Author: Bill Collier
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781547225323
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Book Description
Death-defying adventure, big money, world travel, sex, booze - this true tale has it all. War Correspondent Anne Darling described the pilots of Air AMERICA as "CIA Super Pilots." Captain Collier was one of those "Super Pilots". This is his story. Captain Collier teamed up with his best Vietnam helicopter pilot buddy, Gary, and the two rascals shared enough adventure to make any novel seem lame. Flying combat in mountainous and weather-hostile Laos was some of the most challenging ever experienced by any pilot, any time, any war. Making fabulous money and having airline benefits allowed them to live an exotic lifestyle, to travel the world on their monthly R&Rs, and to chase and catch more than a few stewardesses from several different airlines. Air America operated an entire fleet of aircraft out of the "secret CIA air base" at Long Tieng. For years it ranked as one of the busiest airports in the world as the CIA supported the Laotian Army in its efforts to repel the army of North Vietnam intent on conquering all of Laos.
CIA Super Pilot Spills the Beans
Author: Bill Collier
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781547225323
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Book Description
Death-defying adventure, big money, world travel, sex, booze - this true tale has it all. War Correspondent Anne Darling described the pilots of Air AMERICA as "CIA Super Pilots." Captain Collier was one of those "Super Pilots". This is his story. Captain Collier teamed up with his best Vietnam helicopter pilot buddy, Gary, and the two rascals shared enough adventure to make any novel seem lame. Flying combat in mountainous and weather-hostile Laos was some of the most challenging ever experienced by any pilot, any time, any war. Making fabulous money and having airline benefits allowed them to live an exotic lifestyle, to travel the world on their monthly R&Rs, and to chase and catch more than a few stewardesses from several different airlines. Air America operated an entire fleet of aircraft out of the "secret CIA air base" at Long Tieng. For years it ranked as one of the busiest airports in the world as the CIA supported the Laotian Army in its efforts to repel the army of North Vietnam intent on conquering all of Laos.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781547225323
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Book Description
Death-defying adventure, big money, world travel, sex, booze - this true tale has it all. War Correspondent Anne Darling described the pilots of Air AMERICA as "CIA Super Pilots." Captain Collier was one of those "Super Pilots". This is his story. Captain Collier teamed up with his best Vietnam helicopter pilot buddy, Gary, and the two rascals shared enough adventure to make any novel seem lame. Flying combat in mountainous and weather-hostile Laos was some of the most challenging ever experienced by any pilot, any time, any war. Making fabulous money and having airline benefits allowed them to live an exotic lifestyle, to travel the world on their monthly R&Rs, and to chase and catch more than a few stewardesses from several different airlines. Air America operated an entire fleet of aircraft out of the "secret CIA air base" at Long Tieng. For years it ranked as one of the busiest airports in the world as the CIA supported the Laotian Army in its efforts to repel the army of North Vietnam intent on conquering all of Laos.
Air America
Author: Bill Collier
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781688081871
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
In this second edition of his memoir, previously titled "CIA Super Pilot Spills the Beans," former H-34 and Bell Huey pilot Capt. Bill Collier tells of his experiences flying helicopters in Laos for Air America, during the CIA's secret war waged into the 1970s. It was the war correspondent Anne Darling who described the pilots of Air America as "CIA Super Pilots," and as Collier tells of flying in challenging weather and combat conditions with his best Vietnam helicopter pilot buddy, Gary, the pair shared enough adventure to make any novel seem lame. Making fabulous money and having airline benefits allowed them to live an exotic lifestyle, to travel the world on their monthly R&Rs, and to chase and catch more than a few stewardesses from several different airlines.Air America operated an entire fleet of aircraft out of the "secret CIA air base" at Long Tieng. For years it ranked as one of the busiest airports in the world as the CIA supported the Laotian Army in its efforts to repel the army of North Vietnam intent on conquering all of Laos.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781688081871
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
In this second edition of his memoir, previously titled "CIA Super Pilot Spills the Beans," former H-34 and Bell Huey pilot Capt. Bill Collier tells of his experiences flying helicopters in Laos for Air America, during the CIA's secret war waged into the 1970s. It was the war correspondent Anne Darling who described the pilots of Air America as "CIA Super Pilots," and as Collier tells of flying in challenging weather and combat conditions with his best Vietnam helicopter pilot buddy, Gary, the pair shared enough adventure to make any novel seem lame. Making fabulous money and having airline benefits allowed them to live an exotic lifestyle, to travel the world on their monthly R&Rs, and to chase and catch more than a few stewardesses from several different airlines.Air America operated an entire fleet of aircraft out of the "secret CIA air base" at Long Tieng. For years it ranked as one of the busiest airports in the world as the CIA supported the Laotian Army in its efforts to repel the army of North Vietnam intent on conquering all of Laos.
Wings of Air America
Author: Terry Love
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
ISBN: 9780764306198
Category : Aeronautics, Commercial
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Air America was the largest of the CIA's secret airlines. Air America was one of the world's most extraordinary ailines. It was run by the CIA, operated secret missions, publicly flew scheduled routes, and, at its peak, Air America had the largest commercial fleet in the world! The airline emerged from China after World War II, had close ties to the famous Flying Tigers, Claire Chennault, other airlines, and foreign governments. But was it really an airline, or just a military cargo division? Air America operated a wide variety of helicopters and other aircraft. They did maintenance for foreign military, other competing airlines, American military, and had the largest facilities in Asia - in fact, the American government denied that they even existed! But they did exist, and a magnificent job was done by them. Revealed here, for the first time, is some of the flight equipment that was used on some of these secret missions. They "invented" aerial resupply - even before the Berlin Airlift. Finally, they did most of the evacuation from falling Saigon in 1975. Unsung, unheralded, but always brave, courageous, and dedicated, they lived up to, and often died, with Air America's motto of "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime - Professionally."
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
ISBN: 9780764306198
Category : Aeronautics, Commercial
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Air America was the largest of the CIA's secret airlines. Air America was one of the world's most extraordinary ailines. It was run by the CIA, operated secret missions, publicly flew scheduled routes, and, at its peak, Air America had the largest commercial fleet in the world! The airline emerged from China after World War II, had close ties to the famous Flying Tigers, Claire Chennault, other airlines, and foreign governments. But was it really an airline, or just a military cargo division? Air America operated a wide variety of helicopters and other aircraft. They did maintenance for foreign military, other competing airlines, American military, and had the largest facilities in Asia - in fact, the American government denied that they even existed! But they did exist, and a magnificent job was done by them. Revealed here, for the first time, is some of the flight equipment that was used on some of these secret missions. They "invented" aerial resupply - even before the Berlin Airlift. Finally, they did most of the evacuation from falling Saigon in 1975. Unsung, unheralded, but always brave, courageous, and dedicated, they lived up to, and often died, with Air America's motto of "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime - Professionally."
The 2030 Spike
Author: Colin Mason
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136555110
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
The clock is relentlessly ticking! Our world teeters on a knife-edge between a peaceful and prosperous future for all, and a dark winter of death and destruction that threatens to smother the light of civilization. Within 30 years, in the 2030 decade, six powerful 'drivers' will converge with unprecedented force in a statistical spike that could tear humanity apart and plunge the world into a new Dark Age. Depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness are on a crash course with potentially catastrophic consequences. In the face of both doomsaying and denial over the state of our world, Colin Mason cuts through the rhetoric and reams of conflicting data to muster the evidence to illustrate a broad picture of the world as it is, and our possible futures. Ultimately his message is clear; we must act decisively, collectively and immediately to alter the trajectory of humanity away from catastrophe. Offering over 100 priorities for immediate action, The 2030 Spike serves as a guidebook for humanity through the treacherous minefields and wastelands ahead to a bright, peaceful and prosperous future in which all humans have the opportunity to thrive and build a better civilization. This book is powerful and essential reading for all people concerned with the future of humanity and planet earth.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136555110
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
The clock is relentlessly ticking! Our world teeters on a knife-edge between a peaceful and prosperous future for all, and a dark winter of death and destruction that threatens to smother the light of civilization. Within 30 years, in the 2030 decade, six powerful 'drivers' will converge with unprecedented force in a statistical spike that could tear humanity apart and plunge the world into a new Dark Age. Depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness are on a crash course with potentially catastrophic consequences. In the face of both doomsaying and denial over the state of our world, Colin Mason cuts through the rhetoric and reams of conflicting data to muster the evidence to illustrate a broad picture of the world as it is, and our possible futures. Ultimately his message is clear; we must act decisively, collectively and immediately to alter the trajectory of humanity away from catastrophe. Offering over 100 priorities for immediate action, The 2030 Spike serves as a guidebook for humanity through the treacherous minefields and wastelands ahead to a bright, peaceful and prosperous future in which all humans have the opportunity to thrive and build a better civilization. This book is powerful and essential reading for all people concerned with the future of humanity and planet earth.
Surprise, Kill, Vanish
Author: Annie Jacobsen
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316441406
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 586
Book Description
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen, the untold USA Today bestselling story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units. Surprise . . . your target. Kill . . . your enemy. Vanish . . . without a trace. When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special Activities Division, a highly-classified branch of the CIA and the most effective, black operations force in the world. Originally known as the president's guerrilla warfare corps, SAD conducts risky and ruthless operations that have evolved over time to defend America from its enemies. Almost every American president since World War II has asked the CIA to conduct sabotage, subversion and, yes, assassination. With unprecedented access to forty-two men and women who proudly and secretly worked on CIA covert operations from the dawn of the Cold War to the present day, along with declassified documents and deep historical research, Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen unveils -- like never before -- a complex world of individuals working in treacherous environments populated with killers, connivers, and saboteurs. Despite Hollywood notions of off-book operations and external secret hires, covert action is actually one piece in a colossal foreign policy machine. Written with the pacing of a thriller, Surprise, Kill, Vanish brings to vivid life the sheer pandemonium and chaos, as well as the unforgettable human will to survive and the intellectual challenge of not giving up hope that define paramilitary and intelligence work. Jacobsen's exclusive interviews -- with members of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service (equivalent to the Pentagon's generals), its counterterrorism chiefs, targeting officers, and Special Activities Division's Ground Branch operators who conduct today's close-quarters killing operations around the world -- reveal, for the first time, the enormity of this shocking, controversial, and morally complex terrain. Is the CIA's paramilitary army America's weaponized strength, or a liability to its principled standing in the world? Every operation reported in this book, however unsettling, is legal.
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316441406
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 586
Book Description
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen, the untold USA Today bestselling story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units. Surprise . . . your target. Kill . . . your enemy. Vanish . . . without a trace. When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special Activities Division, a highly-classified branch of the CIA and the most effective, black operations force in the world. Originally known as the president's guerrilla warfare corps, SAD conducts risky and ruthless operations that have evolved over time to defend America from its enemies. Almost every American president since World War II has asked the CIA to conduct sabotage, subversion and, yes, assassination. With unprecedented access to forty-two men and women who proudly and secretly worked on CIA covert operations from the dawn of the Cold War to the present day, along with declassified documents and deep historical research, Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen unveils -- like never before -- a complex world of individuals working in treacherous environments populated with killers, connivers, and saboteurs. Despite Hollywood notions of off-book operations and external secret hires, covert action is actually one piece in a colossal foreign policy machine. Written with the pacing of a thriller, Surprise, Kill, Vanish brings to vivid life the sheer pandemonium and chaos, as well as the unforgettable human will to survive and the intellectual challenge of not giving up hope that define paramilitary and intelligence work. Jacobsen's exclusive interviews -- with members of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service (equivalent to the Pentagon's generals), its counterterrorism chiefs, targeting officers, and Special Activities Division's Ground Branch operators who conduct today's close-quarters killing operations around the world -- reveal, for the first time, the enormity of this shocking, controversial, and morally complex terrain. Is the CIA's paramilitary army America's weaponized strength, or a liability to its principled standing in the world? Every operation reported in this book, however unsettling, is legal.
Against All Enemies
Author: Tom Clancy
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 110153687X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 683
Book Description
Racing from the remote, war-scarred landscapes of the Middle East to the blood-soaked chaos of the U.S.-Mexico border, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Clancy delivers a heart-stopping thriller that is frighteningly close to reality. Working behind the scenes for the CIA, ex-Navy SEAL Maxwell Moore arrives at a rendezvous to take charge of a high-ranking Taliban captive and barely escapes with his life. Undaunted, Moore is relentless in his quest to find the terrorist cell responsible, but what he discovers leads him to a much darker conspiracy in an unexpected part of the globe... After years of planning, the Taliban have come to terms with a vicious Mexican drug cartel and agreed to supply them with opium. For the cartel, the deal means money, power, and ultimate control of the drug trade. But for the Taliban, it is a long awaited opportunity: to exploit the cartels and bring the fire of the jihad to the hearts of the infidels, striking against the very heart of America.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 110153687X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 683
Book Description
Racing from the remote, war-scarred landscapes of the Middle East to the blood-soaked chaos of the U.S.-Mexico border, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Clancy delivers a heart-stopping thriller that is frighteningly close to reality. Working behind the scenes for the CIA, ex-Navy SEAL Maxwell Moore arrives at a rendezvous to take charge of a high-ranking Taliban captive and barely escapes with his life. Undaunted, Moore is relentless in his quest to find the terrorist cell responsible, but what he discovers leads him to a much darker conspiracy in an unexpected part of the globe... After years of planning, the Taliban have come to terms with a vicious Mexican drug cartel and agreed to supply them with opium. For the cartel, the deal means money, power, and ultimate control of the drug trade. But for the Taliban, it is a long awaited opportunity: to exploit the cartels and bring the fire of the jihad to the hearts of the infidels, striking against the very heart of America.
The Broker
Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307575985
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 386
Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In his final hours in the Oval Office, the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the President issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. It seems Backman, in his power broker heyday, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world’s most sophisticated satellite surveillance system. Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA will leak his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, and the Saudis. Then the CIA will do what it does best: sit back and watch. The question is not whether Backman will survive—there is no chance of that. The question the CIA needs answered is, who will kill him? Don’t miss John Grisham’s new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM!
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307575985
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 386
Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In his final hours in the Oval Office, the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the President issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. It seems Backman, in his power broker heyday, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world’s most sophisticated satellite surveillance system. Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA will leak his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, and the Saudis. Then the CIA will do what it does best: sit back and watch. The question is not whether Backman will survive—there is no chance of that. The question the CIA needs answered is, who will kill him? Don’t miss John Grisham’s new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM!
Spies on the Mekong
Author: Ken Conboy
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1636240208
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
During the Cold War, the Central Intelligence Agency’s biggest and longest paramilitary operation was in the tiny kingdom of Laos. Hundreds of advisors and support personnel trained and led guerrilla formations across the mountainous Laotian countryside, as well as running smaller road-watch and agent teams that stretched from the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the Chinese frontier. Added to this number were hundreds of contract personnel providing covert aviation services. It was dangerous work. On the Memorial Wall at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, nine stars are dedicated to officers who perished in Laos. On top of this are more than one hundred from propriety airlines killed in aviation mishaps between 1961 and 1973. Combined, this grim casualty figure is orders of magnitude larger than any other CIA paramilitary operation. But for the Foreign Intelligence officers at Langley, Laos was more than a paramilitary battleground. Because of its geographic location as a buffer state, as well as its trifurcated political structure, Laos was a unique Cold War melting pot. All three of the Lao political factions, including the communist Pathet Lao, had representation in Vientiane. The Soviet Union had an extremely active embassy in the capital, while the People’s Republic of China—though in the throes of the Cultural Revolution—had multiple diplomatic outposts across the kingdom. So, too, did both North and South Vietnam. All of this made Laos fertile ground for clandestine operations. This book comprehensively details the cloak-and-dagger side of the war in Laos for the first time, from agent recruitments to servicing dead-drops in Vientiane.
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1636240208
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
During the Cold War, the Central Intelligence Agency’s biggest and longest paramilitary operation was in the tiny kingdom of Laos. Hundreds of advisors and support personnel trained and led guerrilla formations across the mountainous Laotian countryside, as well as running smaller road-watch and agent teams that stretched from the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the Chinese frontier. Added to this number were hundreds of contract personnel providing covert aviation services. It was dangerous work. On the Memorial Wall at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, nine stars are dedicated to officers who perished in Laos. On top of this are more than one hundred from propriety airlines killed in aviation mishaps between 1961 and 1973. Combined, this grim casualty figure is orders of magnitude larger than any other CIA paramilitary operation. But for the Foreign Intelligence officers at Langley, Laos was more than a paramilitary battleground. Because of its geographic location as a buffer state, as well as its trifurcated political structure, Laos was a unique Cold War melting pot. All three of the Lao political factions, including the communist Pathet Lao, had representation in Vientiane. The Soviet Union had an extremely active embassy in the capital, while the People’s Republic of China—though in the throes of the Cultural Revolution—had multiple diplomatic outposts across the kingdom. So, too, did both North and South Vietnam. All of this made Laos fertile ground for clandestine operations. This book comprehensively details the cloak-and-dagger side of the war in Laos for the first time, from agent recruitments to servicing dead-drops in Vientiane.
Air America in Laos
Author: Stephen I. Nichols
Publisher: Nichols/Martin Publishing
ISBN: 9780615742595
Category : Flight mechanics
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
True stories of the helicopter aircrews of Air America, the World's most shot at airline, whose motto was "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, Professionally." The civilian airline working for the CIA performed paramilitary actitities for the Lao Government during their civil war with the communists. These stories and photographs cover the period from 1965 to 1974 and are told by Hal Augustine, Roger Burdwood, Frank DeVito,Pilot Fred Frahm, Gary Gentz, Dennis Griffith, Rusty Irons, Dave McDonald, Bill Long, Matt Luca, Steve Nichols and Rick Strba.
Publisher: Nichols/Martin Publishing
ISBN: 9780615742595
Category : Flight mechanics
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
True stories of the helicopter aircrews of Air America, the World's most shot at airline, whose motto was "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, Professionally." The civilian airline working for the CIA performed paramilitary actitities for the Lao Government during their civil war with the communists. These stories and photographs cover the period from 1965 to 1974 and are told by Hal Augustine, Roger Burdwood, Frank DeVito,Pilot Fred Frahm, Gary Gentz, Dennis Griffith, Rusty Irons, Dave McDonald, Bill Long, Matt Luca, Steve Nichols and Rick Strba.
Operation Gladio
Author: Paul L. Williams
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616149752
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
This disturbing exposé describes a secret alliance forged at the close of World War II by the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a Communist invasion of Europe. Journalist Paul L. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence of “stay-behind” units in many European countries consisting of five thousand to fifteen thousand military operatives. According to the author’s research, the initial funding for these guerilla armies came from the sale of large stocks of SS morphine that had been smuggled out of Germany and Italy and of bogus British bank notes that had been produced in concentration camps by skilled counterfeiters. As the Cold War intensified, the units were used not only to ward off possible invaders, but also to thwart the rise of left-wing movements in South America and NATO-based countries by terror attacks. Williams argues that Operation Gladio soon gave rise to the toppling of governments, wholesale genocide, the formation of death squads, financial scandals on a grand scale, the creation of the mujahideen, an international narcotics network, and, most recently, the ascendancy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit cleric with strong ties to Operation Condor (an outgrowth of Gladio in Argentina) as Pope Francis I. Sure to be controversial, Operation Gladio connects the dots in ways the mainstream media often overlooks.
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616149752
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
This disturbing exposé describes a secret alliance forged at the close of World War II by the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a Communist invasion of Europe. Journalist Paul L. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence of “stay-behind” units in many European countries consisting of five thousand to fifteen thousand military operatives. According to the author’s research, the initial funding for these guerilla armies came from the sale of large stocks of SS morphine that had been smuggled out of Germany and Italy and of bogus British bank notes that had been produced in concentration camps by skilled counterfeiters. As the Cold War intensified, the units were used not only to ward off possible invaders, but also to thwart the rise of left-wing movements in South America and NATO-based countries by terror attacks. Williams argues that Operation Gladio soon gave rise to the toppling of governments, wholesale genocide, the formation of death squads, financial scandals on a grand scale, the creation of the mujahideen, an international narcotics network, and, most recently, the ascendancy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit cleric with strong ties to Operation Condor (an outgrowth of Gladio in Argentina) as Pope Francis I. Sure to be controversial, Operation Gladio connects the dots in ways the mainstream media often overlooks.