The A-Team were a group of ex-United States Army Special Forces who were wrongly convicted of a crime during the Vietnam War. Ray Brenner was one of the only men to stand up for them during their trial.[1] Managing to escape from the military police, they fled to Los Angeles, where, as fugitives, the A-Team worked as soldiers of fortune, using their military training to fight oppression or injustice. As a Special Forces alpha team, their commanding officers included Colonel Morrison[2] and General Ludlam[3].
The members of the team, by descending rank, were: Lieutenant Colonel John Smith, Captain H.M. Murdock, Lieutenant Templeton Peck, and Sergeant Bosco Baracus. One Vietnam-era picture of the team showed five members, with the fifth being Brenner.[4]
In 1969, when the team had six days of R&R, they tried to get a flight out of Da Nang to Hawaii. The flights were all booked, but Beller Air bumped two civilian passengers so that the team could get out[5].
About ten years before the events surrounding Lin Duk Coo's arrival in Los Angeles, the members of the A-Team were all captives of a Viet Cong prisoner of war camp commanded by General Chow.[6]
While working as soldiers of fortune in Los Angeles, the team sometimes accepted people as honourary members. On a couple of occasions, Hannibal referred to Amy Allen as a member of the team[7].