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  • Early Years, 1961-1964

    At first, the U.S. Air Force trained and equipped the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) with slow, propeller-driven combat aircraft. Flying O-1 Bird Dogs, forward air controllers (FACs) directed airstrikes by T-28s, B-26s and later A-1 Skyraiders.Growing American military involvement increased the

  • Dangerously Close! USAF Close Air Support in the Southeast Asia War

    Close air support (CAS) -- sometimes called tactical air support -- gave American and South Vietnamese ground forces a tremendous military advantage. However, the U.S. Air Force had to relearn CAS tactics used during World War II and the Korean War. Because the USAF's high-speed combat jets flew too

  • Total Force Legacy

    The Total Force Policy -- a direct result of lessons learned from the Southeast Asia War -- significantly changed the role of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard after the war. In the 1960s Reserve and Guard units generally flew older aircraft and most did not have the ability to rapidly

  • Air Force Reserve AC-119G Shadows

    In 1968, the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) 71st Tactical Airlift Squadron mobilized and converted to the AC-119G Shadow gunship, becoming the 71st Special Operations Squadron (SOS). The 71st SOS deployed the first of 18 AC-119G gunships to South Vietnam in December 1968. For the next six months, 71st

  • Air National Guard F-100s in South Vietnam

    In 1968, four Air National Guard (ANG) F-100 squadrons deployed to Southeast Asia to provide close air support for friendly troops in South Vietnam. The first was the Colorado ANG 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) in May 1968, followed by the 174th TFS (Iowa), 188th TFS (New Mexico) and the

  • Southeast Asia Airlift

    Reservists and Guardsmen regularly carried personnel and cargo to and from Southeast Asia on Air Force Reserve (AFRES) and Air National Guard (ANG) propeller-driven transports. In 1968, Reservists began providing flight crews for modern active duty USAF airlifters like the jet-powered C-141. AFRES

  • Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard Explained

    The Air Force Reserve (AFRES) is a federal reserve component of the U.S. Air Force. The Air National Guard (ANG) is the air militia component of the National Guard of each state or territory (with each state's ANG under the jurisdiction of that state's governor). AFRES and ANG units can be mobilized

  • Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard in SEA

    During the Southeast Asia War, the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) and Air National Guard (ANG) primarily remained a Cold War strategic reserve in case a wider war broke out. As such, it operated mostly outside the combat theater, helping fill the gaps left when active duty units deployed for combat.In

  • Turning Night into Day: Candlesticks, Lamplighters and Blind Bats

    The enemy used the cover of darkness to move and attack. In Laos, Air Force flareships played an important role in lighting the night sky over friendly positions. Flareship crews also directed night air strikes, often against trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. They used night observation devices -- or

  • Gunship III: Shadows and Stingers

    With few C-130s available for gunship conversion, the Air Force turned to the Korean War-era C-119 transport. The Gunship III program had two versions, the AC-119G Shadow and the AC-119K Stinger.The AC-119G Shadow replaced the AC-47, and it entered combat in January 1969 with the 71st Special