During late 1970 the overall US-supported military effort in the covert war in the Kingdom of Laos was floundering. Operation Gauntlet, a multi-battalion Royal Lao Army offensive intended to protect Paksong and the strategic Bolovens Plateau, was failing.Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison (1995). Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos. Paladin Press. pp. 276 - 280, . They appealed to headquarters of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG or SOG) in Saigon requesting aid from the highly classified unit; specifically, they asked for a unit to enter near Chavane and disrupt PAVN defenses. Colonel John Sadler, SOG's commander, agreed to undertake the mission. However none of his cross-border reconnaissance teams had ever operated so deep in Laos, and the target area was 20 miles (30 km) beyond the unit's authorized area of operations.
