On 28 January three Project DELTA U.S. Special Forces teams consisting of 17 personnel were inserted in the An Lao Valley for reconnaissance. The teams ran into immediate trouble and when rescued a day later 7 had been killed and 3 wounded. Project DELTA Commander Major Charles Beckwith was seriously wounded while extracting the teams. the 1st Cavalry was unable to provide support due to the fight at LZ 4. Beckwith was criticized for going into the An Lao valley, under VC control for 15 years, without South Vietnamese counterparts and ground intelligence and in poor weather.