1 - The Black Vault

The third factor driving approval of the project was the age of Vietnam-era
veterans. Many who flew the Combat Talon during the 1960s were in their sixties,
and some had already reached their seventies. Because of sketchy written
documentation created by compartmentalization, it was imperative that these
senior special operators be contacted and oral history interviews be conducted
before it was too late. The last point made in the staff summary package was
closely related to the previous one. Much of the operational history of the aircraft,
including photographs and documentation of specific events, could only be found
in the personal files of former Combat Talon operators. It was absolutely imperative
that these files be sourced while they were still available.
With the staff summary package in hand, Mason took the ball and set out to
gain approval. During 1997 the USAF celebrated its 50th anniversary as a separate
service. Herb Mason proposed that the Combat Talon project be included as
part of the yearlong event. Discussing the project with him and with his deputy,
Clay T. McKutchen, the consensus was that the project would take at least two
years to complete. AFSOC would celebrate its 10th anniversary as a separate Air
Force command during calendar year 2000, and we agreed that the book would
make an excellent commemorative of the important year. Thanks to the diligence
of Mason, the Combat Talon project received approval by General Hobson on 31
March 1997.
The project consisted of three parts. The first was the publication of an unclassified
monograph, titled “The Praetorian STARShip: The Untold Story of the Com -
bat Talon.” A companion book, not available to the general public and containing
both classified and unclassified information, would be provided to AFSOC/HO.
The third part of the project included the creation of a Combat Talon archive containing
source material used in compiling the book. Included in the archive were
unit histories, extracts of key documents important to Combat Talon history, oral
history interviews, videotapes of the Combat Talon in operation, technical manuals,
and so forth. The Combat Talon archive would be delivered to AFSOC/HO at
the completion of the project and then maintained either at Hurlburt Field or at
the Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
Research for the Combat Talon Project was set to begin in June of 1997, but
due to operational requirements, it was delayed until August. In the interim
General Hobson relinquished command of AFSOC to Maj Gen Charles R. Holland.
A project briefing was conducted in late August, at which time General Holland
endorsed the project. Over the next two years, I worked continuously on the
project, except during periods when operational necessity required that I fill critical
manning requirements elsewhere. By the fall of 1999, I had been able to
complete only 19 months of the 24-month project, having been tasked to fill operational
commitments away from Hurlburt Field for over five months during the
two-year period. With the limited time remaining before my retirement, I could
not finish the project. Again, Mason stepped in and campaigned to have me to
continue the project under civilian contract. Lt Gen Clay Bailey assumed com -
mand of AFSOC when General Holland left for duty in Europe in the summer of
1999. He reviewed the status of the Combat Talon Project and supported Mason’s
initiative to have the book completed under contract.
After retiring from the Air Force on 1 December 1999, I returned to my desk at
the USAF Special Operations School in early January under contract with Madison
Research Corporation. The project continued through early summer, at which
time I delivered a smooth draft to Dr. Richard Bailey, my editor at Air University
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