Combat Search and Rescue in Desert Storm / Darrel D. Whitcomb
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Combat Search and Rescue in Desert Storm DARREL D. WHITCOMB Colonel, USAFR, Retired Air University Press Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama September 2006 front.indd 1 11/6/06 3:37:09 PM Air University Library Cataloging Data Whitcomb, Darrel D., 1947- Combat search and rescue in Desert Storm / Darrel D. Whitcomb. p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references. A rich heritage: the saga of Bengal 505 Alpha—The interim years—Desert Shield— Desert Storm week one—Desert Storm weeks two/three/four—Desert Storm week five—Desert Sabre week six. ISBN 1-58566-153-8 1. Persian Gulf War, 1991—Search and rescue operations. 2. Search and rescue operations—United States—History. 3. United States—Armed Forces—Search and rescue operations. I. Title. 956.704424 –– dc22 Disclaimer Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Air University, the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency. Cleared for public release: distribution unlimited. © Copyright 2006 by Darrel D. Whitcomb ([email protected]). Air University Press 131 West Shumacher Avenue Maxwell AFB AL 36112-6615 http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil ii front.indd 2 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM This work is dedicated to the memory of the brave crew of Bengal 15. Without question, without hesitation, eight soldiers went forth to rescue a downed countryman— only three returned. God bless those lost, as they rest in their eternal peace. front.indd 3 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER . ii DEDICATION . iii ABOUT THE AUTHOR . ix FOREWORD . xi INTRODUCTION . xv Notes . xix 1 A RICH HERITAGE: THE SAGA OF BENGAL 505 ALPHA . 1 Notes . 12 2 THE INTERIM YEARS . 15 Notes . 40 3 DESERT SHIELD . 43 Notes . 76 4 DESERT STORM WEEK ONE . 81 Notes . 158 5 DESERT STORM WEEKS TWO/THREE/FOUR . 167 Notes . 188 6 DESERT STORM WEEK FIVE . 191 Notes . 207 7 DESERT SABRE WEEK SIX . 209 Notes . 241 8 POSTSCRIPT . 245 Notes . 272 APPENDIX . 277 ABBREVIATIONS . 279 v front.indd 5 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM CONTENTS Page BIBLIOGRAPHY. 283 INDEX . 291 Illustrations Map Week 1: 17–23 January . 93 Weeks 2-4: 24 January–13 February . 168 Week 5: 14–20 February . 192 Week 6: 21–28 February . 210 Photo Brig Gen Dale Stovall . 3 Capt Bennie Orrell . 6 Jolly Greens were legendary in Southeast Asia . 10 Brig Gen Rich Comer . 30 Col George Gray . 45 Capt Randy O’Boyle and Brig Gen Buster Glosson . 54 The Apaches of Task Force Normandy . 91 MH-53 pilot, Steve Otto . 103 Crewmembers on the Stroke 65 recovery attempt . 115 Col Dave Eberly, pilot of Corvette 03 . 123 Maj Tom Griffith of Corvette 03 . 123 The crew of Slate 46 . 144 vi front.indd 6 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM CONTENTS Photo Page 1st Lt Randy Goff and Capt P. J. Johnson . 148 MH-53s stood CSAR alert at ArAr . 176 Capt Bill Andrews with other members of Mutt flight . 205 LTC Bill Bryan . 230 The crew of Bengal 15 . 234 MAJ Rhonda Cornum . 237 Capt Tom Trask . 262 Tables 1 JRCC Log . 258 2 Analysis of combat losses . 259 vii front.indd 7 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK About the Author Darrel D. Whitcomb, right, with Gen Charles A. “Chuck” Horner, USAF, retired. Darrel D. Whitcomb is a 1969 graduate of the US Air Force Academy. He served three tours in Southeast Asia as a cargo pilot and forward air controller and subsequently flew the A-37 and A-10 with the 926th Fighter Wing and the 442d Fighter Wing. He also served in fighter plans on the Air Staff and in mobilization plans on the Joint Staff. Most recently, he served on the faculty at Air Command and Staff College and as the mobilization assistant to the commander of the Air Force Doc- trine Center, both at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1999 with the rank of colonel. He was also a career airline pilot for Delta Airlines, retiring in 2003. As a noted writer on aviation history and combat search and rescue, Colonel Whitcomb has published numerous articles in magazines and periodicals including Air and Space Power Jour- nal. His first book, The Rescue of Bat 21, was published in 1998 (US Naval Institute Press). Still active in aviation, he re- cently completed a tour as a contract pilot in Iraq. ix front.indd 9 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM ABOUT THE AUTHOR Colonel Whitcomb is a graduate of Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama; Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, DC. He lives with his wife in Fairfax, Virginia, where he works part-time as a contract analyst with TATE Incorporated. x front.indd 10 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM Foreword As a third-class cadet at the US Air Force Academy in July of 1970, I saw the war in Vietnam as a major determinant of my future. I just did not know then what part I might play in the conflict and felt a youthful, impatient need to decide on my Air Force career so I could see myself in what looked like the war of my generation. I found my calling on a beautiful California afternoon when 22 of us cadets were treated to a ride in an HH- 53C Super Jolly Green Giant of the Air Rescue and Recovery Service, a part of the Military Airlift Command. I enjoyed the ride. I sat beside a pararescueman, or “PJ,” looking out at the treetops as we skimmed along. Turns were exciting, with the crew windows open up front and the wind flowing through the cabin. Unlike the rides I had taken in fight- ers and bombers, I was not breathing through a rubber mask, and I felt like I was in touch with the world below—a partici- pant instead of a spectator. Afterwards, TSgt Stu Stanaland, the PJ, explained that the pilot, Maj Marty Donohue, was one of the best in the rescue business. Months later back in school, we were all captivated by news of the attempt to rescue US prisoners of war (POW) at Son Tay in North Vietnam. When I learned that the raid had been con- ducted using rescue helicopters, I read all I could find about the mission. President Nixon later decorated the mission lead- ers, saying they had performed flawlessly and fought coura- geously without losing a man; and the mission had not suc- ceeded only because of bad intelligence—the POWs had been moved from the Son Tay camp. As I watched the presentation on television, I spotted Major Donohue among the honorees. Now I was hooked. I made a career decision to fly helicopters, get into rescue, and join those guys for life. That resolution held up through my senior year when the commandant of ca- dets told all us prospective helicopter pilots we were making a mistake that would deny us a rewarding career. “If you become helicopter pilots, you will not be in my Air Force,” he said. Still, it was what I wanted most to do and what I did. While in HH-53 transition, the most respected instructor pilot—an Air Force Cross recipient named Ben Orrell—told me rescue xi front.indd 11 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM FOREWORD was a job to be proud of and that it would be sufficient in itself to make a career rewarding. Soon after, and still a second lieu- tenant, I flew my first combat mission—the Mayaguez recovery in 1975. We flew as wingman to another HH-53, which included Sergeant Stanaland among its crew members. I had joined those rescue guys. The years between then and now have seen many changes but almost nothing new. The rescue men—and now also women— are called to enter dangerous territory, flying low and slow, going where a usually faster, less-vulnerable aircraft has recently been shot down. Instead of having a couple of days’ time to prepare and entering the mission into the air tasking order (ATO) several days prior to execution, the rescue folks go there from a “cold start” launch from alert status. They could enhance their prepa- ration by reading the ATO and plotting where the danger areas for shoot-downs might be, but a large, complex air campaign may cover an entire country. As you may deduce from this book, a major lesson learned from Desert Storm is that making the command and control arrangements murky and time-consum- ing further complicates the task of air rescue. Also, they may not be adequately equipped for the mission, yet the demand for im- mediate, must-succeed operations remains. During the first Gulf War of 1991, air rescue was in a state of transition and largely performed by aircraft and crews assigned to special operations units. These units were equipped with helicopters originally procured to perform rescue and modified for their new missions. Remember, the Son Tay raid had been performed by crews and aircraft assigned to air rescue, but the mission concept more closely resembled a special operation. Likewise, the SS Mayaguez recovery was a rescue mission per- formed by air-assaulting a Cambodian island with US marines carried on Special Operations and Air Rescue Service H-53s. Special ops and rescue have closely related needs in terms of aircraft, crew training, and mission profiles.