1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
area, the SEALs were infiltrated over land by US
Army MH-60s that were refueled by the Combat
Shadow tandems. Simultaneous attacks on the
target area resulted in the successful recovery of
exercise personnel and the equipment they carried.
The special forces soldiers and the freed hostages
were exfiltrated by way of the MH-47Es and
flown back to the FSB, while the SEALs conducted
an egress by sea. At the FSB all personnel were
transloaded on to the waiting Combat Talons for
movement to the intermediate staging base. The
operation went smoothly, with all exercise objectives
met. The 352d SOG assets redeployed to
RAF Mildenhall at exercise termination, and the
other forces returned to the United States. 183
After returning to the United Kingdom, the
majority of the 7th SOS was once again at home
station. For the next month local training sorties
were emphasized. On 31 May 1995 two MC-
130Hs, along with a large contingent of 352d SOG
assets from the 21st SOS, the 67th SOS, and the
321st STS, deployed to Thessalonica AB, Greece,
for Exercise Alpine Festung. Pre-exercise operations
included low-level route surveys and airdrops
in support of US Army and Greek Army
requirements. As the exercise progressed, sorties
included aerial refueling, HALO paradrops, resupply
drops, CRRC drops, infiltrations, extractions,
and transload operations. The excellent
low-level routes provided outstanding training,
and the many additional events proved to be invaluable
in improving aircrew proficiency. On 12
June the majority of 352d SOG forces redeployed
to home station after two weeks of challenging
training in the mountains of Greece. 184
On 1 July 1995 Colonel Helm assumed command
of the 7th SOS from Scott. For the remainder
of the summer until early fall, the squadron
supported the group’s JCET program and continued
to fly local training sorties in the Scottish
Highlands low-level area. Members of the squadron
also participated in training conferences, attended
academic and flight upgrade courses, and
hosted instructors from the 550th SOS. The 550th
visit allowed its Combat Talon II instructors to fly
with operational crews of the 7th SOS and to gain
valuable European theater experience that they
could use to better train new crew members. 185
From 13 to 25 September, two 7th SOS Combat
Talon IIs deployed to Hunter AAF in Savannah,
Georgia, for Exercise Knotted Whip. This
marked a continuing commitment by the squadron
to participate in the large quarterly stateside exercises.
During the deployment crews flew assault
landings, airdrops, resupply drops, infiltration,
exfiltration, SAR, and casualty evacuation missions.
The aircrews also practiced forward area
rearming and refueling operations and low-level
terrain-following flights. The training was outstanding,
and the deployed personnel were able to
refine skills that could not be practiced in the
more restrictive European environment. 186 This
deployment marked the last major commitment
for the 7th SOS before the situation in the Balkan’s
required 7th SOS support.
Base Realignment and Closure Commission
Recommends Realignment of Kirtland AFB
On 28 February 1995 members of the 58th
SOW were surprised by the announcement of the
proposed realignment of Kirtland AFB. The Defense
Department’s BRAC commission made the
recommendation, which included moving the
58th SOW to Holloman AFB, New Mexico. If approved
the realignment would close most facilities
at Kirtland AFB except for the Sandia and
Phillips Laboratories, the Department of Energy
facilities, and a munitions squadron. The Air
Force projected the cost of realignment to be
$277.5 million, with a savings of $464.5 million
over a 20-year period. 187
Shortly after the BRAC commission’s announcement,
the 58th SOW began compiling the moving
costs, facilities, and requirements needed to set
up operations at Holloman AFB. From 13 to 17
March 1995, a team of 16 members from AETC
visited the 58th SOW to conduct a site survey of
the wing’s space requirements. On 20 March an
11-member 58th SOW team visited Holloman
AFB to make a quick assessment of the base’s
facilities. From 3 to 7 April the wing sent a sixperson
survey team to Holloman AFB to analyze
the facilities available as opposed to the established
58th SOW requirements. The objective was
to calculate the costs to bring Holloman AFB up
to a level that could adequately support the special
operations wing. From the site visit, team
members estimated that construction costs alone
could run as high as $226 million. There were
also huge hidden costs for environmental assessments
for new low-level routes, helicopter and C-
130 DZs, and pararescue training areas. The survey
team estimated the total cost of moving to
Holloman AFB to be about $231 million. 188
It became increasingly clear to the 58th SOW
that huge construction costs at Holloman AFB
were making it a nonsupportable option. Air Staff
had already notified the wing to keep construction
412