wave. Therefore, along with 80, 000 military personnel the United States Air Force sent their elite: highly trained special operations pilots, to destroy the approaching enemy and defend the Laotian natives (Starr iii). By 1961 the United States Air Force’s Special Operations Air commandos were flying missions and helping defeat the ever-present enemy forces.

As the Communist wave swept over Southeast Asia, in 1959, the Laotian government began to fade. Usin

In the winter months of 1964, a highly classified program named Barrel Roll was sent in to operations. The Barrel Roll operation was an extreme effort to destroy routes of communication and transportation from North Vietnam to South Vietnam on the Ho Chi Minh trail. President Lyndon Johnson sent the order to Barrel Roll for maximum effort against the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Barrel Roll traversed the Northeastern part of Laos. Barrel Roll was a combination of high altitude bombing runs by massive eight-engined B-52’s, as well as small ground attacks with AT-28’s (Boettcher 320). The barrel roll operation was mostly just a statement and application of airpower. Barrel Roll was designed to destroy those hidden adversary that lie like snakes in the tall grass. Between the massive carpet runs from the B-52’s and the short range air to ground sniper like attacks of the AT-28’s the Ho Chi Minh trail stayed clear of any possible enemy snake(Haas 164).

The recruitment of student pilots begun in early 1961, the attendance was in abundance. Laos sent every potential candidate possible, even Hmong warriors were their too apply. Major Aderholt was instructed to teach these recruits the basics of flight operations and attack patterns (Haas 167). In order to teach these Laotians how to fight they were in need of wings. The Air force bought a number of U-10 Helio Couriers. The Helio Courier was the first major piece of equipment used by special operations during the war in Laos. The next question is: how can one teach someone the basics of flight if they do not understand what one is saying to them (Haas 169)? Major Aderholt found that situation impossible to battle. So, every student was taught how to fly while in the air. The Men were taught how to fly between the mountain tops at altitudes never exceeding 500 feet and they were taught how to find and spot the enemy groupings. This was the schools main purpose: to teach the student pilots the skill of reconnaissance, and that was what they acquired through their training (Haas 170).

Not only were the Air Commando’s bread and trained, flying killing machines, they were the most capable rescue force during the war. The ability to fly to small airstrips and pick up the wounded or land and help take care of a battle damaged village wa

Some topics in this essay:
Air Commandos, Air Force, Major Aderholt, Barrel Roll, T-28 Trainer, Air Commando’s, Indo-China War, Heinie Aderholdt, Couriers U-10, Air Commando, air force, air commandos, united air, barrel roll, united air force, chi minh trail, special operations, ho chi, minh trail, chi minh, ho chi minh, war laos, guerilla warfare, air force base, water pump air,