1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
16 January the PSYOPS campaign shifted to a
coordinated effort that included B-52 air strikes,
BLU-82B delivery, EC-130E Volant Solo airborne
radio and television broadcasts, and leaflets delivered
by various means (including artillery
shells and balloons). During the course of Operation
Desert Storm, more than 29 million leaflets
were delivered, with the 8th and 9th SOS dropping
16.5 million of that total. The 8th SOS completed
13 leaflet missions, and the 9th SOS completed
two. 59
Each leaflet mission consisted of several phases
and oftentimes required multiple sorties. A typical
profile began with an early morning (between
0200 and 0500) airdrop of leaflets by an 8th SOS
Combat Talon on a specific target. The leaflets
would promise that B-52s would soon bombard
the position and would graphically depict injury
to the Iraqi soldier. Just before dawn an EC-103E
Volant Solo aircraft would begin radio broadcasting
the same message that was printed on the
leaflets. The Volant Solo transmitted the mes -
sage of a pending B-52 air strike over known
Iraqi military and civilian frequencies. Early the
following evening, a B-52 air strike of three or
more aircraft would service the target, thus fulfilling
the warning contained in the leaflets and
in the radio broadcasts. In the early hours follow -
ing the air strike, the 8th SOS would drop a second
set of leaflets that warned of another B-52
strike and encouraged the Iraqis to lay down their
arms and surrender to Coalition forces. An EC-
130E Volant Solo would then arrive in the area
and broadcast the same message. A secon d B-52
air strike would then be flown early in the day to
complete the cycle. Once this leaflet-broadcaststrike-leaflet-broadcast-strike
profile was completed,
the PSYOPS package would move on to
another target. 60
The profile was modified for BLU-82B missions.
The 8th SOS dropped the bomb from an altitude of
16,000 to 21,000 feet, which was within the SAM
and heavy AAA kill zone of the Iraqi defenders.
Beres felt that the first leaflet mission (announcing
that a BLU-82B was on its way) would put the
bomb delivery crew in danger—the Iraqis could set
a trap and shoot down the relatively low-flying
Combat Talon . Therefore, the BLU-82B mission
profile began with the dropping of two bombs followed
by the EC-130E Volant Solo radio broadcasts.
The next night another set of leaflets were dropped,
promising another BLU-82B strike in the general
area. Instead of dropping the second set of bombs on
the same target, the next set of bombs would be
dropped just to the east of the previous drop but
well within ear and eyesight of the troops in the
vicinity of the previous drop. During the course of
the war, the 8th SOS worked from west to east
along the Saudi-Iraqi and Saudi-Kuwaiti borders
dropping the bombs. When the ground war began,
virtually every Iraqi soldier along the front lines
had seen a BLU-82B drop and had read one or
more of the leaflets delivered by the squadron . 61
The fifth leaflet mission for the 8th SOS (and
the first after commencement of the air war) was
flown during the night of 16/17 January 1991.
More than two million leaflets were dropped on
Iraqi troops positioned in southern Kuwait. The
mission delivered the original surrender card,
which encouraged Iraqi troops to lay down their
arms and surrender to Coalition forces. The subsequent
mission (flown on 19/20 January) targeted
the Iraqi 16th Infantry Division and contained the
Geneva Convention card leaflet, a leaflet that reassured
the Iraqi soldier that he would be treated
humanely if he surrendered. All subsequent leaflet
missions contained both the surrender card
and the Geneva Convention card in addition to
leaflets targeted at specific combat units. 62
The seventh leaflet mission was flown over a
two-night period during the nights of 20/21 and
21/22 January, and it again targeted the Iraqi
16th Infantry Division. The leaflet-broadcastbomb-leaflet-broadcast-bomb
cycle was utilized on
frontline troops, with B-52 strikes and Volant Solo
broadcasts being employed. Mission number eight
was flown during the nights of 27/28 and 30/31
January and employed the standard PSYOPS cycle.
The target for this mission was general frontline
troop concentrations in the south central region of
Kuwait. Mission number nine, flown on 9/10 February,
again targeted general troop concentrations
in south central Kuwait. Mission number 10 included
8th SOS BLU-82B drops, with four sorties
being flown between the nights of 6/7 and 16/17
February. Because of the Iraqi threat, the initial
leaflet drop promising delivery of the bomb was
not flown, but the postbomb leaflet drop was
made. A massive three BLU-82B drop targeted at
Faylaka Island on 18 February was not supported
by any leaflet drops. 63
Mission number 11 was flown on 14/15 February
and targeted frontline troops in the westernmost
portion of the triborder region. As a prelude
to the coming ground war, mission number 12
delivered leaflets with comprehensive surrender
instructions for individual Iraqi soldiers. The leaflets
also offered medical care and safety to anyone
362