OPERATION MOMENTUM

The CIA and Southeast Asia

OPERATION MOMENTUM, initiated on January 17, 1961, and concluding on September 30, 1974, was a guerrilla training program run by the CIA to raise a Hmong guerrilla force in Laos. The operation aimed to combat the North Vietnamese Army (PAVN) and the Pathet Lao during the Laotian Civil War, part of the broader Vietnam War context. Planned by James William Lair and commanded by General Vang Pao, it was a response to communist expansion in Southeast Asia, particularly after President Eisenhower approved the plan just before leaving office in January 1961.

The operation’s objective was to arm and train indigenous Hmong forces, leveraging their guerrilla-style fighting capabilities adapted to rural and jungle warfare. The Hmong community saw communism as a threat to their autonomy and land ownership, facilitating recruitment. This made OPERATION MOMENTUM a key component of the U.S. proxy war against communist forces in Laos.

MOMENTUM began with a three-day Auto Defense Choc (ADC) course at Ban Padong on January 17, 1961. By May 1, 1961, 5,000 warriors had graduated, and by August 1961, this number increased to 9,000. The training expanded to include Special Operating Teams, aiming to replace foreign trainers with Lao instructors, and eventually peaked at 30,000 troops. The first success came on January 21, 1961, when 20 ADC troopers ambushed and killed 15 Pathet Lao, demonstrating early effectiveness.

While OPERATION MOMENTUM was a CIA-led covert operation, it had overlapping objectives with OPERATION WHITE STAR, eventually resulting in the transition of responsibilities to WHITE STAR. Initially a secretive training mission (OPERATION HOTFOOT) under the guise of civilian aid through the Programs Evaluation Office (PEO), it involved U.S. Special Forces (Green Berets) training the Royal Lao Army (RLA) in technical skills and counterinsurgency tactics. By April 1961, following President Kennedy’s approval, it was officially renamed OPERATION WHITE STAR, with U.S. personnel openly wearing military uniforms, marking a shift to a more overt military advisory role. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Arthur "Bull" Simons, WHITE STAR aimed to bolster the conventional Lao military against the same communist threat targeted by MOMENTUM.

Executed by a range of entities, including the CIA, OPERATION WHITE STAR, Royal Lao Army/Auto Defense Choc (RLA/ADC), Programs Evaluation Office (PEO), Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU), USAID, Raven Forward Air Controllers, Air America, BirdAir, and Continental Air Services, Inc. (CASI), the operation involved significant logistical support. Air America, a CIA-owned airline, played a vital role, with two dozen twin-engine transports, another two-dozen short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) aircraft, and 30 helicopters dedicated to operations by 1970.

The operation faced significant challenges, particularly with the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos signed in July 1962, pledging all foreign troops to exit by October 6, 1962. This restricted operations until April 1963, with U.S. CIA agents withdrawing, and supplies no longer containing munitions. WHITE STAR teams training ADC troops in OPERATION PINCUSHION withdrew in September 1962, impacting momentum.

The operation resulted in heavy casualties, with estimates of 18,000–20,000 Hmong soldiers killed and approximately 50,000 Hmong civilians killed or wounded. The conflict devastated the Laotian countryside, with Laos being bombed more on a per capita basis than any other country in history. By the end of 1975, following the fall of Laos to communist forces, 54,000 Hmong were in Thai refugee camps, with an equal number believed sheltered with relatives in northern Thailand. On May 14–15, 1975, 2,500 Hmong were evacuated to Thailand, but the majority were abandoned.

OPERATION MOMENTUM is noted as the largest covert operation in U.S. history, taking significant manpower and resources, as described by DCI Richard Helms as a “major operation” requiring “specially qualified manpower” and being “dangerous” and “difficult.” It influenced U.S. Special Forces techniques, with parachuting equipment and organizational methods copied for OPERATION PINCUSHION and organizing Degars of South Vietnam.

U.S. Ambassador G. McMurtrie Godley described the operation as “dirty business,” noting, “We used the Meo (Hmong)...tied down three first-rate North Vietnamese divisions.” Despite its efforts, Laos fell to communist forces, which retain control to the present day, highlighting the operation’s ultimate failure in achieving long-term strategic goals.