1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
ready for production as the new Combat Talon II
aircraft. During Phase II testing, significant
changes made by Lockheed-Marietta after Phase I
had resulted in significant improvements in the
areas of avionics, equipment, and aircraft design.
From 4 to 6 November the OUE team attended
the Combat Talon II configuration conference.
The conference centered on Credible Sport II
OUE findings and the application of those findings
to Combat Talon II. 59
With Phase II completed and the final report
published, action was required to determine the
final disposition of the Credible Sport aircraft (74-
1686). Uttaro had pursued assignment of the aircraft
to the 1st SOW earlier in the year, but in a
June 1982 message to Air Staff, TAC declined to
support the initiative. Subsequently, Air Staff
made the decision to return the aircraft to MAC
when Credible Sport II, Phase II, testing was
completed. With the announcement in the fall of
1982 that MAC would absorb all USAF special
operations assets the following spring, action was
renewed within the 1st SOW to have aircraft 74-
1686 assigned to Hurlburt Field. In November
Schwartz submitted a staff package to MAC
through the 1st SOW wing commander, Col Hugh
L. Cox III, with rationale and justification for retaining
the aircraft in the wing. Combat Talon II
designated aircraft were just beginning their initial
construction phase at Lockheed and would
not be modified into Combat Talon IIs for another
three years. The 1st SOW felt that the Credible
Sport aircraft could provide an interim capability
until the new aircraft became available. 60 The
proposal also outlined an initiative to exchange
one of the new C-130H aircraft earmarked for the
Combat Talon II program for the Credible Sport
aircraft. In the end, however, MAC agreed with
TAC and did not support assignment of aircraft
74-1686 to the 1st SOW. The aircraft was destined
to remain at Warner Robins and never fly
again as an airlifter—the cost to demodify the aircraft
to its original configuration exceeded its
value to the Air Force. The aircraft would eventually
be transferred to the Warner Robins Aircraft
Museum, where it remained from that time forward.
Special operations was denied a valuable
asset that would have undoubtedly improved its
airland infiltration/exfiltration capability.
TAC and MAC Strike a Deal
Since the failed rescue attempt in 1980, special
operations had been scrutinized at all levels to
determine how available resources could be better
organized and trained. During 1982 the Air Force
inspector general conducted a functional management
inspection (FMI) of Air Force special operations
forces and determined that SOF should be
consolidated under one command to enhance
available resources. The 1982 Defense Guidance
and the Air Force 2000 study identified the lower
end of the conflict spectrum as the most likely
area of involvement of US forces over the next 20
years. The net result was an increase in SOF requirements.
To address those requirements, Air
Force/XO hosted an SOF working group from 13
to 22 July 1982, which reviewed existing capabilities
and presented a series of recommendations to
the Air Force Council on 31 August. 61
Because of these actions, TAC and MAC convened
a study group in the fall of 1982 to respond
to the SOF study group recommendations and to
the IG’s FMI report. The study group developed a
proposal that consolidated special operations and
combat rescue under MAC. The group recommended
that the consolidation take effect on 1
April 1983, with minimal disruption in basing
and force distribution. Special operations forces
and combat rescue would retain their unique
identities, with the overseas CINCs having operational
control over the forces stationed in their
respective theaters. On 7 December 1982, the Air
Force formally announced the decision to consolidate
SOF under MAC. For the first time, the
Combat Talon community would reside under one
command, which would eventually result in
standardization of equipment and an increase in
assignment opportunities for SOF personnel. 62 In
December 1982, however, there was little enthusiasm
for the consolidation plan in the three Combat
Talon units.
1983: Combat Talon Moves to MAC
The New Year saw the 1st SOS as busy as
ever. On 1 March 1983 MAC assumed command
of all USAF special operations forces, including
the 1st SOS in the Pacific. At Clark AB the 1st
SOS became a tenant unit to the 3d TFW along
with the 374th TAW, which was also a MAC unit
located at Clark. The 374th was assigned maintenance
responsibility for the 1st SOS Combat Talons,
since both were MAC units. Operational control
of the 1st SOS was retained by Headquarters
PACAF, while command of the unit passed to the
newly created MAC-assigned 2d Air Division at
Hurlburt Field. The first commander of the 2d AD
was Col Hugh Cox, who was the former commander
of the 1st SOW. The 2d AD was assigned
264