| Project Hotfoot | |
|---|---|
| Part of Laotian Civil War, Vietnam War, and the Cold War in Indochina | |
| Type | Military training mission |
| Location | |
| Planned by | John A. Heintges, CINCPAC |
| Commanded by | Donald Blackburn, Arthur D. Simons, Andrew J. Boyle |
| Objective | Train soldiers in the Royal Lao Army, cooperate with French military training teams |
| Date | 22 January 1959 – 4 July 1961 |
| Executed by | United States Army Special Forces Mobile Training Teams, US control team, French training teams |
| Outcome | Multiple units trained; project develops into Operation White Star; Kong Le prepares to lead a military coup against the Kingdom of Laos |
| Casualties | 5 killed |
Project Hotfoot (also known as Operation Hotfoot, originally known as Operation Ambidextrous)[1] was a secretive military training mission from the United States in support of the Kingdom of Laos. It ran from 22 January 1959 through 19 April 1961. Working in civilian clothing in conjunction with a French military mission, it concentrated on technical training of the Royal Lao Army.