Project Hotfoot (also known as Operation Hotfoot, originally known as Operation Ambidextrous) was a secretive military training mission from the United States in support of the Kingdom of Laos. It ran from 22 January 1959 through 19 April 1961. Working in civilian clothing in conjunction with a French military mission, it concentrated on technical training of the Royal Lao Army.
Background
In March 1945, in the waning days of World War II, the Japanese occupiers of the Kingdom of Laos forced Lao independence from France. However, the French reasserted themselves in French Indochina after war's end. During the ensuing First Indochina War, the Vietnamese Communist revolutionists invaded Laos in March 1953. After occupying large portions of Phongsaly, Houaphanh Province, and mountainous terrain that would become the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the Vietminh moved south to the Plain of Jars and in a column menacing Luang Prabang. The Plain of Jars offered the French forces the advantages of attacking the Viet Minh in the open with artillery and air strikes; that assault was halted. The column near Luang Prabang was also stopped when it was ambushed. A third Vietminh force captured Thakhek on 25 December 1953, cutting Laos in two. This force would not be evicted until February 1954.
As France departed Laos after losing the First Indochina War, the United States moved in to support the Royal Lao Government. In the wake of the 1954 Geneva Conference and its treaties, the U.S. embassy in Vientiane established the Programs Evaluation Office to oversee military aid to Laos. It was established on 13 December 1954. Purportedly staffed by civilians, its personnel were U.S. military retirees, veterans, and reservists. Because the PEO personnel were not serving on active military duty, they were not in violation of the terms of the Geneva treaty.
The Heintges Plan
In September 1958, Brigadier General John A. Heintges left the U.S. Army. In November, he flew to Laos to evaluate the Programs Evaluation Office, with a mandate to take charge of it. Heintges concluded that the staff of the PEO was too small, and seemed intent only on delivering equipment. There was a suspicion that some military aid to Laos was diverted for French use in the Algerian War.
Returning to Washington, DC, Heintges lobbied for a larger PEO. He pointed to the sad shape of the Royal Lao Army as proof of need of U.S. military materiel and training. He was granted an increase in staff. Also, on 22 January 1959, CINCPAC levied a requirement for 12 Special Forces Mobile Training Teams of eight men each; they were slated to start six months temporary duty in Laos on 1 April. The operation was kept secret from the American public and, in fact, U.S. commandos that were sent to Laos were given written orders stating they were going to Vietnam. A cover story was arranged; the U.S. mission was purportedly from the U.S. National Geodetic Survey. U.S. commandos were disguised as civilians and carried civilian identifications. General Donald Blackburn was charged with command of the mission. He prepared his men by requiring tutoring in both French and Lao, and insisting that all hands read the nonfiction book Street Without Joy, as well as the novel The Ugly American, before departure.
However, negotiations with the French government delayed things. It was finally decided that the French instructors in Laos under the Geneva treaty would continue to teach tactics, while the American trainers would teach technical subjects. On 24 July 1959, the Mobile Training Teams arrived in Vientiane. Augmented by a control team 11 strong, the force was dubbed Project Hotfoot (Operation Hotfoot for security purposes); it was also known by the official but little-used title of the Laos Training Advisory Group. They were to work for the PEO as a training arm, teaching Lao soldiers the use of the M1 Garand, Browning Automatic Rifle, M1 Carbine, bazooka, M18 recoilless rifle, and both 60mm and 81mm mortars. The Green Berets were commanded on site by Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. Simons.