background to the Cold War there was the onset of low intensity guerrilla wars and wars of insurgency with proxies of the Soviet Union. During 1963, the situation in South Vietnam was heating up on a daily basis and more and more "military advisors" were being sent to that small country in Southeast Asia. Special Operations Units Air Force Special Forces units became part of TAC in 1961 when a counter-insurgency force was activated at Eglin AFB, Florida. Aircraft of these units consisted of a combination of propeller-driven World War II and Korean War-vintage fighters, modified trainers, Douglas B-26 Invader attack bombers and an eclectic collection of cargo and utility aircraft. Originally activated as a Combat Crew Training Squadron, the unit was upgraded to a wing and designated as the 1st Air Commando Wing. In 1964, TAC ordered a squadron of specially modified C-130E aircraft to support U.S. Army Special Forces and Central Intelligence Agency teams operating deep inside enemy territory. As the war in Vietnam intensified, additional air commando units were organized in Southeast Asia. In 1968, these units were redesignated as "Special Operations" squadrons. Tactical Fighters In response to what has become known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, TAC pilots and support personnel found themselves deployed to places like Da Nang AB and Phan Rang AB in South Vietnam and Takhli RTAFB and Korat RTAFB in Thailand. Initially, TAC began deploying squadrons of F-100 Super Sabre, RF-101 Voodoo and F-105 Thunderchief aircraft to these overseas installations under the cognizance of PACAF. As the American effort in Southeast Asia increased, TAC used a process of deploying squadrons to PACAF-operated bases in South Vietnam and Thailand, with the squadrons being attached temporarily on rotational deployments or being permanently reassigned to the PACAF wing. For the next decade, TAC would be consumed by operations in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. On a daily basis, flight crews trained by TAC would hurl themselves and their planes at targets across the area of operations, to include over the skies of North Vietnam. As the command responsible for training aircrews for overseas duty, TAC maintained Readiness Training Units in the United States to train pilots and other aircrew members for fighters, reconnaissance and troop carrier (redesignated tactical airlift after 1 July 1966) squadrons in the Pacific. Troop Carrier In December 1964, TAC deployed a squadron of C-123 Provider assault transports from the