1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
senior enlisted advisor, Chief Master Sergeant
Showalter, in a solemn ceremony attended by
General Studer. The small ceremony marked an
end to the 10-year SOF adventure in the Philippines
that had begun after Desert One in 1980. At
year’s end the nightmare of Mount Pinatubo was
six months in the past, but it would be another
year before the 1st SOS and the 353d SOW would
attain a permanent beddown location. 30
The 7th SOS and Operation
Provide Comfort
In Europe the 7th SOS had redeployed from
Operation Proven Force on 18 March 1991 after
the end of Desert Storm. At 0200Z on 6 April,
scarcely three weeks later, the squadron received
an execute order from SOCEUR to return to Turkey
for Operation Provide Comfort. The new op -
eration was in support of the Iraqi Kurds who had
supported Coalition forces against Saddam
Hussein during the Gulf War. With the majority of
American forces back at their home stations in the
United States and in Europe, Hussein moved to
increase pressure on the Kurds, with the objective
of eliminating them from Iraq once and for all. 31
The first crew from the 7th SOS, led by Major
Evans, took off from Rhein Main AB at 1842Z on
6 April, only 16.5 hours after the wing received
the execute order. Colonel Hooten, the 39th SOW
commander, flew on the first Talon. The next two
MC-130Es, piloted by Captain Henneberry and
Major Weart, departed at 2102Z. These two aircraft
carried eight containers of relief supplies.
Two HC-130s from the 67th SOS also departed for
Turkey during the first day’s deployment. 32
Evans’s Combat Talon arrived at Incirlick AB
at 0145Z on 7 April, followed by Henneberry and
Weart at 0345Z. In total the 7th SOS deployed
three MC-130E Combat Talons and 51 personnel
for the operation. Eight hours after arrival in Turkey,
the crews received an updated intelligence
briefing and coordinated their mission with
fighter pilots tasked to escort them into and out of
Iraqi airspace. With their aircraft loaded and mission
planning complete, two MC-130Es departed
Incirlick AB at 0919Z on 7 April and headed for
their DZ in northern Iraq. At their preplanned
TOT of 1100Z, the Combat Talons dropped their
eight-ton load utilizing the container release system.
After a total of two hours and 45 minutes,
the two aircraft arrived back at Incirlick AB after
the successful resupply mission. 33
During the following weeks 7th SOS Combat
Talons employed their unique systems in a variety
of roles in support of the relief effort, including
flying additional resupply missions. The communications
package installed on the aircraft
made it capable of acting as an airborne radio
relay platform, thus providing a communications
link between ground parties, airlift forces, and E-
3 Sentry aircraft. The FLIR provided the means
to look for groups of refugees moving towards Turkey
and also provided the capability to videotape
the size and location of refugee camps. Refugee
movement information was important to relief
providers because they tailored their efforts based
on where the refugees were located. The 39th
SOW Intelligence Section also acquired a tactical
information broadcast system (TIBS) suite that
was installed on the Combat Talon . The TIBS allowed
the crews to collect signal intelligence as
they flew over the northern Iraqi mission area. 34
As Operation Provide Comfort continued, resupply
efforts shifted to ground transportation,
and the need for the 7th SOS’s unique capabilities
was not as acute. Rescue teams on the ground
established temporary refugee camps and organized
a system to supply them over land. With decreased
need for the Combat Talon , SOCEUR released
the 7th SOS Talons from the operation,
and they returned to Rhein Main AB on 14 May
1991. The Talons had dropped a total of 785,000
pounds of relief supplies during the deployment,
flying 93 sorties and 413 hours. 35 By 10 June 1991
the remainder of the 39th SOW forces had been
released and was back at home station.
On 23 July the 39th SOW was again alerted
and deployed four MH-53s and two HC-130s to
Incirlick AB for SAR support for what became
known as Operation Provide Comfort II. The deployment
package did not include the 7th SOS
Combat Talons. 36 The new tasking would continue
throughout the remainder of 1991 and on into
1992. For the 7th SOS its major tasking for the
last half of 1991 was in support of the 39th SOW’s
JCET program. It was the only flying unit in the
wing not tasked to support Provide Comfort II,
and the lion’s share of all remaining wing exercises
fell to the squadron. Countries that the 7th
SOS deployed to included Denmark, France, Italy,
Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. By
year’s end the wing was stressed with its continued
commitment to Turkey, but the 7th SOS was
able to pick up the load for tasking outside Operation
Provide Comfort II. During the third quarter
of FY 91, the squadron was notified that it would
move to RAF Alconbury, along with the rest of the
39th SOW, a move that would have the squadron
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