Talk:Operation Pony Express

Article name

 * Sorry to bust yer bubble, but Pony Express was simply the nickname of the USAF 20th Heicopter Squadron, based at NKP, Thailand. It was one of several helo units that were utilized in the clandestine war in southeastern Laos, usually to transport SOG recon team members in their forays on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It also was utilized by Operation Igloo White for sensor drops, and by the CIA to transport Laotian tribal mercenaries in the covert war in that nation. There was no Operation Pony Express, and the 20th (later 20th SOS) never flew in Cambodia (that would be the Green Hornets of the USAF 21st Helo Squadron, once again to support the SOG recon effort). RM Gillespie 04:53, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
 * No bubble to bust there RM, just a thank you for noticing my mistake. I must have been several drinks over the editing limit :). While you're around I'd like to say I really enjoy the work you've done on the Civil war, Menu and Campaign articles - they read very well indeed. Cheers, Paxse 15:21, 10 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Man, that editing limit is a hard wall to hit ain't it? You should see some of the stuff I have rolled out after several collisions with it. Peace brother! RM Gillespie 14:51, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

The 20th Helicopter Squadron was formed at Eglin AFB and 14 CH-3C helicopters were deployed to South VietNam in Nov 1965. They were split into 3 flights at differnent locations. In —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.62.195.80 (talk) 17:53, 14 July 2009 (UTC)
 * wow, what a bunch of misinfirmation. Take it from someone that was actually there. You would do good to read the history of the Pony Express and the Green Hornets on the USAF Helicopter Pilot Assn website. www.usafhpa.org

Article naming and images
We have a problem with this article - the name is simply incorrect. A search for "Operation Pony Express" in google shows various uses of the term, , , including several interesting and notable operations except for this one. However, given Wikipedia's popularity, this article is now the top ranked search term. This sort of misinformation is what makes anti-wikipedia headlines. In fact, even the article lead refers to "Pony Express" without the operation. The sources in the article also don't mention "Operation" at any point. There is also a potential copyright issue. Most of the images in this article have been taken from http://www.airwarvietnam.com/20sospe.htm (a private website) to be used in the article. However, the licensing placed on the images here in wikipedia says:

"This image is a work of a U.S. Air Force Airman or employee, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain."

I'm not clear how the original uploader determined who took the photos from the website above however the rationale above contradicts the copyright information on the website, which is:

"© Copyright, 2002 by Air War Vietnam.Com. All rights reserved.  Unless otherwise noted, all text and pictures are the property of Air War Vietnam. Com or the original contributor and cannot be used without written permission."

I think the article needs to be renamed, possibly to Pony Express (USAF) and the copyright status of the images needs to be clarified quickly - these images are currently being mirrored all over the web - when the original owner see them, the Foundation will get the angry letter - not us. Paxse 17:49, 11 July 2007 (UTC)