This photograph, part of the McCarley collection of Operation Tailwind materials, depicts armed personnel in tiger-stripe camouflage at a forward compound believed to be associated with MACV-SOG (Studies and Observations Group) operations. Gene McCarley commanded the Hatchet Force platoon during the September 1970 Operation Tailwind incursion into Laos, one of the most significant and later controversial cross-border missions of the Vietnam War. Images like this preserve the appearance and daily readiness of the elite reconnaissance and exploitation forces who carried out these classified operations. Project: 219515