Customer Reviews

Air Commando One : Heinie Aderholt And America's Secret Air Wars

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In the murky history of US special operations few soldiers stand out as prominently as General Heinie Aderholt; few served so broadly, so effectively. In unconventional situations he got the job done often through the sheer power of his personality. Whether matching the easy gait of CIA case officers and the more rigid stride of USAF brass, Heinie got the job done. He merge the different special ops cultures and focused their resources. For those of us who worked the unconventional side of war, Heinie is a hero. Likeable, energetic, moral, patriotic and interesting, Heinie made getting the job done fun. AIR COMMANDO ONE is a wonderful chronicle on the life and career of this extraordinary man. It will be mandatory reading for future managers of special operations. Written by a USAF historian in Air Force esoterica, the best parts for me, a non-USAF vet, were the quotes attributed to Heinie. They are right on. You'll get a sense of the man's soul by reading his quotations. He was a soldier's soldier, a strong leader who simply got difficult jobs done. AIR COMMANDO ONE tells you how. A must read.

Heinie is a legend but not from others tales of his exploits. Heine is leader respected for his legendary achievements; some of which yet remain classified. A leader formost who undertood his men because he always remained one of them. No matter how severe the circumstance Heinie created success by unique applications in unconventional operations.

At Nakhon Phanom for example, on the border of Laos, Heinie founded and commanded the 56th Air commando Wing into a unique force to interdict the flow of men and materials down the trails in Laos. Making the rounds nightly he remained close with his troops of all rank in a bond seldom seen where thoughts were exchanged because of mutual respect. Heinie slept less than most and almost always in his fatigues or flightsuit.

General Aderholt's life story is compelling and well written and he continues today to make a difference in Southeast Asia. In October 2002 returning to Nakhon Phanom, Heinie procured a container of medical and school supplies with the Thailand Laos Cambodia Brotherhood and to dedicate a monument being built to honor the fallen American and Thai forces in the Vietnam War.

The Legend Continues... read it.

John Sweet
56th Special Operations Wing
Tactical Units Operations Center
Nakhon Phanom
Air Commando # 2924

During the Vietnam era, Heinie Aderholt was U.S. air force's patron saint of low-cost, bare-knuckled, unconventional warfare. He was one of two men -- the other being his longtime friend, the CIA's Bill Lair -- to put his personal stamp on the huge covert program in Laos, and had there been more Aderholts and Lairs, events might have turned out differently. As it was, Aderholt had to labor during his entire career under a military system that was not flexible enough, or responsive enough, for a man of his remarkable talents. But he did his duty, and then some. The Air Force historian Warren Trest has done Aderholt justice with this book; and there's some especially interesting material on Aderholt's loyal opposition, from within, to the way the Vietnam war was run.

Having heard of Heinie Aderholt for years, I was looking forward to reading his autobiography. While the book is very informative, I was somewhat disappointed in the overall content. Maybe it's due to his age, but there were some assertions made that don't jive with the facts. He states that the Air Force misused the C-130s in Vietnam by limiting their gross weight. In reality, C-130s in Southeast Asia operated at their maximum allowable normal gross weights and payloads throughout the war - I was a C-130 loadmaster on two SEA tours and know the limitations. There is also quite a bit of personal horn-blowing, which is common with autobiographies. I found it rather ironic that Heinie's comments related to special operations are almost identical to those made by his former boss, General William Tunner, about how airlift was misused and should be a command of its own. There's also the constant refrain of "if they had left it up to us, we'd have won the war" but now that the facts are coming out, it is becoming pretty apparent that there was no way we were going to win it. Air Commando One is a good book for the military historian's bookshelf.

Sam McGowan, Vietnam Vet and author, The CAVE, a novel of the Vietnam War

Air Commando 1 provides a lot of insight into the inner-workings of America's special operations missions in the 50s-70s. Heinie Aderholt's name is well-known to most Air Force Vietnam veterans but few know much about him. It's a book anyone interested in the military should read.

Sam McGowan
Vietnam Veteran, author of THE CAVE, a novel of the Vietnam War

Everything the author said about General Aderholt described the man I knew and whom I worked for in 1967-68 while assigned to the 56th Air Commando Wing, 56th Security Police Squadron. He was one tough guy who had a heart as big as an ocean. Once while assigned to Town Patrol in Nakon Phanom ,the Colonel at that time, stopped in an asked how things were. He was told that the only gripe we had was that we never got breakfast because we didn't get back to the base until 3 or 4 AM and the mess hall wasn't open. The next day we were told that as long as we cooked the food the mess hall would have it there for us when we came in. He was a true American hero and a man who didn't know the word can't.

Having served under Heinie Aderholt in Thailand I can certainly vouch for the accuracy of the scearios portrayed. Although I wasn't an Air Commando in the strictest sense of the word (I was a broadcaster), I was aware enough of the problems with "higher headquarters" to be genuinely incensed at the treatments ... particularly in light of the tremendously effective mission performed in spite of "direction" from above. I absolutley loved the book, as it brought back memories I'd almost forgotten. Everyone who knew Heinie HAS to have this book!!

Book arrived within a few days and was in the condition that it was described or better, very happy with there service.

This is an excellent account of a genuine American hero, and his lifetime of service to his country. This is a must read of a courageous,unconventional warrior and his battles against communism and military bureaucracy.

Fighting an unconventional war the hard way. Gen. Momyer had it all wrong in my opinion. Prop driven aircraft was more suitable in special operations. Congratulations to a warrior who went to a school of hard knocks. The military wants brain dead college educated generals. If they are so good how come there is always a shortage of enlistment?