by march 2002, ang c-130 units had flown 55 percent of the missions for the afghanistan war. the 193d special operations wing of the pennsylvania air national guard, using the ec-130e commando solo aircraft, performed an unusual mission in afghanistan: psychological operations (psyops). since 1968, the 193d had been handling airborne psychological operations missions. the ec-130e acquired the mission name commando solo during the 1990s, when the aircraft was modified to handle color television operations. one of the first ang flying units deployed to the area, the 193d began transmitting by the end of october 2001. for almost six months the unit relayed broadcasts of voice of america in the dari and pashtu languages and radio free europe/radio liberty in uzbek, tajik, and persian. according to a white house spokesman, the commando solo missions gave the afghan people "full knowledge about what is happening in afghanistan from a source other than a repressive taliban regime." the 193d remained in the region until ground psychological warfare operations stations were safely established.