1 - The Black Vault

COMBAT ARROW
E CM mission was flown in Spain on 2 October
1968 with the 496th Fighter Interceptor Squadron
under the code name Creek Picador. Six sorties
of two hours each were flown at low level,
with 146 air-to-air intercepts accomplished. Another
Creek Picador mission was flown the third
week of October with the 32d Fighter Interceptor
Squadron (FIS) and a third with the 526th
Fighter Interceptor Squadron FIS during the
first week of December with similar success. At
the completion of this training series in Spain, all
assigned EWOs were proficient in airborne intercepts.
As a result of this training, and under
USAFE sponsorship, a formal airborne intercept
training program, code-named Creek Baron, was
established in Germany. Creek Baron provided
continuous opportunities for the 7th SOS to train
with Allied fighter aircraft. 14 It was similar to the
Black Baron program flown by the Combat Spear
unit in SEA. Ground radar training, which required
access to a radar bomb scoring (RBS) site,
was not included in the agreement. Permission to
use the additional Talon ECM equipment outside
the United States was required before RBS training
could be approved.
By the end of 1968, Combat Arrow had logged
1,362.4 hours of both unit and joint/combined
training. 15 Four aircrews acquired training and
proficiency in unique Combat Talon skills. The
coming year would expand training opportunities
and result in six combat trained crews operating
throughout the European AOR.
1969: Expansion of
Training Opportunities
The period of the late sixties was one of modernization
and change throughout the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO). The cold war
conflict between the East and West focused on
Central Europe, as America fought a hot war on
the battlefields of SEA. The C-130 was the aircraft
of choice for tactical airlift in Europe, but by
1969 only a few European countries had purchased
it and had crews trained and tactics developed
to maximize its effectiveness. Great Britain,
Norway, Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany,
Greece, and Turkey would eventually have
the aircraft in their air forces, but they would
need US assistance to develop their own capabilities.
The C-130E (I) Combat Talon was a relatively
new aircraft in 1969, and it was heavily modified
for the unconventional warfare/special operations
role. Combat Spear aircraft operating in SEA had
gained almost a mystical reputation with their
work with MACVSOG over North Vietnam. It was
an excellent opportunity for the 7th SOS to capitalize
on this reputation and to expand its own
training throughout Europe. The unit did so by
supporting the US Army Special Forces unit assigned
to Europe—the 10th Special Forces Group
(Airborne) [(10th SFG(A)]—and the special operations
forces of NATO countries.
The year 1969 began with a no-notice ORI administered
by the USAFE inspector general. The
squadron received its evaluation from the 6th to
the 11th of January during the worst weather of
the year. Both Combat Talon and C-47 aircrews
and maintenance personnel performed well. The
aggressive training schedule of the previous fall
paid off in an overall grade of satisfactory. 16 The
Creek Baron program continued to expand
throughout 1969. During the month of January
alone, the 7th SOS scheduled 22 Creek Baron
missions in the FRG and 20 in Spain. Of those,
eight were flown in Germany and five were flown
in Spain. The no-notice ORI caused the cancella -
tion of 16 sorties, with the remainder canceled
either for weather or by the participating fighter
organization. 17 Airborne intercept training was
the focus of the Creek Baron program, although
access to RBS sites were also required to train 7th
SOS EWOs.
To gain access to high-quality, low-level training
routes, the squadron provided continuous
training opportunities for Allied special warfare
units, including the Danish Jaegerkorpset, Greek
Hellenic Raiding Forces, British Special Air Service
(SAS), and the Norwegian Parachute School.
The primary US participant was the 10th
SFG(A)’s Special Forces Detachment (A) Europe,
located at Bad Töelz, FRG. 18
As a follow-on to the highly successful Zeus 68
exercise, unit planners developed an in-depth
training plan in Greece that combined the needs
of the Greek Hellenic Raiding Forces, the 10th
SFG(A), and the 7th SOS. Beginning in 1969 and
continuing throughout the 1970s, the squadron
kept a Combat Talon deployed almost continuously
to Greece. The February 1969 deployment
was typical of the monthly trainers. From 22 February
to 18 March, a Combat Talon, along with
aircrew and maintenance personnel, supported
the Hellenic Forces Parachute School, Phase III
HALO training, with 10th SFG(A) providing
HALO instructors. A Combat Talon was based at
Athenae International Airport (IAP) and staged
out of Elefsis AB, Greece. Drops were conducted
daily from 5,800 feet to 25,000 feet, with the
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