A Hatchet Force team boards a Marine CH-53 helicopter before a cross-border mission, part of the buildup for Operation Tailwind, the September 1970 MACV-SOG raid into Laos led by Lt. Col. Gene McCarley. Heavily laden with rucksacks and CAR-15 carbines, these American and indigenous soldiers of Command and Control Central represent the elite, secretive reconnaissance and strike forces that conducted deniable operations along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Project: 219480