1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
be directly attributed to the dedicated, professional
instructors of the 550th SOS. 73
The squadron’s bilateral exercise schedule continued
to challenge the unit through the fall and
winter of 1997. Bilateral training events were conducted
from 11 to 16 September, 20 to 30 October,
and 16 to 19 December. The September exercise
focused on airborne intercept training. On 11 September
one 550th SOS Combat Talon deployed to
Hanscom Field, Massachusetts. During the deployment
leg the MC-130H crew completed airborne
intercept training with four F-15 fighters
assigned to the 131st FW. Once settled at Hanscom
Field, the crew members flew daily sorties that
tested their ability to conduct low-level operations
while evading an airborne threat. During each sortie
the crew was challenged by two F-16 aircraft
assigned to the 158th Fighter Group. 74
After completing their airborne intercept work
out of Hanscom Field, the crew members successfully
completed assault landings at Pope AFB and
proceeded on to Shaw AFB, South Carolina. After
completing pilot proficiency training sorties out of
Shaw, the crew returned to Kirtland AFB on 16
September. During the redeployment to home station,
the crew flew against the Poinsett EW range
and logged a midlevel ground radar event. The
crew also completed two instructor qualification
check rides, additional continuation training
events, and multiple training events for the electronic
warfare officer. 75
On 20 October the 550th deployed one MC-
130H to Peterson AFB, Colorado, and picked up
soldiers assigned to the 2d Battalion, 10th Special
Forces Group, and one pallet of their equipment.
The aircraft proceeded on to Burris DZ and completed
a static-line drop. For the next six days, the
crew conducted HALO and static-line drops in
support of the Special Forces team. On 30 October
the Combat Talon II redeployed to Colorado and
made one last combination HALO and static-line
drop, then airlanded the remaining personnel and
supplies at Peterson Field. The crew continued on
to Kirtland AFB, logging 36 hours during the 10-
day exercise. 76
The last bilateral exercise of the year was flown
out of Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, from 16 to 19
December. The thrust of this exercise was again
airborne intercept training. For three days the
550th crew conducted airborne intercept training
with the 389th Fighter Squadron’s assigned F-15
and F-16 aircraft. In addition to flying against
the fighters, the crew also completed low-level
training events and flew multiple self-contained
approaches. Only one intercept event had to be
canceled on the first day of training due to poor
weather. The last training mission was flown on
19 December after the crew completed six sorties
and logged 13.2 flying hours. The mission commander,
Captain Bauernfeind, commented, “The
trip to Mountain Home provided some of the best
airborne intercept training that the 550th SOS
had ever received. It is highly recommended that
the 550th SOS continues to return to Mountain
Home for this hard to find training.” 77 The Idaho
deployment was the last off-station event of the
squadron for 1997.
The 1997 MacKay Trophy Is
Awarded to a 7th SOS Crew
Elements of the 7th SOS had redeployed from
Central Africa to home station in mid-December
1996 and had spent the holiday season with their
families. As 1997 began, other units of the 352d
SOG were heavily committed to operations in the
Balkans. Operation Joint Endeavor had changed
to Operation Joint Guard on 20 December 1996,
but the group’s tasking for CSAR alert, which included
MH-53Js and MC-130Ps, remained in
place. The 7th SOS continued to execute group
tasking under the USEUCOM JCET program. 78
The group was scheduled for a Headquarters AF-
SOC/IG-administered operational readiness inspection
in October, and the 7th SOS would facilitate
the group’s preparation for it during JCET
events throughout the year.
The first deployment of the year for the 352d
SOG was to Evenes AB, Norway, from 7 to 16
January and included one MC-130H, two MC-
130Ps, and 60 aircrew and support personnel. Participating
personnel were processed for the JCET
through the RAF Mildenhall mobility processing
system, with cargo being marshaled and inspected,
aircraft loaded, and then launched utilizing
ORI criteria. Once at Evenes AB the deployed
force was faced with severe cold and extreme
weather conditions that affected airborne opera -
tions. Airborne intercept events scheduled for the
7th SOS were canceled, but squadron personnel
accomplished most of the other objectives for the
exercise. One benefit derived from the deployment
was that unit personnel were able to evaluate fa -
cilities at Evenes AB in the event the location
were used for the actual ORI in October. 79 The
JCET was an excellent first step towards getting
the group up to speed for the fall evaluation.
February marked the first time that the 7th SOS
deployed to Hungary. From 19 to 27 February, one
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