At 0400 on September 9, 1970, Recon Team Asp with Garry Robb the 1-0, Robert Ramsey the 1-1 and two indigenous personnel leapt from the tailgate of a C-130 Blackbird to perform a static line insert into Laos. The team had become separated in the air and landed on a ridge line. Three members managed to locate each other using a homing beacon/transponder. At dawn, RT Asp realised they had landed within a North Vietnamese Army Battalion size camp area and engaged an enemy element that was tracking them. The team managed to break contact and raised Covey to declare a Prairie Fire situation. As RT Asp ran to a a LZ (landing zone), they located the missing team member and were extracted under small arms fire.
It was discovered during the High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) practice jumps over war zone D that the team became separated and dispersed after they exited the aircraft. This was evident in the larger sized personnel falling faster toward earth while in freefall. To address the problem the team was issued a transponder and civilian AM radios so they could link up once they were on the ground. The transponder unit was a black, flat box that measure 18 inches long, 12 inches wide and 3 inches high with a 5 foot detachable telescopic antenna. The unit was carried y the Team Leader in his rucksack and he was responsible to assemble and power the unit upon landing. The transponder broadcast a signal at a preset 5600 hertz channel that was a low AM station. The other team members were issued civilian, battery operated, Panasonic 8 radios that were procured by the Central Intelligence Agency Liaison Officers assigned to Command And Control North. (CCN) Once the team member landed he removed his parachute harness, dawned the radios earpeice, turned the unit on and moved the radios antenna until it located two parallel transmitting signals with a null (an area without sound) between them. He would then walk in the direction of the null until he linked up with the team leader.
This is an issued Panasonic 8 radio brought back by Robert Ramsey and used by him on operations, the radio was sourced by Jason Hardy of Dog Tag Militaria.
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