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Pony Express - 1st SOS - Flight Patch
United States Air Force - 1st Special Operations Squadron
1st Air Commandos - Pony Express
Measures - 3.2 inches in diameter (8 cms)
Classified, Covert Operations
1st SOS / 20th / 21st SOS
The 1st SOSalong with the 20th SOS and 21st SOS were responsible for the transport ofpersonnel and equipment into war zones throughout Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam(North and South) from the time of their arrival in South East Asia in 1965.
In the earlierdays of the war their cargo were essentially CIA personnel and their agents whowould later infiltrate into North Vietnam via Laos.
The droppingof indigenous agents into Laos and North Vietnam however had effectively ceasedby mid to late 1968 as the numbers caught (or surrendering with valuableinformation) within days of their drop by far outweighed the number thatremained free to the point where the exercise was almost pointless.
Also utilisedfor the support and transport of US Special Forces RECON Teams into areas wherethey could locate POW\'s and damage supply routes of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Although theProject name, PONY EXPRESS highlights the use of the assigned units as been aTransport Unit the actuality of their mission was considerably different withthe 1st, 20th and 21st SOS been engaged in combat activity on more than 80% oftheir assigned missions either on the way to dropping off cargo, on LZ or thereturn to base as well as missions in which they themselves were active(including the Son Tay raid).
All PonyExpress Units were deactivated in 1972.
