1 - The Black Vault

standard operating procedures for combat loading
were drafted for later review and approval by
standardization personnel. 45
The new joint command at Fort Bragg conducted
a no-notice exercise named Vagabond
Warrior from 30 January to 7 February 1982. The
1st SOW deployed 49 officers and 117 enlisted
personnel, along with two Combat Talons, two
AC-130H gunships, and two HH-53H Pave Low
helicopters to Barking Sands, Hawaii. The exercise
alert order arrived at the 1st SOW on the
morning of 28 January, and the deployment order
arrived shortly before midnight. The two Combat
Talons departed Hurlburt Field on 30 January
and completed two IFRs during their 17-hour
flight, landing at Barking Sands on the 31st. The
employment phase of the exercise was scheduled
to begin on 2 February with a mission rehearsal,
but it had to be postponed for 24 hours due to
severe weather in the objective area. The rehearsal
went as planned on 3 February on the island of
Oahu near Barber’s Point NAS. As Combat Talon
64-0551 returned to Barking Sands, it experienced
a right main-gear problem that grounded
the aircraft upon landing. High winds precluded
jacking the aircraft at Barking Sands, so a onetime
waiver to fly the aircraft to Hickam AFB was
approved. Hangar space was available at Hickam
AFB, but the part to fix the aircraft could not be
located, thus necessitating a waiver to fly the aircraft
back to the West Coast for repairs. The
night-two scenario of Vagabond Warrior was completed
without the grounded Combat Talon , and
all exercise objectives were met. On 6 February,
while preparing to redeploy to the continental
United States, the second Combat Talon, aircraft
64-0568, developed a propeller problem that required
a propeller change. After transiting
through McClellan AFB, California, the last
Talon arrived back at Hurlburt Field on 12 February.
During the exercise the two MC-130E aircraft
flew 12 sorties and 76.2 hours. The exercise
demonstrated the ability of the 1st SOW to deploy
quickly on short notice and move long distances in
support of JCS tasking. The 1st SOW and the 8th
SOS considered Vagabond Warrior a success. 46
Exercise Kindle Liberty 82 in Panama was supported
by the 1st SOW during the January to
February time frame. On 9 February an 8th SOS
MC-130E flew a long-range infiltration mission
into the Canal Zone and landed at Howard AFB
to off-load additional cargo and personnel. After
spending the night at Howard AFB, the aircraft
returned to Hurlburt Field on 11 February. An
unplanned logistics flight was flown from
Hurlburt Field to Howard AFB on 14 February to
deliver parts for the gunships deployed for the
exercise. In total the 8th SOS flew 26.6 hours in
support of Kindle Liberty 82. 47
Live STARS Suspended
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES
The spring once again found the 1st SOW and
the 8th SOS in Europe for the annual Flintlock
exercise. Flintlock 82 covered the period from 11
April to 21 May, with the first Combat Talon aircraft
departing Hurlburt Field for Pisa AB, Italy,
on 14 April. The aircraft deployed through Lajes
Field, logging 16.5 hours during the two-day deployment.
Upon landing at Pisa AB, maintenance
found a main fuel tank leak, which required a onetime
flight to Rhein Main AB for repair. On 24
April the 8th SOS crew proceeded on to RAF
Weathersfield, UK, and joined the main body of
the exercise. Ferkes’s crew deployed from
Hurlburt Field to RAF Weathersfield from 22 to
24 April and arrived in the UK at the same time
as the first aircraft. During the exercise 7th SOS
and 8th SOS crews flew each other’s aircraft to
maximize both aircraft and aircrew utilization.
Thirty-seven hours were flown by 7th SOS crews
on 1st SOW Combat Talons, and the two 8th SOS
crews flew 23.6 hours on 7th SOS aircraft. During
the course of the exercise, the 8th SOS flew 156.4
hours and 29 sorties. No Fulton STARS operations
were accomplished by 8th SOS personnel during
the exercise.* 48
A two-man land STARS had been successfully
completed by Davenport and 7th SOS Crew 2 at
Monrovia, Liberia, early in the exercise. A second
one-man STARS was scheduled for 26 April at
Canadian Forces AB, Lahr, in southern Germany.
The recovery was in conjunction with Subexercise
Schwarzes-Pferd. The 7th SOS Crew 1, with
Bates commanding and flying Combat Talon 64-
0523, departed RAF Weathersfield early on Saturday
morning, 26 April, and proceeded to the
exercise area. The aircraft lined up for the recovery
and engaged the lift line normally. The sky
anchor did not secure the lift line properly, how -
ever, thus resulting in the line slipping through
the mechanism a few seconds after engagement.
SFC Cliff Strickland, a US Army Special Forces
soldier, was being picked up at the time, and he
fell back to the ground just outside the runway
__________
*TAC had previously restricted the squadron from performing live recoveries, and the STARS events scheduled for Flintlock 82 all involved live
pickups.
261