“OK, Wolf Pack, go get ‘em!” Operation BOLO – 2 January 1967 Published Jan. 2, 2014 By Robert Vanderpool 7th Air Force and 8th Fighter Wing Historian OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- On Jan. 2, 1967, as pilots from the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing hurried from their briefing rooms to their squadron equipment rooms to gear up for flight operations, wing commander Col. Robin Olds spontaneously hollered: "Okay, Wolf Pack, go get 'em!" On that day the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing would engage the enemy over North Vietnam during Operation BOLO in what would be remembered as the greatest aerial battle of the Vietnam War. From that day forward, the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing would be known as the Wolf Pack and Olds would go down in wing history as Wolf 1. A combat veteran of World War II, Olds had first heard the encouragement while serving with Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke's 479th Fighter Group in Europe. Prior to joining the 479th in August 1944, Zemke had spent two years in command of the 56th Fighter Group which had earned the nickname "Zemke's Wolfpack." Zemke brought his familiar send off with him to the 479th FG where Olds served as a fighter pilot. Operational orders during the early years of the Vietnam War restricted the bombing of North Vietnamese airfields to include installations that based fighter aircraft. As a result, the North Vietnamese employed tactics which avoided direct confrontation with the Air Force's primary air-to-air fighter, the F-4 Phantom. The North Vietnamese would keep their aircraft on the ground when F-4's were in the air instead preferring to engage bomb heavy F-105 Thunderchief fighter bombers. As enemy fighters approached, the F-105's would be forced to dump their bomb loads early in order to engage the North Vietnamese on more equal terms. With the F-105 bomb loads ejected before reaching their intended target, the North Vietnamese were able to achieve tactical victory without direct engagement because targets on the ground would remain untouched. They would then return to the safety of their airfields without risking their aircraft in battle with the American fighters. Operation BOLO was conceived to deliberately counter this North Vietnamese strategy. Designed by Olds along with the 8th TFW tactics officer, Capt. John "J.B." Stone, Operation BOLO used innovative deception tactics that lured the North Vietnamese MiG-21 fighter force into the air. Disguising themselves as a flight of F-105's using the same formations, call signs, flight speeds, and radar tactics as the Thunderchief flights, the goal was to convince the North Vietnamese that they would be engaging F-105's instead of F-4's who would then spring the trap. After a few weeks of planning, a briefing was held with Seventh Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. William Momyer. Seventh Air Force held command responsibility over most Air Force operations in Vietnam. Momyer approved the plan with the simple order, "Go!" On Jan. 2 the instruction came from the combat operations center to execute. As the pilots readied for the mission, Olds provided his now legendary encouragement. The Wolf Pack was about to be reborn. Operation BOLO was an astounding success. In a little more than 10 minutes of combat the 8th TFW recorded seven confirmed and two possible MiG-21 kills without suffering a single loss. Four days later, fighters from the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing shot down two more MiG-21's destroying nearly half of North Vietnam's most advanced fighters in only five days. As a result of the losses, the North Vietnamese were forced to temporarily ground their entire fighter fleet. The success of Operation BOLO established American air superiority over North Vietnam. Following Operation BOLO the 8th TFW began referring to itself as the Wolf Pack. As the reputation of the 8th continued to grow with their continuing success in air-to-air missions during the Vietnam War, other units throughout the Air Force also began to refer to the 8th TFW as the Wolf Pack. By the end of the war, the 8th finished as the leading wing of MiG's destroyed with 38.5 confirmed air-to-air victories. The 8th TFW's legacy as the Wolf Pack was solidified.