1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
year was Jack Frost 79, which was held in Alaska
from 10 January to 15 February. There were five
phases of the exercise, with the 8th SOS partici -
pating in phases II, III, and IV. One Combat
Talon deployed on 17 January from Hurlburt
Field en route to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. During
the exercise both infiltration and resupply mis -
sions were flown in support of US Army Special
Forces and US Navy SEAL exercise participants.
One CRRC drop was accomplished for a SEAL
direct-action mission. A scheduled recovery mis -
sion and two coastal ADIZ penetration missions
were canceled due to severe weather. In total the
8th SOS flew 23 sorties and 61.9 hours during
the exercise. Redeployment began on 5 February
when the Combat Talon departed Elmendorf
AFB for its return flight to Hurlburt Field. Al -
though the exercise was not specifically dedicated
to unconventional warfare, the squadron received
valuable training in cold weather operations. 85
Flintlock 79 was conducted from 22 March to 1
June, with an 8th SOS Combat Talon deployed to
Rhein Main AB, FRG, from 11 April to 8 May.
Unlike Jack Frost, the Flintlock exercise series
revolved around a UW scenario, with conventional
forces such as USAF FB-111 bombers participating
as part of the overall scenario. The 8th
SOS crew flew 21 sorties and 59.7 hours during
the employment phase of the exercise. In total
the 8th SOS logged 96.9 hours during the threeweek
deployment. 86
Solid Shield 79 began as a command post exercise
on 12 February and continued through May
when forces deployed during the field-training exercise
phase. The 8th SOS, along with additional wing
assets, deployed to Pope AFB and was operational
beginning 4 May. During the unconventional warfare
phase of the exercise, which was conducted
just before the major conventional ground-assault
exercise, 8th SOS crews infiltrated US Army and
US Navy SEAL personnel into the exercise area
to carry out sabotage, gather intelligence, and attack
the opposition force’s offensive and defensive
capabilities. The final phase of the exercise was
flown in support of SOF units that had been
tasked to support conventional ground forces. 87
The Combat Talon flew 18 sorties and 42.7 hours
during the exercise. The after action exercise review
revealed that there was a lack of planning by
higher headquarters regarding SOF play. The
shortfall could be directly attributed to the lack of
SOF-experienced personnel assigned to the
headquarter’s staff. 88 Virtually all SOF experience
was resident at Hurlburt Field and in the overseas
Talon units, and many times decisions were made
at planning conferences where there were no
planners present with SOF expertise. The results
were predictable.
For the last half of 1979, the 8th SOS was
scheduled to participate in three additional major
exercises—Bold Eagle 79, Red Flag 80-1, and Foal
Eagle 79. After a tremendous amount of planning
and pre-exercise preparation, 8th SOS activity
was canceled for Red Flag, and Exercise Foal
Eagle 79 was canceled due to civil unrest in the
ROK. Bold Eagle, conducted during October 1979,
was a JCS-coordinated, US Readiness Commandsponsored
exercise that centered on the Eglin
AFB range in the Florida Panhandle. 89 Exercisededicated
forces were located at Eglin AFB,
Hurlburt Field, Tyndall AFB, and MacDill AFB,
Florida. Committed forces included a joint task
force formed from the 82d Airborne Division, the
equivalent of five tactical fighter squadrons, unconventional
warfare forces of the 1st SOW (including
the 8th SOS), and combat support and
combat service support forces. Opposition forces
consisted of the 197th Infantry Brigade, the
equivalent of four tactical fighter squadrons, and
combat and combat service support units. 90
In total Bold Eagle 80 involved approximately
20,000 US Army, US Navy, and US Air Force
personnel. The Air Force alone provided more
than 100 aircraft and more than 4,600 personnel.
In addition to the 1st SOW’s MC-130E , AC-130H,
CH-3E, and UH-1N aircraft, other aircraft types
involved in the exercise included the F-15, F-4,
F-111, A-7, A-10, C-130, EC-130, F-105, F-106,
EB-57, A-37, O-2, C-123, C-7 , and C-141. 91 The
Bold Eagle Air Force Special Operations base was
operational at Hurlburt Field on 12 October with
two MC-130E Combat Talons and their crews
committed to the exercise, along with other 1st
SOW rotary- and fixed-wing assets. During the
exercise the Combat Talons conducted electronic
warfare training against Integrated Air Defense
System (IADS) sites. In addition to its IADS activities,
the 8th SOS accomplished all of its exercise
objectives, including employment of the
HSLLADS for resupply missions, dropping four
CRRCs, successfully accomplishing three Fulton
STARS utilizing a training dummy, executing
fuel-bladder airdrops, and performing night shortfield
exfiltration operations. Good weather
throughout the exercise precluded the need to airdrop
utilizing instrument procedures. 92
One of the three recoveries was a first for the
8th SOS. After parachuting into a water DZ, a 1st
176