The Ravens were fighter pilots who conducted FAC covert operations in conjunction with the CIA deep in Laos during the Vietnam War. The Ravens provided direction for most of the air strikes against communist targets, air recon, BDAs and ground coordination for U.S. backed guerrilla forces.
Even though they essentially belonged to the USAF, once in Laos, they were stripped of all military identification and gear, supplied with U.S. Aid identification, and changed into civilian clothing to be worn for their entire tour of duty.
Flying in small Cessnas, the Raven FAC was an exhausting, high-risk, high-stress job. Anti-aircraft fire could be intense and accurate; the Raven's airplanes were known to take up to 50 hits battle damage in a single sortie. The casualty rate among them ran about 50% wounded and killed; one calculation by a participating Raven at his end of tour was that 90% of the Raven planes had been hit by ground fire during their tours of duty; 60% had been downed by enemy action at some point; 30% had been killed in action. #ravens #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #pilots #flyboyz #classy