"The History Behind the USAF’s Top-Secret Fighter Pilot" Topic

… Unit in Vietnam

"The never-before-told story of 157 US Air Force fighter pilots and their experimental unit designed to disrupt the flow of weapons into South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

The group came together in June 1967 as Detachment 1, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Phù Cát Air Base, Vietnam. Their official name was "Operation Commando Sabre," with the 16 pilots and four aircraft given the codename "Misty." Maj. George E. "Bud" Day was its first commander, while Maj. William Douglass served as the unit's first Ops Officer.

Given the top-secret nature of their work, very little is publicly known about the aviators and their work. This is why the documentary, titled The Misty Experiment, became a passion project for both the filmmakers and the pilots who were interviewed. More than 20 of the unit's 157 members were spoken to over several years, creating the template for the film…"

link

Armand

At one the gyms on Langley AFB I talk to a pilot of a Cessna A-37 Dragonfly. Reads like the article and what he did overlapped. He mostly flew out of Cambodia.

An initial batch of 25 A-37As was deployed to Vietnam under the "Combat Dragon" evaluation program in August 1967, flying from Bien Hoa Air Base on various missions, including close air support, helicopter escort, forward air control (FAC), and night interdiction. The type proved itself to be effective in the theater, leading to the USAF issuing a contract to Cessna for an improved Super Tweet, designated the A-37B, in early 1967. It was largely operated over South Vietnam, as well as in neighboring Laos and Cambodia, typically flying close air support missions in coordination with US ground forces. The A-37 proved to be relatively low-maintenance and accurate and suffered relatively few combat losses.