1 - The Black Vault

THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION
the rescue force (except perhaps the helicopters).
Vaught quickly relayed the news to the CJCS
and the Joint Staff that the JTF had a workable
plan. He had a private meeting with the chairman
and came away from it a bit deflated—the
administration was getting cold feet regarding a
military option. The political climate in Iran
seemed to be swaying back towards a release of
the hostages. The roller-coaster ride that the JTF
had been on for three months had just taken a
nosedive. 74
At Hurlburt Field the Talon crews were ecstatic.
Two solid months of intense training had
paid off. Throughout the history of special operations,
those who operated Combat Talon prized
individualism and personal abilities. The nature
of a lone Combat Talon penetrating hostile airspace
at low level for hours on end bred a sense of
independence and individualism in those who
flew them. But the successful rehearsal brought
out new feelings among the special operations
participants—the feeling of teamwork and the realization
that the sum of the parts for mission
success was greater than the effort of a single
crew. The rehearsal had been a success because of
teamwork and because every individual involved
did his best. Everyone was exhausted after the
two-day practice, and an early beer at the club
was a welcomed relief. The mission was doable,
and the Combat Talon community was going to
put the JTF on its back and make it happen.
* * * * * *
With Washington again in a wait-and-see
mode, the intensity of JTF operations ratcheted
down several notches during the early days of
February. Part of the more relaxed climate was a
direct result of the successful rehearsal conducted
at Desert Rock and at Indian Springs. Turczynski
took his two aircraft and crews back to Kadena
AB, and the 8th SOS caught its breath as it concentrated
on continuation-training requirements
for the squadron. The general feeling at Hurlburt
Field was that Washington had decided to pursue
a political solution to the hostage crisis and that
the mission was no longer high on President Carter’s
list of options. Les Smith departed the 8th
SOS and headed for Kadena AB as Turczynski’s
new operations officer, and Brenci moved up to
become the operations officer of the 8th SOS under
Guidry.
At J3-SOD Hess continued to coordinate actions
of the JTF with Taylor’s OPG. Although
much had been done by the JTF to develop the
rescue option, the OPG had continued to look at
other possibilities designed to punish Tehran if
the hostages were harmed. The punitive-strike
option by the four gunships stationed at Guam
continued to be one such possibility. At the 8th
SOS a fifth Combat Talon crew was formed in
early January under the command of Capt John
Arnold. His crew flew initial missions from 9 to 24
January 1980 testing the feasibility of new technology
that was designed to seriously degrade
Tehran’s ability to produce and transport electrical
power through its grid network. The program was
code-named Project Elbow Rub and continued
throughout 1980 in anticipation of employment
against Iran. In early April Arnold and his primary
loadmaster, Rudy Blazek, deployed to the
Pacific with the capability, and two 1st SOS Combat
Talons (aircraft 62-1843 and 63-7785) were
modified to deliver it. A third 1st SOS crew, commanded
by John Pearson, was trained for the Elbow
Rub mission. Turczynski was selected by
PACOM as the mission commander should the
mission be employed. When Turczynski deployed
to Diego Garcia in mid-April, Arnold and Blazek
moved the Elbow Rub equipment by way of C-141
to Diego Garcia to provide Turczynski the capability
to use it should the situation dictate. Although
neither the gunship strike nor the capability
developed by Arnold and his crew was ever
used against Iran, the OPG had both options
ready in case they were needed.*
February 1980: The Relentless
Pursuit of Excellence
Although the hectic pace had subsided a bit at
Hurlburt Field, the February lull provided Brenci
and his 8th SOS crews time to refine and perfect
their newly acquired NVG, air-drop, and communications
skills. Both Kyle and Hess went on
much needed leaves after finishing postexercise
requirements. The antenna that Oliver’s development
team had manufactured was installed on a
Combat Talon , and on 15 and 16 February, the
SATCOM system was tested for its suitability to
the MC-130E . The test validated the installation,
giving commanders, from the president on down,
the ability to communicate with the aircraft—in
flight or on the grou nd—nearly anywhere in the
__________
*Project Elbow Rub remained highly classified throughout the 1990s. The exact nature of the capability developed during 1980 remained on the
cutting edge of military technology. John Arnold continued to be associated with Special Operations and became known for his intellect and keen
ability to grasp difficult concepts and then apply them to unique military requirements.
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