Operation Thursday: Birth of the Air Commandos

A bold, unconventional use of American air power to support British ground troops in Burma, Operation THURSDAY marked a critical development in the history of modern warfare. On March 5-6, 1944, the Allies conducted an air invasion of Burma, in an attempt to push back the Japanese in the China-Burma-India Theater and reestablish the land route between India and China. U.S. Airmen formed a special operations unit – the 1st Air Commando Group – to transport troops to jungle locations and resupply them, often in the line of fire. The remarkable success of this operation lives on, fifty years later, among the elite 1st Air commando Group – a force committed to meeting the challenge of unconventional warfare anytime, any place, anywhere.