1 - The Black Vault

BETWEEN THE WARS
during 1978 the squadron deployed an aircraft to
Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, and
qualified selected crew members in the VLA procedure.
The northern Michigan peninsula had the
only approved VLA route published for US military
aircraft in the United States. The VLA maneuver
consisted of an altitude step-down from
1,000 feet to 250 feet on the terrain-following radar,
then flying at 100-feet altitude utilizing outside
visual references to maintain altitude. Radar
altimeters were set at 90 feet as designated crew
members monitored them and advised pilots if
their altitude decreased below that setting. The
maneuver was primarily designed to be used for
coastal penetration but could be used if a mission
were delayed over hostile territory, and the aircraft
had to egress during daylight hours.
By December 1978 many of the highly experienced
pilots assigned to the 8th SOS had left the
Air Force for more lucrative careers with civilian
airlines or had been passed over for promotion.
Events of 1980 and the aftermath of the failed
rescue mission in Iran would provide unprecedented
opportunities for replacement pilots who
entered Combat Talon in the 1978 period. In two
back-to-back classes in June and August, six pilots
received their initial training in Combat
Talon. Five of the six eventually would be promoted
to full colonel and would spend their ca -
reers in special operations. As 1979 began, how -
ever, there was little optimism at the 8th SOS
that any improvement would come for Combat
Talon during the New Year.
1979: The Year Before the Fall
By 1979 the C-130E aircraft was getting old,
and many of its systems needed to be upgraded or
replaced with new equipment. On 11 December
1978 all USAF C-130s were grounded for inspection
and repair of engine throttle-control cables.
The grounding included the Combat Talon fleet.
It was early 1979 before all Talons were repaired
and recertified as combat ready. The grounding of
the fleet had the immediate impact of lost training
for its aircrews, and since it came at the end of the
training year, many crew members did not complete
their required annual training events and thus required
waivers to continue flying.
1st SOS Expands Its PAT Program
At Kadena AB the 1st SOS experienced severe
problems with its terrain-following radar system.
The squadron had seen a large turnover of both
maintenance and aircrew personnel. To identify
and fix the radar problems, LAS Ontario sent its
top expert on the AN/APQ-122(V)8 radar system,
John R. Lewis, to Kadena AB from 7 to 28 March
1979. Lewis provided his expertise to maintenance
personnel and to functional check flight aircrews
alike. When not working on the flight line instructing
maintenance personnel on the repair of
the radar, he conducted seminars with 1st SOS
pilots and navigators to discuss TF theory and the
radar’s interface with the aircraft’s navigational
systems. His contribution to the 1st SOS was invaluable
in getting the squadron’s Combat Talons
back to mission-ready status. 70
From 23 to 27 April the 1st SOS received an ORI
from the PACAF/IG. The squadron deployed three
aircraft and four mission-ready crews, along with
18th TFW-assigned maintenance personnel, to
Clark AB, Philippines. Nine night-combat profile
missions were flown; they included electronic warfare,
air refueling, airdrops, and short-field operations.
Seven of the nine takeoffs were within one
minute of the scheduled takeoff time. The maximum
course deviation on low-level routes was onehalf
mile, and seven of eight TOTs were within 15
seconds of the briefed times. ECM maneuvers em -
ployed against F-4 aircraft, GCI sites, and the Crow
Valley range complex provided effective countermeasures
to these realistic threats. An additional
graded event was an exfiltration mission designed
around a rescue scenario. The mission briefing was
highly professional, reflected thorough planning,
and provided an in-depth intelligence analysis of
present and anticipated threats. The 1st SOS’s
overall rating for the ORI was excellent, a grade
that reflected the professionalism and dedication of
all 1st SOS personnel. 71
A fifth PAT was flown from 9 to 19 October and
again focused on Indian Ocean operations. One
Combat Talon launched from Kadena AB on 9
October and stopped at Clark AB en route to
Diego Garcia. The original routing took the aircraft
as far west as Djibouti, but political unrest
in the region forced the mission to stop short at
Diego Garcia. While at Diego Garcia, the 1st SOS
mission briefing was given to the commander of
Naval Support Activities there, and many questions
concerning support for the Combat Talon
were addressed. Other locations visited during
PAT 005 included Tengah Airfield, Singapore,
and Penang International Airport, Malaysia. PAT
005 provided excellent orientation for the crew
and provided experience operating in the Indian
Ocean area. 72 It also created a presence in the
173