This Interview with Colonel Charlie Beckwith, took place on September 18, 1990. He discusses his 30 years of military duty, as well as the Middle East crisis of the time.
This video is part of the collection entitled: Abilene Library Consortium and one other and was provided by Abilene Christian University Library to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries.
In conjunction with USSOCOM, SOFWERX will host a SOF Space, Cyber Space and Electromagnetic Spectrum Rapid Capabilities Assessment (RCA) 27 April – 01 May 2020 in Tampa.
The goal of the event is to develop and produce a “Technology Road Map” to provide a system/subsystem level breakdown of technology partners, their technology maturity, risk and provide insight for deciding next steps, such as technology investment opportunities.
Twenty (20) selected participants will be afforded up to $5,000 for the week to offset travel costs and provide for a modest stipend for their participation.
Request to Attend NLT 26 March 11:59 PM EST. For will details, visit www.sofwerx.org/rca2.
Over the course of this winter, “The Originals” of 10th SFG(A) have conducted a wide variety of cold weather and mountaineering training both at their home base of Ft Carson, CO and in at various locations in Europe.
The aircrew of Spooky 41, an AC-130U “Spooky” gunship from the 4th Special Operations Squadron, was awarded medals for their role in a nine-hour mission over Nangarhar, Afghanistan. These medals included two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 12 Air Medals.
Maj. Wright, an Air Force Special Tactics officer, led a seven-man Special Tactics Team (STT) in support of the Army Special Forces company conducting the operation on the ground.
The following is his account of the mission from his perspective on the ground.
Vignette by Maj Jeffrey Wright, 24th Special Operations Wing (Air Force Special Tactics)
I served as the lead joint terminal attack controller and fire support coordinator for a major assault against a notorious Islamic State – Khorisan (ISIS-K) stronghold in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. This operation took place from 1 April through 6 April 2019, and the events below took place on the night of 3-4 April.
It would be inaccurate to describe this target as a village. Rather, this was a military installation literally dug into the side of the mountains, with a single path through which friendly forces could assault. The enemy consolidated their forces here in a warren of interconnected command and control nodes, operations centers, staging areas, and ‘on-base housing’ for ISIS-K leaders. This was no low-level commander and his men: this place was ‘ISIS-K’s Pentagon.’
I am aware of at least three previous assaults against this position that were quickly defeated by virtue of the enemy’s elaborate defense, high degree of training and commitment, and skillful application of firepower against friendly forces.
In my 20-plus years of training and experience in the art of attacking and defending ground objectives, I have seen few more formidable defensive positions – or ones more daunting to attack. I would have to reach for examples like Normandy, Iwo Jima or Hamburger Hill to appropriately convey the degree to which the enemy were prepared and ready for our assault.
The enemy stayed hidden until the assault force drew close. The result was an intense firefight where the lead elements found themselves under fire from not only all sides, but also three dimensions. The enemy had prepared apertures in floors and ceilings, and used barricaded shooters to devastating effect. By using networks of subterranean passageways, the enemy would re-appear behind our forces even after they’d cleared buildings.
Despite our numerical superiority, the situation was dire. From my support-by-fire position, I could do little to help. The safe evacuation of the growing numbers of wounded was up to my Special Tactics teammates in close-range gun battles with the enemy – literally fighting room-to-room. During the fight, the combat controller with the lead element of the assault force reached out for help, and got Spooky41 on the radio.
In short order, I heard the bark of the AC-130U’s guns. I distinctly remember wondering whether they were shooting at the right target, given the speed of their reaction – in 10 years as a JTAC, I’d never seen any kind of fire support as responsive. Sure enough, the first rounds were right on target – a good thing, because the enemy was so close to the assault force.
The enemy now had a problem on their hands. They had probably figured that their proximity to friendlies would mitigate our ability to bring fires to bear on them. Now, they were being heavily attacked by the AC-130U’s weapons.
The precise application of fires allowed friendly forces to establish a defensive perimeter and turn to the task of evacuating the wounded. The terrain prohibited the helicopter from landing, so they performed hoist lifts of the most critical patients. This entailed coming to a hover within machine gun range of dozens, if not hundreds, of enemy fighters keen to press home their advantage.
I watched this unfold with a sense that ‘this is how it happens…this is how aircraft get shot down.’ Yet, the enemy wasn’t able to get a single shot off as the patients were extracted, one by one. The reason there will be no memorials for three separate medical evacuation aircrews is because Spooky 41’s fires were so responsive and so precise that the enemy was effectively neutralized.
At least three members of my team were relaying information on two different nets in an effort to coordinate air and ground movement. Looking back, I am amazed that Spooky41 managed to track everyone so effectively. Even with my high degree of situational awareness as the man on the ground and with my degree of experience, I had a hard time keeping it all straight. At several points they were engaging different targets simultaneously and on different nets. I had one net in each ear – I watched and listened as they delivered salvo after salvo of fires with zero error.
A co-located teammate directed a few F-16 strikes during this time and I worked with Spooky41 to integrate the fires. It felt almost like a weapons school exercise, in that the degree of difficulty was so high and the number of assets so numerous that it far exceeded normal training scenarios.
I don’t know exactly how many of the wounded would have died without immediate medical evacuation, but I can say with certainty that the medical evacuation aircrew would have been among the casualties if it weren’t for the fires provided by Spooky 41.
I personally took fire the following day and the enemy’s expert gunnery put the bullets within arm’s reach. Had they been allowed to get a shot off at the MEDEVAC helicopters, we’d have lost aircraft. But again – after the initial gunshots and IED blast injuries, no further harm befell Americans or our Afghan allies that night.
Spooky 41’s legendary airmanship is the reason why – period.
I resolved that the first thing I would do upon getting back to Bagram was to seek each of them out and thank them for what they did for us that night. I’ve been to far too many memorials and seen far too many folded flags. I didn’t have to do that on this trip because instead of Americans giving their lives for their country that night, Spooky41 made the enemy die for theirs – on time, on target, and in the most complex environment I’ve ever seen – training, or combat.
1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
U.S. Air Force photo by SrA Joseph P. Leveille
On 29 April, SOFWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will host a Suppressor Tech Transfer Event. The purpose of the event is to identify manufacturers that can accelerate the integration of Government provided technology into commercially available suppressors.
Why Should You Participate?
• Active support by Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) to issue Government Purpose Rights of the Multi-Stage Bypass Technology Data Package (TDP)
• Access to LLNL ALE3D4I modeling and simulation software on LLNL computers
• Technical support to accelerate the integration of the technology into commercially available suppressors
• Multiple transferees will be selected for the opportunity
US Submissions Only & ITAR Restricted
Submit NLT 27 March 2020. For full details and to register, visit www.sofwerx.org/suppressor.
SOFWERX, in concert with USSOCOM Program Executive Office (PEO) SOF Warrior (SW), will host a Blast Exposure Monitoring (BEMO) System Collaboration Event (CE) in April 1st, to identify solutions to blast overpressure exposure recognition. This event will be a compelling opportunity for the leading minds in Industry, National Labs and Academia to better understand and influence current SOF needs.
Experts in the following areas are encouraged to apply:
Hardware:
• Blast pressure sensor capable of detecting 0.5 to 100 psi
• Batteries/Wireless rechargeable atteries
• Mounting/wear options on kit or civilian clothing
• Microphone(s) to capture acoustic events
• Acoustic event counter to count events that exceed safety levels (>140 decibels)
• Trigger count for a dynamic environment (multiple weapons being fired in a small area)
Software/Data:
• Automation of blast data analyses and output
• Algorithm(s) for identifying weapons being fired on a range
• Blast data visualization that are intuitive, informative and easily understood
• Algorithm(s) for identifying directionality or blast and differentiating incidental from reflective overpressure readings on wearable blast gauge sensor
For full details and to register, visit www.sofwerx.org/bemo.
Iraq attacked Iran in September 1980, launching a war that would last eight years. By 1982, more than 100,000 people had died. The war was costing each side about $1 billion a month and devastated both countries’ oil industries. In the so-called “tanker war,” both countries launched attacks on neutral merchant vessels transiting the Gulf (mostly Kuwaiti flagged ships). In December of 1986, the Kuwaiti government asked then-President Reagan to help protect their oil tankers from mine placed by the Iranian. Reagan sent the U.S. Navy, and the newly formed USSOCOM sent the SEALs, Special Boat Units (now Special Boat Teams), and the 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment (SOAR). This was the first time in SOCOM history (its short history at the time) that these three groups would be deployed together.
The Task Unit was deployed on two barges, Hercules and Wimbrown, that the Pentagon promptly converted into Mobile Sea Bases (MSBs)complete with their own extensive self-defense weapons. Naval Special Warfare Task Units (NSWTU) was run by a SEAL commander and answered to the regional Naval Special Warfare Task Group. Their mission was to stop Iranian forces from mining the Persian Gulf or otherwise attacking shipping. Each MSB had two detachments of Mark III patrol boats, a SEAL platoon, an EOD detachment, Marines to provide security, army MH-6, and AH-6 Little Bird helicopter gunships and Black Hawk rescue birds, and an air force combat controllers. MSB Hercules was manned by East Coast NSW, SEAL Team Two, and SBU 20 and 24. MSB Wimbrown 7 was manned by West Coast SEAL Team One and SBU 12 and 13. They also had other boats and helos available to them, like the SeaFox.
On September 21, a trio of Little Bird choppers flying off the frigate Jarrett was assigned to shadow the Iranian tank landing ship Iran Ajr,s suspected to have been converted for minelaying. An MH-6 helicopter equipped with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor and night-vision goggles led the way, escorted by two AH-6 gunships loaded with 7.62-millimeter miniguns and 2.75” rocket pods. The helicopter crews recorded the Iran Ajr’s crew deploying mines next to the Middle Shoals navigational buoy used by tankers. The Little Birds were ordered to open fire, and they opened up on the Iranians with their miniguns, the crew to take cover and did not return fire. The Iranian sailors resumed deploying the mines a half-hour later. This time the 160th pilots unleashed a sustained barrage, including rockets, killing three crew—and causing the remaining twenty-six to abandon ship. The following morning, SEALs on Mark III Patrol Boats rescued all but two of the Iranian sailors and boarded Iran Ajr. They found nine mines onboard and seized a logbook recording past minelaying activity, including maps showing the locations of those mines. Then the Navy towed Iran Ajr’s too deep water and blew her up.
A trio of minigun-armed MH-6 helicopters tangled again with four Iranian ships approaching MSB Hercules on October 8, including a corvette, a Swedish-built Boghammar, and two Boston whaler type boats. The Boghammar’s crew fired Stinger missiles at the scout helicopters before being sunk by return fire. Eight Iranian crew were killed, and six more rescued from the water. One of the Boghammar’s was later brought back and used by SBU-12/13 for the Coronado July 4 demonstrations and as an aggressor boat for exercises in the San Diego area.
When an Iranian missile struck the U.S.-flagged Sea Island City on October 16, injuring eighteen crew, Washington authorized a counterattack three days later called Operation Nimble Archer, resulting in the destruction of two Iranian oil platforms used to host IRGCN boats.
But Iranian minelaying continued. On April 14, 1988, the crew of the frigate Samuel B. Roberts spotted three Iranian mines and realized she had unwittingly cruised into a minefield. While attempting to back out of danger, Roberts struck a mine that nearly split her in two and injured ten sailors. A heroic damage control effort saved the ship and her crew. Navy divers later identified additional mines in the area—with serial numbers identical to those on the Iran Ajr’s. Four days later, the U.S. launched a second retaliatory strike targeting two more Iranian oil platforms called Operation Praying Mantis. This time frigates and gunboats of the regular Iranian Navy counter attacked, resulting in the U.S. Navy’s largest naval battle since World War II, in which half of Iran’s surface combatants were sunk or crippled.
The Iran-Iraq war ended four months later—but not before one final tragic incident. On July 3, the U.S. Aegis missile cruiser Vincennes was skirmishing with Iranian fast boats, having unknowingly entered Iranian territorial waters, when her radar reported an Iranian F-14 Tomcat fighter was approaching her. The cruiser fired two radar-guided SM-2 missiles at the contact—bringing down Iranian A300 airliner Flight 655, killing all 290 civilians aboard.
Operation Earnest Will concluded September 26 when the USS Vandergrift escorted a final tanker into the Persian Gulf. The operatives involved in Prime Chance remained active, however, until June 1990.
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – To better afford enlisted recruits the time and opportunity to find the path of their greatest calling, the Air Force has created a single path of entry into the special warfare recruiting and initial training pipeline.
The Special Warfare Operator Enlistment Vectoring program will officially commence in early April of this year with a new Air Force Specialty Code for accessions and the first shipment of special warfare candidates to the service’s basic military training.
“On initial entry into the Air Force, the 9T500 AFSC will be the only path for new Airmen to pursue a career into the Combat Control, Pararescue, Tactical Air Control Party or Special Reconnaissance career fields,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Lopez, chief of the special warfare division at Air Education and Training Command headquarters. “This change allows candidates to make a more informed career decision, prior to being vectored, after months of education, training, development, and mentorship, to see what career field might be the best fit for them. The program also enhances the Air Force’s ability to assign Airmen a permanent AFSC in an equitable way across the special warfare community after a thorough “whole-person” evaluation has been conducted on every candidate going through through the accessions and initial phase of training.”
Every day, special warfare Airmen deploy around the world to project American military power through global access, rescue friendly forces through personnel recovery operations and to destroy the enemy through precision strikes.
The SWOE-V program centers on a “coach-develop-mentor” mindset that begins in the pre-accession phase where recruiting development teams identify potential special warfare operators and begin the process to prepare them for the rigors of the special warfare training pipeline and later, their designated career field.
“The typical special warfare scouting, recruiting and development process for a candidate from pre-accessioning to shipping to BMT takes from four to six months,” said Lt. Col. Heath Kerns, commander of the 330th Recruiting Squadron which specializes in special warfare and combat support recruiting. “During pre-accessioning with help from our developers, candidates begin a 21-day “Pass the PAST” workout program developed to help them pass the Physical Abilities Stamina Test, while at the same time being educated on special warfare components, missions and specialties and the SWOE vector process.”
Another key element to the SWOE-V program will be the base lining of enlistment standards for recruits.
“Having a standardized baseline of enlistment standards will eliminate confusion amongst potential recruits, as well as opens up a larger pool of candidates during the recruiting process who might be eligible for and interested in a career in special warfare,” Kerns said.
After a potential candidate passes the PAST, a test that represents the minimum physical fitness entrance standards for enlisted special warfare career fields, they compete for selection and receive a developer recommendation before contracting and shipping to BMT at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, as a SWOE candidate, Kerns said.
During BMT, SWOE candidates will master curriculum that includes the Air Force mission and vision, core values, drill and ceremony, history and priorities, field training and joint warfare like every other trainee, but undergo additional training to prepare them for the Special Warfare Prep Course.
“While assigned to their special warfare BMT flights, candidates conduct additional physical training and continue their education about all things special warfare related including components, missions and specialties and the SWOE vectoring process,” Lopez said.
SWOEs’ BMT performance evaluation data is collected throughout training to be included as part of the vectoring process once trainees enter the Special Warfare Prep course, administered by officials at the Special Warfare Training Wing, also at JBSA-Lackland.
“Along with the performance data from BMT, data from the Special Warfare prep course, and a SWOE’s career preference, candidates are vectored to either the Special Tactics and Guardian Angel, or the Tactical Air Control Party, courses of initial entry,” Lopez said.
Selection for a specific special warfare Air Force Specialty Code is heavily based on a candidate’s performance, which drives a competitive model early on, even before shipping to BMT, thus helping shape individual’s drive, determination and strengths, intended to create trust and team cohesion among candidates, Lopez said.
“Nothing is given; Airmen must earn their spot in their chosen career field and fight for it,” Lopez said. “We are evaluating them continuously through pre-accessioning, BMT and the Special Warfare Prep Course, using a whole person concept that includes cognitive, physical skills, as well as Airmanship and instructors’ evaluation of teamwork and attitude.”
From this point in the pipeline, SWOE candidates are split into one of two paths: the four-week Special Tactics and Guardian Angel course of initial entry or the TACP initial course of entry.
“After successful completion of the ST/GA initial course of entry, candidates will be assigned into the combat controller, pararescue or special reconnaissance AFSC based on their continued performance during training and their preference,” Lopez said. “After successful completion of that course, candidates continue along their respective AFSC-specific training pipelines.”
Those who enter the TACP course of initial entry and successfully complete it will continue along in the remainder of the TACP training pipeline, said Lopez.
“The SWOE-V really is a big deal as it represents a momentous change for the Air Force special warfare community,” Lopez said. “By removing constraints in the recruiting and accessions process, we are expanding the talent pool while streamlining entry into the service. We also ensure ensure equitable distribution consistent with and proportional to Air Force-established production goals.”
By Dan Hawkins, Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs
AF Note: To hear more about the SWOE-V program, listen to “The Air Force Starts Here” podcast featuring Lt. Col Lopez, AETC’s special warfare division chief, and Lt. Col. Heath Kerns, 330th Recruiting Squadron commander. The podcast is available for download or streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play, as well as on the AETC website.
