Colonel John Sadler , SOG 's commander agreed to undertake the mission , even though none of his cross-border reconnaissance teams had ever operated so deep in Laos .
The target area was 20 miles ( 30 km ) beyond the unit 's authorized area of operations .
Colonel John Sadler , SOG 's commander agreed to undertake the mission , even though none of his cross-border reconnaissance teams had ever operated so deep in Laos and the target area was 20 miles ( 30 km ) beyond the unit 's authorized area of operations .