The Green Berets in the Land of a Million Elephants: U.S. Army Special Warfare and the Secret War in Laos 1959-74

The Secret War in Laos was one of the first “Long Wars” for special operations, spanning a period of about thirteen years. It was one of the largest CIA-paramilitary operations of the time, kept out of the view of the American public until now.

Between 1959 and 1974, Green Berets were covertly deployed to Laos to prevent a communist take-over or at least preserve the kingdom's neutrality. Operators dressed in civilian clothes, armed with cover stories and answering only to "Mister," were delivered to the country by Air America, where they answered to the U.S. Ambassador. There they were faced with the complexities of the three factions in Laos, as well as operating with limited resources – maps of the country often had large blank areas and essential supplies often didn't arrive at all. In challenging tropical conditions they trained and undertook combat advisory duties with native and tribal forces. Veterans remember Hmong guerrillas and Lao soldiers who were often shorter than the M1 rifles they carried.

The Green Berets' service in Laos was the first strategic challenge since its formation in 1952, and proved one of the first major applications of special warfare doctrine. Clouded in secrey until the 1990s, this story is comprehensively told for the first time using official archival documents and interviews with veterans.

• Uncommon Valor: The Recon Company that Earned Five Medals of Honor and Included America's Most Decorated Green Beret
• SOG Medic: Stories from Vietnam and Over the Fence
• We Few: U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam
• Legacy of Lies: Over the Fence in Laos
• Special Air Warfare and the Secret War in Laos: Air Commandos 1964-1975
• A Tiger among Us: A Story of Valor in Vietnam's A Shau Valley
• Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins
• SOG Chronicles: Volume One
• All Secure: A Special Operations Soldier's Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront
• Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG