1 - The Black Vault

MOUNT PINATUBO TO OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR
settled down, and the Combat Talon II formal
school was operating smoothly.
1995: War in the Balkans Expands
Although portions of Commando Vision were tabled,
Combat Talon I transfer to the USAF Reserve
went on as planned. In the Pacific, the 1st SOS
received its initial Combat Talon IIs, and Kirkland
AFB survived a closure scare from the Base Realignment
and Closure (BRAC) Commission. The
7th SOS moved to RAF Mildenhall as the 352d
SOG struggled to fulfill its tasking in the Balkans.
The Objective Wing Is Refined in AFSOC
As Haiti and Operation Uphold Democracy
faded into the past for AFSOC, General Hobson
initiated a request to Air Staff for a variance
from the objective wing structure. Hobson felt
that the operational flying squadrons had grown
too large for their squadron commanders to effectively
supervise the complex operations and maintenance
functions.
The two Hurlburt-based Combat Talon squadrons
had tripled in size since absorbing their
maintenance function, while the 1st SOS at
Kadena AB had doubled. The 8th SOS had grown
to 381 personnel assigned, while the 15th SOS
had topped out at 414 assigned by late December
1994. 160 As a general rule the flying squadron
commanders had little maintenance experience
and had to rely on relatively junior officers to advise
them on maintenance issues. There were
times when flying requirements took precedence
over maintenance actions, thus having the longterm
effect of decreased capability as maintenance
actions were regularly postponed. Hobson
felt that on-aircraft maintenance should be supervised
by maintenance professionals and not by
rated operational commanders. The variance that
he requested would create separate maintenance
squadrons and leave the operations squadrons to
concentrate on their flying activities. On 11 August
1995 Hobson’s requested variance was approved
by Air Staff. Both fixed- and rotary-wing
maintenance squadrons were subsequently established,
and they were activated effective 2 October
1995. The action resulted in the 8th SOS decreasing
in size to 142 assigned personnel and the
15th SOS to 132. 161 The two overseas Talon
squadrons (the 1st SOS and the 7th SOS) were
not affected by the change at Hurlburt Field at
that time. Maintenance remained assigned to
those two squadrons for another year.
The 8th SOS Supports Operation
Joint Endeavor
In December 1994 the 8th SOS was tasked to
deploy two MC-130Es to Italy in support of the
ongoing Bosnian operation. Later, in the spring
of 1995, the 8th SOS aircraft returned to Hurlburt
Field when the 9th SOS relieved them. On 14
August 1995 the 8th SOS received a no-notice
tasking to redeploy to San Vito in support of
Operation Deliberate Force/Joint Endeavor.
Dodging two Atlantic hurricanes en route, the
aircraft were in-place at San Vito 14 hours before
the JCS deadline. The deployment was in support
of NATO operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina
and involved providing CSAR alert to refuel helicopters
if the need materialized. On 30 August
Serbian gunners shot down a French Mirage
fighter (call sign Ebro 33) near the town of Pale
with two crew members onboard. During the fol -
lowing days, intense mission planning was conducted
to determine if the French officers could
be rescued. On 6 September a flight of US Navy
SH-60 helicopters from the USS Roosevelt attempted
a recovery but was turned back due to
bad weather and intense small-arms fire. On 7
September the JSOTF at Brindisi, launched a
second rescue attempt. The 8th SOS MC-130Es
were part of the Ebro 33 task force and was
tasked to refuel the helicopters performing the
rescue. The SAR force was unable to locate the
crew members, and it was learned that they had
been captured. The French pilots were later released
unharmed in December as part of the
Paris peace agreement. In all the 8th SOS participated
in three CSAR missions during Operation
Deliberate Force before the peace agreement
took effe ct. 162
Less than 24 hours after the signing of the
peace agreement in Paris, AFSOC crews, including
those of the 8th SOS, were carrying US Army
Special Forces teams into Sarajevo in support of
Operation Joint Endeavor. The MC-130Es of the
8th SOS were tasked to support special forces
troop movements into both Sarajevo and Tuzla,
which were the two main hubs for air operations.
With dense fog blanketing the city, an 8th SOS
Combat Talon was the first aircraft to land in
Sarajevo after the agreement was signed. Throughout
the early stages of Joint Endeavor, the
weather played havoc with aircraft movements in
both Bosnia and in Italy. The Combat Talon was
the only fixed-wing aircraft that could consistently
fly a precision airborne radar approach to a
successful landing in the fog and drizzle of central
407