1 - The Black Vault

Chapter 4
Combat Spear
(The Vietnam War Years: 1966–74)
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
—Alfred Lord Tennyson
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Stray Goose Deploys to Vietnam
By the summer of 1966, four aircraft and six
aircrews, along with associated maintenance and
support personnel, were ready for deployment to
SEA under the code name Combat Spear (Pacificbased,
PACOM-assigned). Remaining Combat Talons
were designated Combat Arrow (Europeanbased
European command [EUCOM]-assigned)
and Combat Knife (US-based, TAC-assigned).
Special Order G-225, dated 22 July 1966, established
Detachment 1, Headquarters 314th Troop
Carrier Wing, at Ching Chang Kuang AB, Taiwan,
effective 1 September 1966. Aircraft and crews arrived
at CCK on 12 September 1966 and began
operations. 1
The final beddown location of Detachment 1
was Nha Trang AB, Republic of Vietnam, but due
to nonavailability of facilities there in September
1966, further forward deployment of the unit was
delayed. The 14th Air Commando Wing (later the
14th Special Operations Wing) was located at
Nha Trang AB and served as the host wing for
the deployed Combat Talon aircraft. The wing
had neither ramp space for the aircraft nor billeting
space for personnel due to other programs
tentatively scheduled for the base. The original
deployment schedule called for two aircraft and
associated support personnel to be in place at Nha
Trang AB by 15 September; however, only a small
number of personnel were at Nha Trang AB by
that date. 2 Throughout the fall of 1966, Seventh
Photo courtesy of Gerald R. Paulsen
Photo courtesy of Gerald R. Paulsen
Col Don Britton, first commander of Stray Goose De -
tachment 1, 314th TCW, in the cockpit of a Combat
Spear aircraft.
When Combat Spear deployed to Nha Trang AB in the
fall of 1966, there were no aircraft revetments on the
ramp to protect the aircraft. A year later, one aircraft
would be lost and another seriously damaged during a
mortar attack on the base. SSgt Gerald R. Paulsen is in
front of a Combat Talon, Nha Trang AB, 1966.
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