Editing Operation Tailwind (section)

== Operation ==
{{Further|topic=the covert organization|Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group}}
During late 1970 the overall US-supported military effort in the covert war in the [[Kingdom of Laos]] was floundering. [[Operation Honorable Dragon|Operation Gauntlet]], a multi-battalion Royal Lao Army offensive intended to protect [[Paksong]] and the strategic Bolovens Plateau, was failing.<ref>Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison (1995). ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos''. Paladin Press. pp. 276 - 280, {{ISBN|978-1-58160-535-8}}.</ref> They appealed to headquarters of [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group]] (MACV-SOG or SOG) in [[Saigon]] requesting aid from the highly classified unit; specifically, they asked for a unit to enter near Chavane and disrupt PAVN defenses. Colonel John Sadler, SOG's commander, agreed to undertake the mission. However, none of his cross-border reconnaissance teams had ever operated so deep in Laos, and the target area was 20 miles (30&nbsp;km) beyond the unit's authorized area of operations.

The mission was launched by three platoons of Command and Control Central's ([[Kontum]]) Hatchet Company B and two [[United States Air Force]] Pathfinder Teams. The 110 [[Degar|Montagnards]] and 16 Americans, under the command of Captain Eugene McCarley, were heli-lifted from a launch site at [[Dak To]] to a [[landing zone]] (LZ) in a valley {{convert|60|mi}} to the west, near Chavane. The distance to the target was so great that the men were lifted by three [[United States Marine Corps]] (USMC) [[Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion]] helicopters from [[HMH-463]],<ref name=Cosmas>{{cite book|last=Cosmas|first=Graham|title=U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Vietnamization and Redeployment 1970–1971|publisher=History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps|year=1988|isbn=978-1-4823-8412-3|pages=295–6}}</ref> escorted by 12 USMC and Army [[Bell AH-1 Cobra]] gunships.

On the morning of the third day, the Americans overran a PAVN bivouac and killed 54 troops. They questioned why the Vietnamese had not fled the area, but members of the Hatchet Force discovered a bunker buried beneath {{convert|12|ft}} of earth. Inside they found a huge cache of PAVN maps and documents. They had overrun the PAVN logistical headquarters that controlled all of Laotian Route 165. The forces quickly filled two footlockers with the intelligence haul and the Hatchet Force began to seek a way out. The PAVN were closing in, but McCarley dropped off elements at three separate (and smaller) landing zones, catching the PAVN unprepared.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Casualties incurred during the operation amounted to three Montagnards killed in action and 33 wounded, while all 16 Americans were wounded. Two CH-53s were shot down during the operation.<ref name=Cosmas /> The efforts of SOG medic Sergeant [[Gary Michael Rose]] were considered critical to the survival of many of the Hatchet Force. He was recommended for the [[Medal of Honor]] for his actions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ultimatesniper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/The-True-Story-of-Operation-Tailwind.pdf|title=The True Story of Operation Tailwind|last=Plaster|first=John L.|access-date=4 September 2013}}</ref> He instead received the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=4565|title=Valor awards for Gary M. Rose|work=Military Times Hall of Valor|access-date=4 September 2013}}</ref> This was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor, which President Donald Trump presented to him on October 23, 2017.<ref name="MOHProfile">{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/rose/|title=Captain Gary Michael Rose|website=www.army.mil|publisher=United States Army|language=en|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>