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When General of the Army Henry H. "Hap" Arnold created an elite war- fighting unit during World War II, and called them "Air Commandos," he had no idea an Air Force tradition was being set in motion. A tradition few bluesuiters know about today.

The setting was Japanese-occupied Burma, 1943. Geography made a "textbook" frontal assault on the Japanese impossible, and dictated the British take an unorthodox approach to the fight. Their answer was a commando unit that would use unconventional "hit and run" tactics to confuse the enemy, and destroy their lines of communication and resupply.

The concept depended heavily on air support, and with most of their resources committed to Europe, the British looked to America for assistance.

Arnold met with British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, the supreme allied commander for the theater, to discuss the air support plan. To honor Mountbatten's earlier leadership of British commandos, Arnold coined the phrase "Air Commandos" as a name for the unique unit created to fill the requirement.

The 1st Air Commando Group, as it came to be known, was a self-contained composite force of fighters, cargo planes, light aircraft, helicopters and support people. The 1st ACG, which adopted the motto "Anytime, Anywhere," successfully attacked the enemy from the air, resupplied British commandos on the ground, and airlifted injured out of the battle area, eventually driving the Japanese out of Burma.

So what does any of this have to do with the Air Force?

In April 1961 a unit was created at Hurlburt Field, Fla., by then-Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Curtis E. LeMay to train Air Force members to fight unconventional, "non-textbook" air warfare. This was in response to Soviet-supported insurgencies springing up in Third World countries.

Borrowing the namesake from its Army brother, the unit trained "Air Commandos" and had a two-fold purpose: counterinsurgency training and combat operations. It was the first unit of its kind in the Air Force.

"The Air Commando concept was to have a self sufficient, self-contained force that could deploy anywhere in the world and conduct operations," said retired Brig. Gen. Harry C. "Heinie" Aderholt, a commander of Air Commandos in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

As Aderholt answered questions about the Air Commandos during an Airman interview, it became clear why he's known by many as the "father" of Air Force special operations.

From air dropping agents deep in North Korea during the Korean War, to commanding clandestine flights into Tibet during the anti-communist guerrilla uprising, to helping plan the Bay of Pigs invasion, Aderholt has had unique experiences qualifying him to talk about operations that were often carried out in secret.

Air Commandos like Aderholt operated in wars at locations worldwide, but it was in the Vietnam War that commandos made some of their greatest contributions.

Initially deployed to Bien Hoa Air Base in 1961 as part of Operation Farm Gate, Air Commandos flew combat missions with South Vietnamese pilots, training them to conduct counterinsurgency warfare from the sky in the AT-28. As a result, Air Commandos flew some of the first combat missions in the conflict.

Operations required specialized equipment, Aderholt explained. Propeller-driven aircraft, like the AT-28, and others like the A-1 Skyraider, were better for the job than fast-moving jets.

"In a jet, you burn fuel at an incredible rate, and you go too fast to maintain sight of a target. In these aircraft, pilots could remain over a target for longer periods, and maintain visual contact," Aderholt said.

In response to requests for support in countering North Vietnam's intrusion into Laos with the Ho Chi Minh trail, Air Commandos trained Laotian and Thai pilots to interdict the supply line in Operation Water Pump.

Counterinsurgency operations expanded to include combat operations directly supporting U.S. ground forces, more of which were being committed to the war.

The need for close air support increased as the Vietcong, the South Vietnamese communist sympathizers conducting insurgency in South Vietnam, attacked and often overran friendly encampments.

The "gunship" was born out of this requirement, and Air Commandos were the ones to turn its heavy firepower on the enemy.

The AC-47, a modified C-47 firing three multibarrell miniguns out side windows, was the first gunship. The AC-119 and later AC-130 brought technological advances and increased effectiveness to the gunship idea, including night-vision equipment and heavier armament, some of which are still used today.

"The gunship was an amazing airplane, not a single friendly fortress was ever given up to the enemy when a gunship was overhead," Aderholt said. "I think we should have gotten them sooner and made more of them. It would have changed the outcome of the war in my opinion."

A wide variety of other aircraft were used for operations, from light airplanes to helicopters. The A-26, a twin-propeller light bomber-type aircraft, similar to ones used in World War II, was tested on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1966. Air Force records show it was extremely effective in the interdiction mission.

While "truck kill" statistics generated by Air Force leadership showed Air Commandos were more effective than conventional forces at interdicting the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Aderholt said he met more than his share of resistance from all-jet force advocates while trying to get the resources required to fight.

He remembers a humorous wager with a wing commander that proved his confidence in special operations.

Convinced the Air Commandos could not interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail as effectively as conventional jet forces, the commander accepted Aderholt's bet: the winner would be the person whose unit destroyed more trucks on the trail that night.

While he can't remember the exact statistics, Aderholt chuckles as he recalls how the margin he won by spoke for itself.

One of the most notable missions the Air Commandos participated in was the Son Tay prisoner of war camp raid of 1970. Army and Air Force special operators conducted the nearly flawless operation to free POWs from the camp. Although the North Vietnamese had moved all the prisoners, the operation was a watermark for the potential of special operations.

Jerry Rhein, an A-1 pilot during the raid, said the whole operation was shrouded in secrecy. He reported to Southeast Asia for the mission without knowing why until shortly beforehand.

"We took off in radio silence the night of the operation," said Rhein. "The wing commander was up in the tower and was told that A-1s would take off at a certain time, and to ignore them."

It is important to note Air Commando contributions were not limited just to air operations. In fact it would take volumes to account for every story of heroism.

"You name it, we had 'em: pilots, combat controllers, medics, combat weather teams, forward air controllers, everything we needed to be a self-sustaining force," said Aderholt.

This self-sustaining nature of the Air Commando force put every member through training above and beyond that of the average bluesuiter, and every commando "pulled more than his own weight," according to Aderholt.

Aircraft mechanics would load bombs and work in the orderly room if need be.

Medics, who were not officially qualified as surgeons, often acted as such when necessity dictated it.

"Every one of my commandos was trained to use the radio; every single one of them could call in an air strike if it was required," said Aderholt.

Carlos Christian served with the 1st Air Commando Group in Burma during World War II, and as an Air Commando squadron First Sergeant during Vietnam.

"I had a dozen jobs I could do, and there was no saying that you couldn't do a certain thing. That's how we got the job done - you just did it," he said.

Combat Control Teams were jump-qualified communications experts who went behind enemy lines to set up landing zones, drop zones or call in airstrikes from hidden ground positions by radio.

"The art of being a combat controller is being able to communicate with your fellow countryman, and ours were the best in the world," Aderholt said.

So good in fact, that they operated for a time, contrary to Air Force policy, as Airborne Forward Air Controllers, according to Aderholt.

"For a while no one knew who was controlling the strikes that were going on, but the job got done, and it was done well," Aderholt said.

There was never a "bad bullet" or bad airstrike while combat controllers served as FACs, Aderholt said.

"The esprit-de-corps and teamwork among these people was tremendous."

"There wasn't any talk of AFSCs - if there were airplanes to be moved, medics and maintainers moved them together," he said.

"It was always a tight team.

"They believed they could do just about anything, and when you believe like that, you often can," Aderholt said.

From the beginning to the end of the Vietnam War, Air Commandos showed a diversity of capabilities and missions that could never be documented on just a few pages. Close air support, interdiction, civic affairs, psychological operations, medical, and defoliant operations were but a few.

At the peak of their strength during Vietnam, the Air Commandos never accounted for more than 5 percent of the total Air Force effort. Yet five of the 12 Medals of Honor awarded to Air Force people during the war went to Air Commando/Special Operations people.

In July 1968 the Special Air Warfare Center at Hurlburt Field was redesignated the USAF Special Operations Force. Subordinate units were redesignated special operations wings and squadrons, and all reference to "Air Commandos" was dropped.

Aderholt, who was the last general officer to leave Southeast Asia, remains a strong advocate for special operations.

"Special operations seems to be one of those areas that nobody wants to talk about, until it's really needed, that is - then it gets called on big time.

"Look at special operations today, for example; these people are gone TDY a majority of the time. There is obviously a need."

After several realignments and combat operations since that time, Air Force Special Operations Command was created in 1990. Members of the command carry on the Air Commando legacy as they refine the training and equipment required to conduct unconventional warfare. A prime example is the AC-130U (see back cover) with a pressurized cabin, and improved sensors and armament.

And while no longer on active duty, the Air Commandos remain active in preserving their heritage and promoting special operations. Friendships forged under fire are renewed at annual reunions held by the Air Commando Association at Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

The most recent reunion included the official dedication of a new Air Commando and Special Operations display at Eglin Air Force Base's Air Force Armament museum. Social time, business meetings and memorial services for commando friends who have recently passed on, also were part of the agenda.

Reflecting on the people he has grown close to as an Air Commando, Christian sums up how he feels about his friends: "These people are like my brothers. I would do anything for them, and I know they feel the same way about me."

From the sound in his voice, they would - "Anytime, Anywhere."

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