1 - The Black Vault

Chapter 15
Operation Assured Response to the New Millennium
(1996–2000)
Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow
and of the man who leads that gains the victory.
—George S. Patton
1996: Operations Other Than War
The operations tempo experienced in 1995 continued
unabated throughout 1996. Beginning on
14 December 1995, Operation Joint Endeavor in
Bosnia-Herzegovina consumed much of AFSOC’s
time. Special Operations Command Europe had
been tasked by USEUCOM in February 1993 to
establish a Joint Special Operations Task Force
(identified as JSOTF2) at San Vito AS, Brindisi,
Italy, and to provide CSAR, fire support, and airdrop
capabilities for employment in the area formerly
known as Yugoslavia. From the time of its
establishment, AFSOC provided SOF air assets to
support SOCEUR’s mission. Throughout 1996
AFSOC personnel and aircraft from the 4th SOS
(AC-130U), 8th SOS (MC-130E), 7th SOS and
15th SOS (MC-130H), 16th SOS (AC-130H), 20th
SOS and 21st SOS (MH-53J), and associated
maintenance squadrons continually deployed to San
Vito AS and executed a variety of missions, from
CSAR alert to air-drop/airland missions in Bosnia.
Operation Joint Endeavor officially ended on 20 December
1996, with the Combat Talons of AFSOC
playing a significant role during its execution. 1
The 7th SOS—Balkan Tasking
and the JCET Program
Although the 7th SOS had returned to RAF
Mildenhall and was no longer deployed to Brindisi,
the squadron was tasked occasionally to support
the Bosnia-Herzegovina operation. Tasking
for the 7th SOS usually resulted from SOF-unique
airlift requirements that could only be fulfilled by
the MC-130H. On 8 January 1996, while two MC-
130H Combat Talons were flying an approach
into Sarajevo, numerous fires on the ground activated
the Combat Talon IIs infrared detection
system, thus automatically causing the ejection of
flares from the aircraft. Once parked on the ramp,
crew members could see tracers off the approach
end of the runway. After unloading their supplies
both aircraft departed, with one returning to
Brindisi and the second flying on to Stuttgart,
Germany. During the through-flight inspection at
Stuttgart, crew members discovered a one-inch
hole in the right horizontal stabilizer that had
been made by a 7.62 mm round. The aircraft had
most likely received the hit during its approach to
Sarajevo. No additional damage was found. 2
The following month, on 20 February, SOCEUR
alerted the 7th SOS of a possible deployment of
one MC-130H to the Republic of Macedonia for a
JCET from 13 to 14 March. The actual deployment
occurred on 12/13 March and included members
of the US Army’s 10th SFG(A) and Macedonian
army parachutists. The deployment was
significant because it was the first JCET conducted
in Macedonia, and it gave the 7th SOS
crew a unique opportunity to gain experience in
the area. 3
Later in the month the squadron deployed one
Combat Talon II to Norway for a long-range infiltration
training mission into Greenland. Two Norwegian
marine Jagers were infiltrated by para -
chute into Greenland on 29 March and began their
attempt to break the world record for the fastest
trans-Greenland crossing time without the aid of
animals or motorized vehicles. Before the infiltra -
tion mission began, the deployed Talon crew flew
low-level training flights in Norway and completed
self-contained instrument approaches at their deployed
location. To reduce the flight time to the
air-drop location in Greenland, the Danish government
allowed the crew to land at Narssarssuaq,
Greenland, to clear customs. The crew returned to
RAF Mildenhall after completion of the mission,
and the Jagers achieved their world record goal on
22 June 1996. 4 Meanwhile, in western Africa tension
was building between rival factors, and as
April began the largest commitment for Combat
Talon in recent history began to unfold.
Operation Assured Response
Tension in the West African nation of Liberia
reached the boiling point in April 1996. Factions
there had been maneuvering for power for several
years, and the crisis was brought on by the actions
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