Undercover Armies - CIA FOIA - Central Intelligence Agency

C05303949
a total of II people dead; the numerous wounded included CIA officerCJ .
Ihis back and legs peppered with shrapnel.6'D
I
According to some panicky reporting to VangPao,I---------1
and other Sky personnel had perished, and that shook the general's composure
so badly that he diverted an airplane to take him to Vientiane. He appeared at
Hugh Tovar's office early that same morning, where the COS reassured him
about the well-being of their CIt cOlleares at Long Tieng. They flew
together back to Long Tieng, wher
and his men were picking up the
pieces and assessing the damage. With the compound destroyed, Tovar
acceded to Vang Pao's plea to let one officer remain overnight; he would
move into the general's house. 63 D .
----------------------IA~c~c~o~rd~-1
ing to the testimony of Raven FACs, the standoff altitude mandated for the F·
4s was producing "miss distances" of 1,000 to 5,000 yards. This meant that,
with the "shining exception" of the 432" Fighter Wing at Udorn, which was
laying strikes to within 10 yards of the aiming point, USAF support could not
be called in near friendly positions. On this occasion, the unhappiness was
deepened by what Tovar called "a disastrous performance [by the Laotian air
force] flare- and gunships." The COS complained also of the "total absence of
the USAF C-1I9 gunships which we had been assured would be on station
with overlapping coverage throughout the night.t'That this support had probably
been diverted to prop up Operation Lam Son 719 offered only cold comforl.
64 D .
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