1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
that it was a tenant unit of the host wing, the
selection marked a milestone in its maturity. 28 In
April Col Robert W. Gates (1st SOW/CC) presented
Detachment 2 with the TAC Unit Achievement
Award for the period 17 January 1969–16
January 1970. The unit had gained recognition as
one of the best organizations in TAC. 29
The second CTMR conference was held at LAS
Ontario from 27 to 30 January 1970. Its major
goal was to finalize LTM changes recommended
the previous year and to coordinate a draft of the
new Multi-Command Manual (MCM) 55-130, Aircrew
Operations Manual. Other major items discussed
included the Combat Talon training program
for 1971 and the fiscal year 1971 aircraft
modification program. As had been the case the
previous year, representatives from each major
command and each unit operating the Combat
Talon aircraft attended the conference. 30 As a follow-up
to the CTMR conference, Major Gargus
traveled to Headquarters TAC (DOSOS) on 16
March to coordinate MCM 55-130 changes agreed
to at the CTMR conference. A follow-up tasking for
Detachment 2 personnel was a comprehensive review
of all tactical checklists. The checklists were
then included in the final MCM 55-130. 31
From 24 March to 1 April, Detachment 2 participated
with two aircraft in a joint capabilities
demonstration for foreign dignitaries, senior service
personnel, and selected groups. The demonstrations
were held on the Fort Bragg ranges and
consisted of personnel drops and Fulton STARS
operations. Twelve sorties were flown, with 72
personnel air-dropped and six recoveries performed
utilizing a training dummy. The objective
of the demonstrations was to educate personnel in
key US and allied government positions about the
capabilities of the Combat Talon and other US
weapons systems. 32
In early summer (9–14 June) Detachment 2 participated
in joint Exercise Gobbler Woods. Six US
Army Special Forces A Teams were infiltrated into
the objective area and were resupplied five days
later. Primary drop zones were lighted, and all
events were successfully accomplished on these
lighted drop zones. 33 The exercise again demonstrated
the ability of Detachment 2 to support its
Special Forces customers while concurrently operating
the schoolhouse and training replacement aircrews
for worldwide Combat Talon assignment.
A Syllabi and Phase Training Conference was
also held in June 1970. The purpose of the conference
was to evaluate existing syllabi and manuals
and to institute changes to promote better and
more efficient training goals and procedures. The
result of this conference was the ratification of the
new 75-flying-hour Combat Talon Syllabus. The
previous syllabus had required 90 flying hours.
Additionally, correction of all phase manuals was
accomplished with emphasis on mission sequence,
time changes, applicability of subject material,
format, and administrative cleanup. 34 While overseas
Talon units concentrated on operational
commitments to their theater commanders, Detachment
2 was methodically upgrading and improving
the Combat Talon training system so that
personnel could be trained more efficiently and a
more proficient graduate be produced by the formal
school.
July was highlighted by participation in another
joint exercise named Gobi Springs I. Detachment
2 participated along with A Company,
6th Special Forces Group, and operated out of
Pope AFB. The exercise proved to be the most
realistic of the year, with 111 personnel and more
than 5,000 pounds of cargo air-dropped. A scheduled
Fulton STARS was canceled the day before
the event by the participating Special Forces commander.
Other than this one cancellation, other
events were flown as planned. The scenario allowed
schoolhouse students bound for SEA the
opportunity to fly some of the exercise missions
and thus gain valuable experience training in a
realistic operational environment. 35
In August 1970 Detachment 2 was tasked to
provide an aircraft and crew to begin preparation
for Operation Ivory Coast, which was the attempt
to free American prisoners of war from Son Tay
Prison in North Vietnam. Colonel Blosch and his
crew, flying aircraft 64-0558, departed Pope AFB
for Eglin AFB, Florida, and began a three-month
training period that culminated in the November
1970 raid deep into North Vietnam (see chap. 6).
This was the first combat mission flown by Detachment
2, although many of the unit’s personnel
had served in SEA before being assigned to Combat
Knife . Blosch was a member of the original
Stray Goose contingent that deployed to SEA in
1966 and was the operations officer of Detachment
2 in the summer of 1970. The 7th SOS also provided
a crew for the raid, and the 15th SOS provided
a second Combat Talon —aircraft 64-0523.
The year ended on a positive note. Detach -
ment 2 won the 1st SOW Best Squadron Management
Award for 1970 because the unit demonstrated
outstanding management of assigned
resources. The hard work by dedicated squadron
personnel had resulted in many administrative
66