1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
experienced with the Vietnam War ending, the
need for access to a simulator for USAFE-assigned
C-130E(I) pilots became even more acute. The
only C-130 simulators in Europe belonged to the
RAF, and after initial contact with them, tentative
agreement was reached whereby some simulator
time would be provided to 7th SOS crew
members. The fuel crisis of 1973 brought a reduction
in available hours for the UK simulator, and
the initial agreement was scrapped. Additional coordination
was accomplished, with the 7th SOS
requesting 12 hours each month in the simulator.
The RAF responded that it could only support
four hours each quarter, with the possibility of
four hours every six weeks. A compromise was
reached whereby the RAF would provide two, fourhour
training blocks on consecutive days each
quarter. The arrangement would allow the 7th
SOS to accomplish critically needed upgrade and
emergency procedures training. On 1 April 1974 the
7th SOS sent its first crew to RAF Lyneham, UK,
for the first two-day simulator session. During the
two days emergency procedures, engine runs,
aborted takeoffs, and engine-out landings were
practiced. 74 The arrangement was good for the
squadron because it provided access to a simula -
tor on a regular basis.
As the simulator program got under way, the
7th SOS faced another challenge with the loss of
its low-level routes in Spain. Although the squadron
supported the Spanish Parachute Brigade on
a regular basis and was well received by the
Spanish military, the general populace objected to
low-level aircraft flights due to the noise that it
created. As a result, the Spanish government established
a policy that no low-level training would
be made available to any foreign forces after 31
December 1974. To compensate for the lost training,
the squadron proposed to shift its training to
Portugal since the terrain there was rugged, and
rural areas were sparsely populated. 75 Although
sporadic approval to fly in Portugal was eventually
given in conjunction with the Flintlock exercise
series, there were many restrictions imposed
by the Portuguese that effectively eliminated the
area as a training site. During Flintlock 74, which
operated out of Rhein Main AB and consisted of
two subexercises, low-level training was accomplished
in Norway and in southern Germany.
Thus, the impact of the loss of routes in Spain at
year’s end was minimized. 76
By the fall of 1974, the 7th SOS had operated
the Combat Talon in Europe for more than six
years. During that period the unit had decreased
in size to four assigned Combat Talon aircraft,
and it had moved from Ramstein AB to Rhein
Main AB. The afterglow of the Son Tay raid had
long since faded in the minds of the squadron’s
USAFE bosses. The squadron was different from
fighter squadrons of the command, and USAFE
leadership was unsure of how to manage the specialized
SOF asset. The cold war was the central
focus in Europe, with tensions remaining high
between East and West. With training areas
dwindling, the future looked bleak for European
SOF. The secret to success for any organization,
however, lay in its ability to adapt to the changing
environment. For the 7th SOS to survive, it
had to bring to the table a capability needed by
its USAFE war-fighter boss. The requirement for
a standoff jammer platform to provide an operational
capability until the EF-111 was fielded in
the early 1980s was the capability that would
keep the squadron viable in the minds of USAFE
leadership. The decision in the mid-1970s to
equip 7th SOS aircraft with an upgraded ECM
capability in lieu of the IFR modification would
ensure the unit remained an integral part of
USAFE’s war plan, but it eliminated the 7th SOS
from participation in the 1980 Iranian rescue
mission.
Notes
1. History, 603d Air Base Wing (USAFE), 25 September–31
December 1966, USAF HRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala., A-
3–18.
2. History, 603d Air Base Wing (USAFE), 1 January–30
June 1967, A-1–5.
3. History, 603d Air Base Wing (USAFE), 1 July–31 December
1967, C-I-15–16.
4. History, 7th Air Commando Squadron (Composite), 1
January–30 June 1968, USAF HRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala., iv–vi.
5. Ibid., vii–viii.
6. Ibid., 1.
7. Ibid., 9.
8. History, 7th Special Operations Squadron, 1 July–31
December 1968, USAF HRA, Maxwell AFB, Ala., 2.
9. History, 7th Air Commando Squadron (Composite), 1
January–30 June 1968, 13–14.
10. History, 7th Special Operations Squadron, 1 July–31
December 1968, 3.
11. Ibid., encl. 9, 1.
12. Ibid., 4.
13. Ibid., 8.
14. Ibid., 7.
15. Ibid., 9.
16. History, 7th Operations Squadron, 1 January–30 June
1969, 3.
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