A MACV-SOG Hatchet Force team, comprised of American Special Forces personnel and indigenous Montagnard soldiers, gathers at the ramp of a heavy-lift helicopter during Operation Tailwind, the September 1970 cross-border raid into Laos. Preserved in the Gene McCarley collection — McCarley commanded the ground assault force during the operation — this image documents the high-risk insertion and extraction phases central to SOG's clandestine missions. Project: 219480