FROM THE FORWARD: As a young lieutenant flying tactical C-130s at
Langley Air Force Base (AFB), Virginia, in the spring of 1967, I
heard one Friday night in the Officers ' Club that Tactical Air
Command (our parent command) was looking for four C-130 copilots to
transfer to Pope AFB, North Carolina, for training in a Top Sec ret
C-130 squadron designated Combat Knife. That had to be more
exciting than haul ing trash, I thought. The following Monday I
volunteered, and within a few months I was on my way to Pope AFB.
This led to an exciting Air Force career flying the most versatile
C-130 ever produced-the Combat Talon. Jerry Thigpen's study on the
history of the Combat Talon is the first effort to tell the story o
f this wonderfully ca pable m achine. T his w eapons system has
performed virtually every imaginable tactical event in the spectrum
of conflict and by any measure is the most versatile C-130
derivative ever produced. First modified and sent to Southeast Asia
(SEA) in 1966 to replace theater unconventional warfare (UW) assets
that were limited in both lift capability and speed, the Talon I
quickly adapted to theater UW tasking, including infiltration and
resup - ply and psychological warfare operations into North
Vietnam. After spending four years in SEA and maturing into a
highly respected UW weapons system, the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS)
chose the Combat Talon to lead the night, low-level raid on the
North Vietnamese prison camp at Son Tay. Despite the outcome of the
operation, the Talon I cemented its reputation as the weapons
system of choice for long-range, clandestine operations. In the
period following the Vietnam War, United States Air Force (USAF)
special operations gradually lost its political and financial
support, which was graphically demonstrated in the failed Desert
One mission into Iran. Thanks to congressional supporters like Earl
Hutto of Florida and Dan Daniel of Virginia, funds for aircraft
upgrades and military construction projects materialized to meet
the ever-increasing threat to our nation. Under the leadership of
such committed, hard-driven officers as Brenci, Uttaro, Ferkes,
Meller, and Thigpen, the crew force became the most disciplined in
our Air Force. It was capable of penetrating hostile airspace at
night, in a low-level mountainous environment, covertly to execute
any number of unconventional warfare missions. The highly trained,
disciplined Talon I crews led the invasions of Grenada in October
1983 and Panama in December 1989. The long-range "pathfinder"
capability of the Talon I's made them the indispensable choice for
these classic airfield seizure operations. In Desert Storm the
Talon Is reverted to their Vietnam psychological warfare role by
dropping millions of leaflets over Iraq and Kuwait. Additionally,
they dropped eleven 15,000-pound BLU-82B bombs. Today the Talon I
largely fulfills the penetrating tanker role, which includes the
low-level penetration of hostile airspace and electronic
countermeasures (ECM) protec tion for combat search and rescue
rotary-wing forces. The Talon I has earned its place in history as
the forerunner of modern Air Force Special Operations. Today both
the Talon I and Talon II continue to infiltrate, exfiltrate, and
resupply friendly forces around the world. The Talon I has
recovered packages and people with the Fulton Recovery System in
virtually every theater, and both aircraft have dropped every
conceivable object off their ramps, from motorcycles to
15,000-pound bombs. Because of the capabilities of the versatile
MC-130, and the extraordinary men and women who unselfishly support
its mission of vital national importance, the future of Air Force
Special Operations is secure.
General
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