Armed Escorts

“Armed Escorts,” BG John J. Tolson

“One of the most interesting examples of conceptual advancement shown in Southeast Asia involves the use of armed escort helicopters. After employing these machines as escorts for troop carrying helicopters . . . we found that the number of hits sustained by the troop carrying choppers dropped considerably . . . in the face of a simultaneous increase in the total number of combat sorties flown. In other words, we have found that helicopter vulnerability may not be the ogre that it is sometimes made out to be.”