President Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to Technical Sergeant John Chapman posthumously during a White House ceremony. The event took place on Wednesday, August 22, 2018. The award was for conspicuous gallantry during a battle with al Qaida fighters on a 10,000 foot mountain top in eastern Afghanistan in early March of 2002.

John Chapman was a US Air Force Special Tactics Combat Controller assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. While deployed to Afghanistan he was attached to an element of SEAL Team 6 – a seven-man team with the call sign of Mako 30. The battle took place on Roberts Ridge [1] on Takur Ghar mountain along the Pakistan border. The award is an upgrade of the Air Force Cross that he received posthumously.

Combat on Takur Ghar – Operation Anaconda

The action that took place on Takur Ghar was part of a larger operation called Operation Anaconda. The objective of Anaconda was the destruction of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters that had taken refuge in the Shah-i-Kot Valley (located at 7,500 feet) of Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan. Two SEAL teams were inserted to set up observation posts in order to identify enemy positions and call in airstrikes. Mako 30’s planned observation site provided an ideal spot for an observation post with excellent visibility of key locations.

During the MH-47E helicopter (belonging to the 160th SOAR) insertion John Chapman’s aircraft came under heavy fire (bullets and rocket propelled grenade) and was damaged. A teammate –  Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts (Navy SEAL) – was ejected from the aircraft and the crippled aircraft executed a controlled crash landing in the valley below.

Chapman and other members of the joint special operations team voluntarily returned on a second MH-47 to the snow-capped mountain to rescue the stranded teammate. This aircraft was immediately engaged with heavy fire. The team on the ground was quickly in a firefight with enemy forces. John Chapman lost his life during this effort.

“Sgt. Chapman charged into enemy fire through harrowing conditions, seized an enemy bunker, and killed its enemy occupants. He then moved from cover to engage a machine gun firing on his team from a second bunker. While engaging this position, he was severely wounded by enemy gunfire. Despite severe wounds, he continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before paying the ultimate sacrifice.”

After being severely wounded Chapman’s body had been left behind due to enemy pressure. It was believed by the SEAL team leader [2] that Chapman had been killed. An analysis of drone coverage later revealed that he regained consciousness and resumed fighting al-Qaida fighters approaching his position.

More about John Chapman

A native of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, he was 36 years old at the time of his death. He was married and had two children.

Chapman joined the Air Force in 1985. He first served as an information systems operator but then volunteered to be a Special Tactics combat controller in 1989. A Combat Controller must pass some rigorous training schools to be fully qualified. The training includes military diving, static-line and free fall parachuting, air traffic control, and combat control courses and schools.

Once his two-year training program was completed he was assigned to the 1721st Combat Control Squadron, the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, and then to his final unit – the 24th Special Tactics Squadron. The Air Force, because of the award of the Medal of Honor, posthumously promoted Chapman to Master Sergeant on September 1, 2018.

Chapman’s widow and family attended the ceremony at the White House. Chapman is the 19th Airman awarded the Medal of Honor. He is the first Airman to be recognized with the medal since the Vietnam War. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s most prestigious military decoration.

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Footnotes:

[1] Read about “The Battle of Roberts Ridge”, by Dwight Jon Zimmerman, Defense Media Network, September 9, 2012.

[2] Retired Navy SEAL Britt Slabinski received the Medal of Honor in May 2018 for his actions in the same battle.

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References:

Airman to be awarded Medal of Honor, U.S. Air Force Public Affairs, July 27, 2018.

President Donald J. Trump to Award Medal of Honor, White House Statement, July 27, 2018.

Trump awards Medal of Honor to NAVY SEAL for controversial mission in Afghanistan, Fox News, May 24th.

Predator Support for Roberts Ridge Battle – Afghanistan 2002, SOF News, August 21, 2018.

The Navy SEALs Allegedly Left Behind a Man in Afghanistan. Did They Also Try to Block His Medal of Honor?, by Sean Naylor, Newsweek Magazine, May 7, 2018.

Pope airman is first to receive Medal of Honor since Vietnam, The Fayetteville Observer, July 27, 2018.

Airman posthumously receives Medal of Honor, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, July 27, 2018.

Photo: Top image by DoD, map by U.S. Army,  photo of Chapman courtesy Secretary of Air Force (DVIDS, Jul 27).

This article was first published by SOF News in August 2018.

By Lt. Col. Ian Phillips, 920th Rescue Wing.

After two years of assessment and validation the 920th Rescue Wing has developed an enhanced Personnel Recovery Task Force (PRTF) structure along with overhauled tactics, techniques, and procedures with a specific design to deny competitors exploitation of isolated personnel.

The structure distributes forces in light, medium, and heavy configurations that are able to maneuver and sustain organically throughout all operating environments. In lockstep with the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment applications, the new PRTF structure utilizes multi-capable Airmen from across the wing to provide both offensive and defensive capabilities during personnel recovery, contingency location establishment, and intra-theater airlift operations.

Historically personnel recovery has been piecemeal sourced with right-sized solutions due to traditional force structure models, which does not always present the right forces for the tasking.

“More than 40 years of doing Air Force rescue the same way offers combatant commanders no tactical advantage over competitors. The PRTF is an idea whose time has come. It is powerful, agile, and presents stand-alone personnel recovery, kinetic agile combat employment, and kinetic intra-theater airlift options in contested maritime and jungle environments,” said Col. John Dobbin, 920th Rescue Wing commander.

The new design incorporates force distribution in three configurations based on operational requirements. PRTF-Light is composed of two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, one HC-130J Combat King II aircraft, and two Guardian Angel (GA) teams. The PRTF-Medium will contain four HH-60Gs, two HC-130Js, and four GA teams. The PRTF-Heavy will have eight HH-60Gs plus backup aircraft, five HC-130Js plus backup aircraft, and eight GA teams.

Force projection of the PRTF is by a small, cross-trained team of wing maintenance and mission sustainment specialists that deploy to provide self-sustainment and autonomous operation and support. This ACE element enables organic tactical communications, security, logistics, and aircraft maintenance with a mindset that anticipates the needs of operations rather than reacts to them.

The PRTF relies on strategic airlift for delivery into theater but ongoing tests pursue an autonomous PRTF force projection through transport of HH-60G/W helicopters inside the wing’s HC-130Js. Until such time, the wing garners efficiencies in their multicapable Airmen applications which reduce the strategic air requirements to move into a theater of operations from previous years.

The wing refined the new structure through its annual wing training plan. Their HORIZON series of exercises are conducted at the squadron, group, and wing levels throughout the year involving deployment scenarios that culminate in the annual FURY HORIZON and DISTANT HORIZON exercises that take place around the world. This has validated the tactics, techniques, and procedures as a successful way to perform combat rescue.

“Our focus is on the Indo-Pacific region which offers incredible opportunity and challenge for our wing’s special warfare Airmen and special purpose aircraft. This region necessitates our new PRTF-Heavy capability to conduct a multilateral rescue assault on a defended point of incident. A point of incident that may be more than 300 isolated Airmen at an initial or temporary contingency location, isolated and dispersed elements, or individuals of the Air Force and joint warfighters as well as mass casualties at sea,” said Dobbin.

The PRTF -light, -medium, and -heavy structure aligns wing resources to the Air Force Chief of Staff’s lead wing framework and is sustainable across the total force when risk-based priorities determine what combatant command request for forces are highest priority. The PRTF self-solves resource allocation and balance challenges due to its scalable application, internal command and control, and using low-technology capabilities to counter high-end technology adversaries.

“It is scalable and flexible to give more options to a combatant commander for broad spectrum personnel recovery,” said Lt. Col. John Lowe, 920th RQW Fusion Cell chief.

This year the wing deployed the PRTF-Medium to an Indo-Pacific exercise where the wing tested Joint All-Domain Command and Control, which integrated the wing with joint and international partners to execute deliberate and immediate combat rescue missions.

The 920th RQW is a combined arms team of special mission personnel and aircraft whose mission is to plan, lead, and conduct military rescue operations and missions to deny competitors and adversaries exploitation of isolated personnel.

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This story by Lt. Col. Ian Phillips was first published by the 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs office on April 14, 2022. Posted by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. DVIDS content is in the public domain.

Photo: CH-47F Chinook from Task Force Brawler participates in Personnel Recovery exercise with USAF Guardian Angel team at Bagram AF. (Photo by USAF Tech. Sgt. Gregory Brook, 27 Feb 2018).

Story by 1st Lt. Melissa Crisotomo, AFSOC.

U.S. Air Force Lt Gen Slife, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, addressed the Global SOF Foundation’s 2021 virtual SOF Imperatives Forum to discuss the critical mission areas AFSOC will need to focus on to remain competitive in the future operating environment on June 6, 2021.

Slife was joined by LTG Francis Beadudette, commanding general of U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Linda Robinson, Global SOF Advisor, moderated the conversation with the two current SOF component commanders and begin with each commanders’ view of the state of special operations today.

“When I think of where we are at in 2021, we are at a third post-Vietnam discontinuity, a point of time where the future is best understood as not a linear extension of the past, but rather as something requiring something different all together,” Slife began.

“We have to maintain the ability to respond to crisis on behalf of the nation on a short notice anywhere around the globe, maintain pressure on counter violent extremist organizations,” said Slife. “We have to be prepared for conflict with peer adversaries in contested environments, and we have to compete strategically with global competitors who challenge U.S. interests and our way of life.”

Operating in contested environments, Slife continued, may require changes in how AFSOC deploys its forces.

“To the extent that we can, we need to be independent of main operating bases such as large runways, large fixed facilities,” said Slife. “We need to get smaller, lighter, and more expeditionary to succeed.”

“It’s imperative to lower our signature,” he continued. “We have to be able to blend into the noise both physically and electronically around the globe, wherever we want to compete.”

In a fiscally-constrained environment, Robinson asked Slife what areas of AFSOC might still see growth.

“Going forward I think we need to talk about language,” said Slife. “We need to take a look at ourselves in AFSOC and decide to what degree do we need regionally specialized forces who have deepened understanding of regions and cultures and nations inside those regions.”

When asked what AFSOC needs from its sister services in terms of cyber, electronic and communication capabilities, Slife stated he is not interested in growing an organic capability.

“While AFSOC has a range of kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities…as an enabler, I don’t want to be a duplicator of what people are already doing for us at scale,” said Slife. “I’m focused on the things that no one else can do and I don’t think we are in a resourcing environment that permits duplication for stuff that goes on elsewhere.”

When asked, “How much air support is enough?” Slife described his perspective on balancing the variables of mission, resources, and risk.

“The answer is it’s never enough. As you talk to ground formations, clearly they’ll tell you they need more aviation, he said.” “But it’s not a question of do we need more or not, it’s a question of, ‘At what level of risk?’”

“AFSOC is resourcing aviation at an appropriate level of risk. For every dollar we put into growing our aviation capabilities, there’s an opportunity cost elsewhere,” he went on. “That’s why the armed overwatch program is so important to us, because it’s a very cost effective way of providing that air support to our ground teammates who are going to be prosecuting these C-VEO operations for years to come,” said Slife.

In Slife’s closing remarks, he reiterated the men and women in AFSOC are a competitive advantage and it is up to leadership to ensure they are preparing a formation that is prepared and ready for tomorrow.

“Our challenge in leadership is to ensure that those middle school kids today who will put an AFSOC patch on in 10 years know when they come to AFSOC, they’ll still be relevant.”

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Photo: U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, speaks during the AFSOC Operations Center change of command ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Fla., June 24, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Esau).

Story: This article by 1st Lt. Melissa Crisotomo of the Air Force Special Operations Command public affairs office was originally published on June 24, 2021 by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. DVIDS content is in the public domain.

A video about the history of Air Force Special Operations Command or AFSOC describes the activities, missions, and events of U.S. Air Force special operations. The video begins with the Carpetbaggers of World War II to the Global War on Terrorism.

AFSOC 31 OAY Video
2D Audiovisual Squadron
Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
April 30, 2021, 7 minutes
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/794838/afsoc-31-oay-video

A video shows an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship participating in Exercise Balikatan 21 in the Philippines. The crew from the 73rd Special Operations Squadron out of Hurlburt Field, Florida conduct an aerial refueling and then proceed to fire their onboard 105mm cannon. Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) from the Philippine 710th Special Operations Wing and from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron out of Kadena Air Base, Japan, took part in the live fire training event. Balikatan is an annual exercise between the U.S. and the Philippines and comes from a Tagalog phrase meaning “shoulder-to-shoulder”.

AC-130J Ghostrider: Balikatan 21
April 24, 2021, 5 minutes, B-Roll
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/792569/ac-130j-ghostrider-balikatan-21

This article by John Gargus was originally published in the Sentinel in January 2021.

Studies and Observations Group, SOG, was established early in 1964 as a top secret unconventional joint task force to conduct clandestine operations against North Vietnam. Its mission to conduct a program of harassment, diversion, political pressure, capture of prisoners, physical destruction, acquisition of intelligence, and to generate unfavorable propaganda was well in step with our strategic limited war thinking of that day. We were prepared to assist nations that were resisting communist aggression, believing that by helping them in their defense and nation building we could win their hearts and minds and promote the evolution of democracy. We also believed that by conducting covert activities we could discourage their ongoing aggression against South Vietnam. Everyone was aware of our dedicated support for the South, however, only the active SOG participants knew about their individual roles in their compartmentalized top secret organization.

Initially, the secrecy of SOG was so profound that there were only five top officers in Saigon who were briefed on its mission. They were General Westmoreland, his chief of staff, his (J-2) intelligence officer, the 7th Air Force commander and the commander of the U. S. Naval Forces. Obviously, this number of high officials grew as the war expanded, but SOG’s umbilical cord ran directly to the Special Assistant for Counterintelligence and Special Activities (SACSA) in the Pentagon who had direct access to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). [1] All SOG’s commanders in Saigon were U. S. Army Colonels who had distinguished themselves in prior special and clandestine operations.

SOG’s ambitious operations required dedicated airlift support. This was promptly provided by the First Flight which was later described as the most secret squadron in Vietnam. [2] It evolved from the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) 1949 support to evacuate Chiang Kai-shek from the mainland of China to Taiwan. It arrived in Nha Trang in 1964 with 5 C-123 aircraft that were specially configured by the Big Safari procurement program to support clandestine operations in Vietnam. These black painted aircraft with added outboard jet engines that increased their airborne performance had no identifying markings. Internally, they had enhanced navigation suitable for low level flying and passive electromagnetic systems for detecting emissions from hostile radars. Their crewmembers did not wear customary flight suits nor identifying military uniforms. They flew in normal casual street clothes and even with sandals instead of shoes. Even more bizarre was the fact that they were a mixture of Americans, Vietnamese and Taiwanese Chinese. Their daytime flying was conducted by the Air Force crews. This consisted of shuttle airlift for the Green Berets to their in country outposts which had suitable air strips. Nighttime missions were clandestine low level operations over North Vietnam flown by either the Vietnamese, or the Chinese crews. When SOG terminated the employment of Vietnamese crews, the First Flight retained their nonflying ground support personnel which performed warehousing and parachute rigging.

The First Flight could not keep up with the expansion of SOG’s operations. From its early 1964 beginning, the top secret chain of command requested additional and more capable C-130, aircraft to cope with the steadily accumulating airlift backlog. [3] Once more the Big Safari procurement provided the answer by modifying a fleet of 14 C-130 aircraft for clandestine operations in what became the Stray Goose program. Four of these aircraft went to Pope AFB for crew training. Four went to Nha Trang in 1966 to share the First Flights well established support facilities there and four more were destined to go to Germany to support European Command’s (EUCOM) special operations forces. These aircraft, which soon acquired their present day Combat Talons name, were the most sophisticated transport aircraft of their time. Their most important feature was an integrated navigation system that included a terrain following radar which permitted them to fly at low altitudes where they could avoid early detection by enemy’s radar nets. They also possessed an array of up-to-date electromagnetic countermeasure systems that would identify and even passively counter some enemy threats. However, the most distinguishable feature of these Combat Talons was their modification for the Fulton Recovery System, now better known as the STARS (Surface to Air Recovery System). Each aircraft had an unconventional nose drooping radome on top of which was a “V” yoke with a truss for retractable fork arms that also held propeller guard cables that stretched between it to the aircraft’s wing tips. [4] This appearance revealed that it was a very special aircraft. On top of that, the aircraft was painted with very dark green jungle camouflage color and its fuselage bottom as well as the bottoms of wing surfaces had dirty white clouded sky color. This paint had very special stealth characteristics. It contained diatomaceous earth particles that made the painted surfaces feel like they were covered with very fine sand paper comparable to a manicurist’s fingernail file. This surface absorbed much of received energy from scanning radars which gave their receivers much smaller aircraft signature.

Combat Talon’s security was unprecedented. Our Combat Talons had to be parked in secured areas away from other aircraft assigned to the base and required two armed guards to control access to individuals with special security ID cards. This policy was followed even after Vietnam no matter where or in which country the aircraft had to remain overnight. On such temporary duty assignments (TDYs) the aircraft support personnel included the necessary complement of armed guards. These guards also discouraged curious photographers who came to their close proximity. Photography of the aircraft’s systems and instrumentation from the inside was forbidden. Terrain following radar (TFR) and its integration into the navigation systems was classified as Top Secret. Even more guarded was the Electromagnetic Countermeasures (ECM) equipment that was located outside of the cockpit behind the aircraft’s bulkhead where it was hidden behind a thick curtain to conceal it from anyone except the crew and their ground maintenance technicians.

At the start of the Stray Goose program, C-130 qualified airmen were chosen based on complex criteria that included the scope of knowledge and performance during their military careers. For example, “flight engineers were required to have a minimum of 4,000 hours experience in the C-130.” [5] All were surprised by the secrecy and the lack of information about their future missions in Vietnam. Those of us who volunteered for the Stray Goose program were told by the Air Force personnel office that we would learn all we needed to know from our instructors at Pope AFB. Once at Pope, we learned that none of our instructors had prior experience with the aircraft in Vietnam. They were trained at Lockheed Air Service in Ontario, California by technicians who performed aircraft modifications and who were proficient only in training us with the new aircraft systems that included the STARS and a tactic to deliver leaflets from high altitudes. They simply did not know anything about the missions we would perform once in Vietnam. The first six crews that deployed with Combat Talons to Vietnam were being reassigned to Ramstein AFB in Germany which was receiving its complement of four aircraft. The word we had was that we did not yet have a need to know about our aircraft’s missions in Vietnam. However, we concluded from our training that we would be flying in a hostile environment, conducting psychological operations with leaflet drops and rescuing downed crewmembers with the STARS.

In 1967 each class at Pope AFB trained two eleven member crews. Our class had crew numbers S-05 and S-06. This told us that we were the 11th and 12th of the crews that had been trained for Vietnam. Assignments to a crew were made on the first day of training and remained fixed even after deployment to Vietnam. Each crew had three pilots and two navigators that were required by the terrain following radar system. The sixth officer crewmember was the Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO). Two of the five enlisted crewmembers were flight engineers (required by STARS), two loadmasters and one radio operator. Everyone had a specific task to perform during pick-ups of people from the ground.

Our training at Pope AFB also taught us not to fraternize with other airmen who were naturally curious about our special aircraft and our secret nighttime flying. This was even more important once we arrived in Vietnam after we were finally briefed on our new unit’s mission. Tight Combat Talon security restricted our interaction with other Air Force units and friends whom we knew from prior assignments. All were curious about our unusual aircraft and we were discouraged from fraternization with them because we could not speak about our mission. Only our enlisted crewmembers and maintenance personnel were quartered on base where they lived in self improved well-furnished air conditioned quarters. Officers lived in a contracted hotel down town where they had their own club and bar for feeding and entertainment. All First Flight personnel also lived off the base in a big well protected and isolated French built villa on the beach.

Our incorporation into the 14th Air Commando Wing (ACW) in October 1967 is an example of some ridiculous security hurdles. Prior to that date, both the First Flight and our Stray Goose detachment belonged to the 314 Tactical Airlift Wing based at Ching Chuan Kang (CCK) Air Base in Taiwan. It was logical to have us transferred into the special operations wing at Nha Trang that was already hosting us and employed about a dozen aging aircraft types that were modified for special operations missions. At the time of the transfer to the 14th ACW, our Stray Goose detachment was renamed as the 15th Air Commando Squadron. This transfer did not change our mission at all. We remained the SOG’s airlift asset along with the First Flight. We also remained outside of General Westmoreland’s command that managed the war in Vietnam. Our immediate boss was Colonel John K. Singlaub who expressed his chain of command as follows: “I reported directly to the SACSA in the Pentagon, but always kept General Westmoreland well briefed on our past operations and future plans. The General had veto authority, but approval for operations came from Washington. We were also required to inform the Commander in Chief, U.S. Forces in the Pacific, (CINCPAC)…” [6]

The 14th ACW Commander at that time was Col. John M. Patton. He was kept out of the chain of command between us and Colonel Singlaub. He was not briefed in on the SOG missions of the C-123 and C-130 units he had just acquired because he had no “need to know”. He required an escort to enter our guarded aircraft and he definitely did not have the need to know what kind of electronic countermeasures we had behind the curtain inside of our aircraft. When he showed up unannounced and unescorted to check out the First Flight’s living quarters on the beach, the Nung guards (Vietnamese of Chinese origins) would not let him pass through the gate. He had to wait until a member of the first Flight came out to escort him in. We also had Nung guards at our hotel, however, he would always come in invited and accompanied by our commander. It was awkward and unusual to have a wing commander who was not fully involved in the wartime operation of his subordinate units because he did not have the need to know. I spoke with Colonel Patton about this anomaly 45 years later. He was still very upset over the fact that the first officer who came to the gate had no idea who he was and another one had to come to vouch for him. [7]

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Endnotes

[1] Plaster, John L. SOG; The Secret War of the American Commandos in Vietnam, 23.
[2] Moore, Bernard II. Tip of the Spear, “Vietnam’s Most Secret Squadron”, 36-37.
[3] Thigpen Jerry L. The Praetorian STARship – The Untold Story of the Combat Talon, 15.
[4] Bill Grimes, The History of Big Safari, “Stray Goose” and “Combat Talon”, 255-275.
[5] Michael E. Haas, Apollo’s Warriors: United States Special Operations during the Cold War, 295.
[6] John K. Singlaub with Malcolm McConnell, Hazardous Duty, 294.
[7] Phone conversation with author on June 14, 2013.

About the Author

John Gargus was born in Czechoslovakia from where he escaped at the age of fifteen when the Communists pulled the country behind the Iron Curtain. He was commissioned through AFROTC in 1956 and made the USAF his career. He served in the Military Airlift Command as a navigator, then as an instructor in AFROTC. He went to Vietnam as a member of Special Operations and served in that field of operations for seven years in various units at home and in Europe. He participated in the air operations planning for the Son Tay POW rescue and then flew as the lead navigator of one of the MC-130s that led the raiders to Son Tay, for which he was awarded the Silver Star. His non-flying assignments included Deputy Base Command at Zaragoza Air Base in Spain and at Hurlburt Field in Florida and a tour as Assistant Commandant of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. He retired as a full Colonel in 1983 after serving as the Chief of USAF’s Mission to Colombia. He has been married to Anita since 1958. The Garguses have one son and three daughters. He is the author of The Son Tay Raid: American POWs in Vietnam Were Not Forgotten, Combat Talons in Vietnam : Recovering a Covert Special Ops Crew, and is a past contributor to the Sentinel (November 2016, December 2016, January 2019 and April 2019).

Flight hours: More than 6100 hours (381 Combat flying hours in Southeast Asia and 105 flying hours with the Colombian Air Force).

Photos: All photographs are courtesy of the author. Top Photo: Nha Trang – Special Forces Camp McDermott and the Air Base.

The Sentinel is the monthly publication of Chapter 78, Special Forces Association located in California. The article by John Gargus was republished with the permission of Chapter 78 and the author.
https://www.specialforces78.com/

The 24th Special Operations Wing launched the Special Operations Center for Medical Integration and Development, a program designed in cooperation between the U.S. Air Force and the University of Alabama-Birmingham to develop and provide advanced standardized training to special operations medics. The training used realistic and innovative techniques including virtual reality, field training exercises and clinical hospital rotations to maintain readiness of Special Operations Surgical Team members, pararescuemen and independent duty medical technicians.

Watch the video produced by the 24th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs office and Staff Sgt. Ridge Shan, posted on DVIDS February 5, 2021, 6 minutes.

Thirty years ago, on January 31, 1991, an AC-130H Spectre gunship went to the aid of U.S. Marines in contact with the enemy during Desert Storm. The aircraft and its crew of fourteen was shot down by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile during the Battle of Khafji, Saudi Arabia.

Spirit 03 was one of three Spectre gunships that were providing air support at the battle of Khafji. The first two aircraft – Spirit 01 and Spirit 02 – had completed their missions and were returning to base. Spirit 03 was the remaining gunship over the target area as the morning sky was lighting up with the approach of dawn. A man-portable surface-to-air missile struck the aircraft and the aircraft crashed into the Persian Gulf. The loss of Spirit 03 constituted 10% of the AC-130H fleet.

Operation Desert Shield. In August of 1990 Iraq invaded and occupied neighboring Kuwait. The U.S. and other nations formed an alliance and rushed troops, aircraft, and navy vessels to the Arabian peninsular and the Persian Gulf region. The intent was to defend Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations from a possible Iraqi attack. In addition, the military buildup was in anticipation of military action to liberate Kuwait.

Operation Desert Storm. Once it became apparent that Iraq would not withdraw from Kuwait the Coalition forces prepared for offensive operations. In January 17, 1991 the Operation Desert Storm air campaign against Iraqi forces began – both in Iraq and in Kuwait. During the air campaign strategic targets across Iraq were attacked disrupting the Iraqi command and control system, air defenses, and establishing air superiority. In the ensuing days that air campaign would shift to attacks on Iraq tactical ground units in preparation for the anticipated Coalition ground offensive to liberate Kuwait.

Battle of Khafji. The first major ground action of the war occurred on January 29, 1991, while the air campaign was less than two weeks old – and weeks before the beginning of the Coalition’s ground offensive into Kuwait and southern Iraq. Elements of Iraq’s 5th Mechanized Division and 3rd Armored Division began to move south towards Saudi Arabia. A large Iraqi force of 40 tanks and 500 troops entered and occupied the border town of Khafji, Saudi Arabia. It is believed by many that, if successful at Khafji, the Iraqi military would push further into Saudi Arabia – with the possible capture of valuable oil fields in Saudi Arabia.

Two six-man Marine reconnaissance teams from the 1st Marine Division were trapped inside Khafji. A counteroffensive was mounted by American, British, and Saudi forces. While the battle for the city was ongoing the Iraqis were attempting to move more forces south toward Khafji and the surrounding area. These formations were also subjected to air attack by the Coalition. This was the first major ground engagement of Operation Desert Storm and it would last three days – from January 29 to February 1, 1991.

It was during this initial ground battle that Spirit 03 was hit by a man-portable SAM. The missile struck the aircraft just after sunrise on January 31st while it was engaged in attacking targets a few miles north of Khafji. The AC-130 was running low of fuel and minutes away from departing the area to return to base.

This was the largest single loss of life by an United States Air Force unit during Operation Desert Storm. The AC-130H aircraft that carried the crew of Spirit 03 was a modified, 1969 C-130E – carrying the 105mm cannon as well as other armament. The post-Vietnam era aircraft was lacking the advanced systems featured on today’s gunships.

During Operation Desert Storm the United States Air Force lost 20 service members due to hostile action. The crew of Spirit 03 constituted the bulk of those losses. Spirit 03 was part of the 16th Special Operations Squadron based at Hurlburt Field.

Photo: Three AC-130J Ghostriders fly over Hurlburt Field during a memorial ceremony for Spirit 03 at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Jan. 29, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Miranda Mahoney)

Remembrance Ceremony. The 1st Special Operations Wing hosted a remembrance ceremony for the fallen crew of Spirit 03 at the Hurlburt Field Air Park on Friday, January 29, 2021. Family members of the fallen and leadership from Hurlburt Field attended the ceremony. A video of the ceremony can be found on DVIDS, 4 minutes, 1st SOW Public Affairs.

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Photo: AFSOC, January 29, 2021.

Map: Public domain, Wikipedia.

References:

Video. Battleground: Battle of Khafji, Defense.gov DVIDS, July 17, 2012, 23 minutes. The role of air power during the battle is explained in the video. Several AC-130 crew members are interviewed about the battle for Khafji.
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/151317/battleground-battle-khafji

Summer 2014. “Spirit 03 and the Golden Age of the AC-130 Gunship”, by Maj Gen J. Marcus Hicks, USAF, Air Commando Journal, pages 30-34.
https://aircommando.org/portfolio-view/acj-vol-3-2-spectre/

Summer 2012. “The Untold Story of AC-130 Gunship Crews During the Battle of Khafji”, by CMSgt Bill Walter, USAF (Ret.), Air Commando Journal, pages 23-26.
https://aircommando.org/portfolio-view/acj-vol-1-4-gunships/

September 1996. The Battle of Khafji: An Overview and Preliminary Analysis, by James Titus, Airpower Research Institute, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. A good description of the battle of Khafji. Posted on DTIC, PDF, 39 pages.
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a360696.pdf

Battle of Khafji, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khafji

The Battle of al-Khafji, United States Marine Corps, PDF, 40 pages.
https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Khafji%20Battle%20Study.pdf

Story by Stacy Vaughn, 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs.

At the 28th Intelligence Squadron, there’s a career field that has been making strides as the squadron continues to grow. That career field is Tactical Systems Operator (TSO) specialty of the 1A8X2 – Airborne ISR Operator Air Force Specialty Code.

The 28 IS is an intelligence unit located at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It is a classic reserve associate unit supporting the 25th Intelligence Squadron in conducting airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to provide precision geolocation, real-time battlefield awareness updates, direct threat warning, and C2 relay capabilities to Air Force Special Operations Command. The squadron is the first and only Reserve squadron with tactical systems operators. Its mission is to organize and train total force integrated personnel to deliver specialized intelligence directly to United States Special Operations Forces through providing equipment maintenance and configuration, analysis and dissemination, airborne ISR, and operational support.

TSOs are airborne intelligence operators who are qualified to fly on all light fixed wing aircraft within the AFSOC inventory, and are also able to quickly plug and play on emerging tactical assets through quick field installations of a variety of carry-on systems. These members are routinely deployed and are embedded with special operations units around the globe. Currently, the 28 IS makes up 10 percent of all qualified TSO billets in the Air Force.

This small body of TSO Airmen have dedicated themselves to supporting two continuous deployment lines in austere bases within combat locations in three major AORs. The majority of the 28th’s TSOs have at least three combat deployments behind them, some even have up to ten, and they easily accumulate more combat flight hours than most fighter pilots.

TSO Airmen assigned to the 28th IS are incredibly proud to serve in their career field. Senior Master Sgt. Patience Spence, flight chief for the 28th’s TSOs, has said that doing this job is the only thing that brought her back into the Air Force after completing her six Active Duty years as a 1A8X1 with the 97th Intelligence Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

Spence was one of the X1s selected to do the SOF side of the job during the standup of the X2 career field and after completing four TSO deployments totaling 21 months in country over a three year period, there was no going back to the Rivet Joint life (sorry 49th!). Since coming into the 28th in May 2014, Spence has become an instructor and evaluator supporting the 25 IS and has deployed three times for the 25th as a special intelligence (SI) detachment training lead, MC-12W TSO lead, and was the first reservist to serve as an SI detachment senior enlisted advisor.

Another former Regular Air Force TSO, Tech. Sgt. Lori Carlin, came to the 28th from Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, two years ago to continue her service as an X2 and has quickly proved herself to her 25th counterparts. She completed instructor qualification training and just recently was selected for evaluator upgrade.

“Before becoming a TSO, I often asked myself, ‘Am I doing anything that’s making a difference?’ Now there’s no question. I have been an integral part in countless SOF missions and have undoubtedly played a key part in ensuring the safety and success of our joint and coalition partners on the battlefield,” said Carlin.

“My eagerness to take the fight to the enemy,” is what Master Sgt. Combs, former crew chief, said lead him to re-train to become a TSO. “I didn’t mind fixing aircraft and often thought I’d be doing that for 20 years, but one day I woke up with the an urge to do more, I wanted to be the ‘tip of the spear’.”

In 2016, Combs made the switch and has since deployed twice as an air NCO-in charge, completed flight instructor upgrade, and dedicated himself to ensure tomorrow’s TSOs are trained to be technically and tactfully proficient.

“Being a TSO has broaden my perspective on not just how major operations work but also why,” said Combs.

Senior Airman Joslyn Williams, one of the squadron’s first non-prior service Airmen, said “It’s always the best feeling in the world when you turn on the news and can say, ‘Hey I was a major part of that operation.”

Williams completed her first deployment in 2019 and gained more than 500 combat hours on that tour. Because of the skills she showed and dedication she had while on deployment, she was recently selected for upgrade to instructor by the Regular Air Force cadre at the 25 IS.

Staff Sgt. Tristan Wentworth, a former member of the 25 IS, said, “Have you ever worked on something and you never knew if it was going to go anywhere? As a TSO, I’ve never worked on anything that didn’t have results.”

Col. Kenneth Alderman, 28 IS commander, spoke highly of the men and women of his unit and all that they do.

“Our maintainers, direct support analysts, TSOs and support elements have a tremendous amount of pride in our partnership with the 25 IS. The Total Force unity of effort in this enterprise is a beautiful thing to be a part of. Barracudas deploy to austere locations as line flyers, program leads in charge of entire teams of Regular Air Force TSOs and joint personnel, and we even had our first detachment senior enlisted advisor in Fiscal year 2019.”

Col. Alderman went on to say, “In garrison, the squadron not only delivers fully qualified ISR aviators to the fight, but the TSOs, ground intelligence analysts, and maintainers support ongoing efforts to stay abreast of changes in strategic competitors and rapidly evolve both technology and training environments.”

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This story about the 28th Intelligence Squadron by Stacy Vaughn of the 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs was originally published as “28 IS TSOs: key contributors to SOF mission success” and posted by DVIDS on November 2, 2020.

By 1st Lt. Alejandra Fontalvo, 24th SOW.

The 21st Special Tactics Squadron assigned to Pope Field, North Carolina gathered with family and friends July 24, 2020 to watch the presentation of over 90 awards for the squadron’s most recent deployment in 2019, battling six extremist organizations across three areas of responsibility.

“The majority of you would rather receive a decoration in your team room, your office or at home maybe, and not in public, but it’s important,” said Lt. Col. Randall Harvey, former commander of the 21st STS and ceremony speaker. “It’s important for you, because you need to understand that we know what you do and what you sacrifice. It’s important for your families because they need to know your stories. It’s important for Americans out there to know what other Americans are doing on their behalf. Finally, it’s important for those who have come before us and those who are no longer with us. We owe it to them to be here and be standing strong.”

The presentations started by recognizing the members of the squadron who deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. The Special Tactics unit served as primary tactical planners for infiltration, exfiltration, fires, as well as Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance taskings in the execution of 241 direct-action raids during an especially “kinetic winter fighting season”.

The team engaged in 235 firefights with hardened Taliban and ISIS-K fighters, controlled 4,985 aircraft, which conducted over 622 airstrikes on enemy targets, 235 of which were within “danger close” range. Their efforts removed 1,880 enemy personnel from the battlefield. Twelve Bronze Star Medals and four Bronze Star Medals with Valor were presented for actions contributed in this area of responsibility.

“In many ways it’s the greatest adventure to put yourself on the line… and step up when it counts the most,” said Harvey. “For some of you that line was a razor’s edge between life and death.”

In addition to the numerous precision strikes and direct action raids, the team made Special Tactics history by employing their leading global access capabilities. Specifically, one of the deployed teams single-handedly secured, established, controlled and commanded a mission support site during a 96-hour ST-organic and presidentially approved operation.

The squadron members deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve were also recognized for actions ranging from controlled fires, which put pressure on thousands of enemy fighters to surrender, to driving 190 joint and coalition missions and working with United Nations and Department of Defense partners to provide food and supplies to over 40,000 internally displaced citizens. Three additional Bronze Star Medals along with several Air Force and Army commendation medals were presented for OIR.

“You may not realize it, but you are the privileged ones,” said Harvey. “You are the privileged ones to have stepped into that arena and stepped on to the line when it mattered most. Many Americans will never know what that’s like.”

Lastly, a 12-person flight deployed to Africa was recognized for their integral role in building counter violent extremist capabilities with allied nations in Northwest and East Africa while navigating complex state and military systems to establish enduring Special Tactics-led foreign internal defense missions.

“In Africa, we partnered with key allies in Mali and Kenya, establishing new partnerships to integrate airpower into the ground scheme of maneuver… things no other [special operations force] can do out there,” said Harvey. “Our guys were on the ground day and night enhancing counterterrorism capabilities of these SOF units, while simultaneously reinforcing that the United States is the partner of choice in the region.”

The squadron’s Special Tactics leaders won approval from key Kenyan military leaders to craft and launch an air to ground integration training program for the Kenyan military, focused on improving tactics in the fight against Al Shabaab extremists. The program was deemed successful and sparked demand among Kenyan military and Air Force leaders for similar programs going forward.

“I want to say congratulations on a job well done,” said Harvey. “I’ll close with a quote from John F. Kennedy, he said ‘there are risks and costs to programs of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.’ Thank you for being men and women of action.”

Special Tactics is U.S. Special Operation Command’s tactical air and ground integration force, and the Air Force’s special operations ground force, leading Global Access, Precision Strike, Personnel Recovery and Battlefield Surgery operations on the battlefield. Since 9/11, Air Force Special Tactics operators have been involved in almost every major operation and have seen a significant amount of combat. It is the most highly decorated community in the Air Force since the end of the Vietnam War.

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This story is a repost of an article by 1st Lt. Alejandra Fontalvo of the 24th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs, posted 29 July 2020 on DVIDS entitled “USAF Special Tactics unit recognized for deployment actions in fight against extremist organizations”. DVIDS articles are within the public domain.