Lt. Col Ray Janes Lecture will be on his unusual tour in Vietnam. Forward Air Controllers were usually assigned to an Army unit and remained with them for their tour. He was assigned to the 1^st Cavalry Division and further assigned to the 1/9^th Air Cavalry Squadron. He was the only Air Force Fighter Pilot assigned to the squadron. He worked in the entire division instead of just a brigade area.  He also flew Army helicopters until he realized that their 50% casualty rate applied to him, so he moved to Thailand and flew over the Ho Minh Trail.  He flew not only FAC missions but two super secret missions as well.

Lt. Col. Ray Janes is a retired Air Force Fighter Pilot.  Most of his flying was during the Cold War in F-102 and F-106 fighter interceptors.  He served in four fighter interceptor squadrons. He accumulated over 4,500 hours in 19 different types of aircraft. The F-106 is the fastest single engine, single cockpit aircraft ever built. He served as an Air Liaison Officer and Forward Air Controller in Vietnam. He flew OV-10 Bronco and other aircraft over 850 hours during his tour in the Vietnam War.  He had a unique tour in Vietnam because he served in the 1/9 Air Cavalry Squadron and flew in the complete 1^st Air Cavalry Division Area of Operation. He also flew three different Army Helicopters.  The last six month of his tour he flew with the 23^rd Tactical Air Support Squadron in Thailand over Laos covering the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In that assignment he flew numerous secret missions. He retired in 1974 and taught school in Fort Worth for 16 years before retiring again.  He now lives in Denton.

His books will be available for sale at the Lecture