U.S. Air Force Special Tactics

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Published by AuthorHouse 03/16/2022

Welcome

The Combat Control School Heritage Foundation (CCSHF) is an IRS certified; North Carolina registered 501(c) (3) tax exempt organization. The Foundation’s only mission is to support the Combat Control School training objectives. In this role, the Foundation works in concert with the school staff to acquire, refurbish, display and maintain mission artifacts exhibited in the CMSgt Alcide S. Benini Heritage Center museum. We know it is the duty of each generation of Combat Controllers to pave the way for future Special Tactics warriors. Our primary goal is to facilitate the task. We will never forget the Combat Controllers of yesteryear who paved the way for today’s Warriors. Accordingly, we are working today, preparing for the future.

The Foundation’s key goals are to supplement the student’s formal education by putting a human face on CCT history; bolstering active duty morale and supporting United States Air Force recruiting and retention goals for special tactics operators. The Benini Heritage Center displays historical roots; exhibits unique events; artifacts; and equipment used since the inception of USAF Combat Control Teams. It provides students a link with CCT warriors of the past, promoting pride in the past and instilling faith in the future.

One hundred percent of the profits from the sale of this book goes directly to heritage projects at the Benini museum. Jim and I thank you for purchasing the book and we solicit your continued support. We are truly dedicated to the preservation of our warrior heritage.

Finally, you have an open invitation to visit the Benini Heritage Center and Museum in person. Take some time to learn more about our mission and goals. The museum is open on duty days and hours.

Gene Adcock, CMSgt, USAF (CCT) Retired

President, Combat Control School Heritage Foundation

James C. Lyons, CMSgt, USAF (CCT) Retired

Director, Combat Control School Heritage Foundation

Dedicated to the Preservation of our Warrior Heritage.

Contents

CCSHF Welcome

PREFACE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE ART

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FOREWORD

James G. Roche, Twentieth Secretary of the Air Force

INTRODUCTION

USAF Major General Robert B. Patterson (Ret), First Air Force Special Operations Command Commander

PRELUDE TO THE STORM

The Chief Master Sergeant Alcide S. Bull Benini Story

First There

Chapter 1 The 1940s: Combat Control Conception

Chapter 2 The 1950s: A Long, Hard Gestation

Chapter 3 The 1960s: Mission Validation

Chapter 4 The 1970s: Restructuring the Force

Chapter 5 The 1980s: A Decade of Promise

Chapter 6 The 1990s: A Very Busy Force

Chapter 7 The 2000s: CCT Morphs in the New Millennium

Chapter 8 The 2010s: Afghanistan—the United States’ Longest War

Epilogue

USAF Brigadier General Robert G. Armfield (Ret), First Commander

of the Twenty-Fourth Special Operations Wing

Glossary

Notes

Sources

CCSHF Memorial Brick Order Form

CELEBRATING EIGHT DECADES OF COMBAT CONTROL TEAM HISTORY THIS ENCYCLOPEDIA

IS PACKED WITH NOW-DECLASSIFIED STORIES OF CCT OPERATIONS

Almost as soon as the second hijacked 767 struck the south tower of the world trade center, Air Force Combat Controllers began to report to their bases and pack their gear. Spread around the world in special tactics squadrons, these airmen would provide the lightly armed U.S. Army Special Forces teams with a number of capabilities that would turn them into world-class killing machines.

John D. Gresham

Air Force Combat Controllers at War

Afghanistan 2001

CCT - History

Medal of Honor

Compiled by

Gene Adcock, CMSgt, U.S. Air Force (CCT) Retired

President, Combat Control School Heritage Foundation (CCSHF)

CCA LM #026; ACA LM #836, A/TA LM-1977

"Fate whispers to the warrior,

‘You cannot withstand the storm.’

And the warrior whispers back,

‘I am the storm.’"

— Jake Remington

PREFACE

The CCT - The Eye of the Storm-series chronicles the exploits of Air Force Special Warfare, Combat Control Teams (CCT). It is told in the form of short stories; many etched by a cocktail of blood, sweat and tears. Our Combat Control story began in the de facto Volume I with the appearance of the first CCTs; i.e., command and control teams cobbled together by the WWII U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) for Operation Varsity. Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine; was a major component of Operation Plunder, the multifaceted invasion of Nazi Germany. The CCT story continued in Volume II, detailing the 21st Century fight in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Included are two humanitarian missions; operations of epic proportion in Haiti and Japan.

In this third volume subtitled - Medal of Honor (MOH) - the CCT story is expanded, incorporating the two previously self-published volumes and adding hundreds of new stories from around the globe. But, with a concentration on operations in southwest Asia; including Afghanistan; now America’s longest war. The two earlier volumes targeted a limited audience of American special operations forces. This volume is an all-inclusive compilation presented as a single, premium publication. It is expected to engage a wider-ranging audience of American and allied military elements, families, historians and enthusiasts.

More importantly, Medal of Honor celebrates the first-ever award of the Air Force Medal of Honor to a Combat Control patriot and hero. On April 20, 2018 after more than fifteen years technical review and Air Staff deliberation the Medal of Honor for TSgt John Chapman was approved by President Donald Trump. The MOH award ceremonies and associated events are covered in detail near the end of this book.

In preparing CCT - The Eye of the Storm - Medal of Honor, the goal was to collect stories from hundreds of sources, written by an even larger band of vetted professionals selected to observe, record and report truths about military units in action. In my mind the U.S. Government Public Affairs (PA) Offices were the perfect choice. For that reason, you will find hundreds of PA-generated stories used herein. The diversity of feature stories, subjects and styles present a well-rounded, unbiased look at the CCT’s view at the eye of the storm. Each published PA reporter and volunteer contributor has a by-line in the book. Thanks to all for their remarkable journalistic work. Through our collective efforts we have published a fair and accurate chronical of USAF Combat Control Team’s stories; exploiting the public domain and declassified accounts.

This is a documentary of Air Force Combat Control Teams operating at The Eye of the Storm.

Subtitled Medal of Honor; it is the most in-depth CCT history ever published. Combined within are the two earlier volumes and new stories collected since the Volume II release.

© 2009 - 2018

The Combat Control School Heritage Foundation (CCSHF) holds the

Copyright for CCT – The Eye of the Storm series.

Released copyright material used herein is the property of the originator.

Much of the data is available in the public domain and may be

copied from the original source without restriction.

U.S. GOVERNMENT ARTICLES AND THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

As noted on the previous page, scores of articles in this documentary are copied directly from United States Government documents and articles. The following determination, from Title 17, USC § 105, is provided for those who may not understand the provisions of their use.

Technically speaking: Title 17 USC §105, Subject Matter Of Copyright: United States Government works, provides that Copyright protection is not available for any work of the United States Government, defined in Title 17 USC §101, as a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties. Therefore, only those works solely authored by U.S. Federal Government employees are not protected by copyright in the United States.

More simply: Most federal documents and publications are not copyrighted, and therefore are considered to be in the Public Domain. Consequently, if you obtain a Government document from the net, such as a law, statute, agency circular, federal report, or any other document published or generated by the Federal Government, you are free to copy or distribute the document.

OFFICIAL DOD COPYRIGHT TRADEMARK AND PRIVACY/PUBLICITY INFORMATION STATEMENT

In general, media produced by U.S. DOD or Federal Agencies, is in the public domain, i.e., not protected by U.S. copyright; however, other restrictions might apply, such as, but not limited to, the right to enforce trademarks, and the right of privacy/right of publicity, any of which might restrict use of some of the media. Media may not be used to imply endorsement of any product or service by the DOD.

Proper credit of the producing journalist(s) is requested.

USAF COORDINATION

Authority for direct contact with USAF Public Affairs offices was granted the Author by the Air Force National Media Engagement Office, New York via a March 14, 2012 - 322PM email.

Authority and guidance for use of USAF Trademarked and Licensed material was granted by Trademark and Licensing Office, Air Force Public Affairs Agency, Lackland AFB, Texas via an April 10, 2012 - 1105AM email.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#105

http://www.usa.gov/copyright.shtml

http://www.defense.gov/Media/Trademarks/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

On March 11, 1937, Doris Adcock gave birth to Albert Eugene (Gene) Adcock at the home of her father, Erva Biby. Erva and wife Delphi Biby lived on a small farm, on Route 148, a half mile south of Christopher, Illinois.

Gene is the only child of two only-children. His father Leon; grandfather’s Isaac Adcock and Erva Biby were career coalminers all working at the Bell & Zoller Coal Company in Zeigler, Illinois. Times were financially stressed during his adolescent years; and, although his dad offered to help him get a job at Bell & Zoller - as soon as he graduated from high school - he didn’t recommend it. Within months after graduation from Christopher Community High School - Class of ’54 - Gene took his father’s unspoken advice and enlisted in the Air Force. Still 17, he celebrated his 18th birthday on March 11, 1955 while in Basic Training at Lackland AFB, Texas.

Assignments - From basic, A/3C Gene was sent to technical school at Scott AFB, Illinois. At the time Scott was Headquarters, Air Training Command and the home of the Ground Radio Maintainer course; among others.

In January 1956, A/2C Gene graduated as a ground radio maintainer and was sent to the Shiroi AB, Japan. Shiroi was a TOP SECRET USAF Security Service radio-intercept facility, located about 30 miles east of Tokyo.

In the summer of 1957, A/1C Gene returned to a new assignment at Sewart AFB, Tennessee, home of the 314th Troop Carrier Wing and the 314th Communication Squadron, to which he was assigned. Within a year, Gene volunteered – and was accepted for Combat Control Team assignment with the 2nd Aerial Port Squadron at Sewart.

• 1958 -- 1963 -- Over the next 5 years, SSgt Gene concentrated on filling CCT training squares and settled into the job as an operational combat controller. From Sewart, Gene’s combat control career progressed through the following assignments:

• 1963 – 1966 – 7th Aerial Port Squadron – Tachikawa AB, Japan

SSgt - TSgt

Three combat deployments to Vietnam

• 1966 – 1967 – 10th Aerial Port Squadron – Dyess AFB, Texas

• 1967 – 1972 – 1st ACW, 1st SOW, 4410th SOTG*1 – England AFB, Louisiana

TSgt - SMSgt

Three combat tours in Laos

• 1972 –1973 – 9th Aerial Port Squadron – Forbes AFB, Kansas

CMSgt

• 1973 – 1975 – 2nd Aerial Port Squadron – Little Rock AFB, Arkansas

• 1975 – 1977 – Headquarters, Military Airlift Command, Scott AFB, Illinois

MAC IG Team - Combat Control Inspector

On 31 January 1977, Gene retired as a Chief Master Sergeant and immediately entered the civil work force. Over the next 30+ years, he was actively involved in the development, marketing and sales of specialty products for combat identification, survival, escape, rescue, evasion, close air support and assault zone operations.

Greatest Accomplishment – Initially working with CCT’s combat developer, 1LT Tony Tino; the author conceived; developed and coordinated DOD accreditation of the Quick Fix Suite of combat identification devices, two-years ahead of the Gulf Wars. Subsequently, they demonstrated their worth during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. The most publicly recognized combat identification device; the black and tan American flag (shown right) and dozens companion markers are more than they appear. They are covert infrared (IR) reflective markers, detectable by the AC-130 and other IR LASER-equipped weapon systems at ranges out to five miles. Additionally, American and Allied combatants armed with infrared laser aimed weapons (and NVGs) can also detect the markers; facilitating positive identification of friendly forces well beyond individual weapons effective firing ranges. Millions of the IR flags and companion Quick Fix thermal detected markers were fielded by the DOD and Allied Forces during the Gulf Wars.

Historically, America’s combat fratricide (death by friendly fire) rate averaged more than 15 percent in all its wars beginning with World War I. As a result of Quick Fix success, the U.S. Army, Program Manager for Combat Identification (PM-Combat ID) declared the Gulf War’s fratricide rate to be less than 2 percent. Thus, thousands of American and Allied lives were saved by what appears to be a simple, Velcro-attached American flag and its companion Combat ID devices.

Military Awards, Decorations and Certifications

• USAF Air Crew Wings – Combat Award

• Master Parachute Wings – w / Combat Star

• Vietnamese Army Master Parachute Wings

• HALO Certified Jumpmaster

• Bronze Star Medal w / 1 Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC)

• Air Medal w / 5 OLC

• Meritorious Service Medal w / 2 OLC

• Air Force Outstanding Unit Award w / Combat V and 6 OLC

• Scores of Service Medals

Education

• 1977 - Master of Arts, Business Administration, Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri (Scott AFB Campus)

• 1975 - Bachelor of Arts, Business and Economics, Park College, Parkville, Missouri (In Residence)

• 1973 - Associate of Arts, Air Traffic Control Management, Johnson County Community College, Olathe, Kansas (By Correspondence)

Publications

• 2011 - 2014 - Numerous CCT Historical Articles – Air Commando Journal.

• 2012 - CCT – The Eye of the Storm (V-2), The GWOT Years – Published by Author House, Bloomington, Indiana. ISBN 978-1-4772-6996-1 & -8.

• 2009 - CCT – The Eye of the Storm (V-1) - O’More Publishing, a division of O’More College of Design, Franklin, Tennessee. ISBN 13 978-0-9822618-3-7.

• 1999 - Electro-Optical Surveillance – Volume 3 of a 12 encyclopedia set commissioned by CCS Security Source Library, ISBN 1-884674-00-3, CCS Security Publishing, Ltd, NYC, NY. The 700-page encyclopedia describes the physics, construction and operation of image indemnification and thermal imaging devices.

• 1996 - Owning the Night - Cross Border Control International.

• 1993 - We Own the Night – Night Vision Equipment Company.

• 1986 - Can Electro-Optic Weapons Systems do it all? - Journal of Electronic Defense.

• 1985 - Beacon Bombing – Still a Viable Option - National Defense Journal.

• 1984 - Precision Search and Rescue – Motorola’s - Government Electronics Group.

The art painting depicts two Combat Control School (CCS) instructors providing critical oversight of three students in the field. At right, the 3-student assault landing zone (LZ) team is shown controlling unseen air traffic.

ABOUT THE ART

CCS Students train at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina

Combat Controllers are highly trained special operations forces and FAA certified air traffic controllers. The CCT mission is to deploy undetected into hostile combat areas and austere operational environments to establish assault zones or airfields, while simultaneously conducting air traffic control, fire support, command and control, direct action, counterterrorism, foreign internal defense, humanitarian assistance, and special reconnaissance.

By FAA definition, air traffic controllers are responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. In the pictured scenario, the CCS cadre teach students to apply lessons learned during USAF Air Traffic Control School to stressed situations in harsh combat environments. It is a skill that will serve them well through their entire military career. The graphic depicts a training mission at Fort Bragg, NC in November 2009. Visit Air Traffic Control in Glossary for additional details. (Graphic courtesy CCS)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• This book would not have been possible without the assistance of scores of authors who supported the project, some knowingly, others unwittingly. To each, with by-lines herein I express my sincere thanks and deepest gratitude. Your contributions were instrumental in crafting the never-before-told history of Air Force Combat Control Teams.

• My thanks also to the U.S. Air Force units and public affairs agencies who supported the project with their approvals and technical direction.

• My heartfelt thanks goes to the hundreds of dedicated Combat Controllers; combat control enthusiasts and military historians who purchased my first two books: CCT – The Eye of the Storm, in this series of historical digests. They are the foundation of this book.

• To the thousands of Combat Controllers who fought in the Cold War, Vietnam, the GWOT; Operation Iraqi Freedom; Operation Enduring Freedom and other undisclosed engagements. This book would not have been possible without your blood, sweat and tears.

• To my longtime friends Johnny Pantages and Jim Parsons, at Arrowmaker / WinTec; and Barry Gayles at WebcraftUSA.com for years of computer-based technical support. And, Wayne Norrad and Tazz Felde for custom graphic support and design.

• And finally, a special tribute to gold-star family members of Combat Controllers; the brave men all who paid for our enduring freedom with their precious lives. This book is dedicated to the airmen who will never read its words, but will always be remembered in its pages. HOOYAH!

Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie, but rather mourn the apathetic throng, the coward and the meek who see the world’s great anguish and its wrong and dare not speak.

Ralph Chaplin

FOREWORD

As I recall, it was the summer of 2002 when I had the privilege of awarding the Purple Heart to MSgt Alan Yoshida, USAF, for the severe wounds he sustained in combat as a Combat Controller in Afghanistan. He was to go on to receive many medals for his outstanding performance of duty against the Taliban, all well deserved. But he was also to do something very different; to be a very key part of a team of Airmen in understanding the new technology needs of Combat Controllers in special operations like those employed in Afghanistan. This informal team consisted of civilian and AF scientists, acquisition experts, and combat tested CCT’s. Over the next three years, this team, but especially Alan, focused on identifying capability gaps, surveying American industry for possible solutions, and trying out candidate solutions. Even though it unnerved some in the acquisition community, Alan’s intense focus and, to be honest, the dedicated top cover and resources provided by my partner, (CSAF, General John Jumper) and me made this happen. We didn’t want to wait until the normal bureaucracy got around to it. We wanted to make a difference in this conflict, not just the next.

This was the first war where airmen on the ground could call in dramatically precise high explosives from bombers and AF, Navy and Marine Corps fighter aircraft orbiting overhead. Based on ideas already under consideration by the Special Tactics leaders and my own experience with GPS devices, we postulated that we could tie together laser range-finding binoculars, a small computer, a GPS receiver, and a radio to provide fast, relevant and highly accurate targeting data to aircraft. We wanted to replace the nine line being written by a pilot on the inside of his canopy with a grease pencil. The initial systems would have to be strung together with the airman being the mini-systems integrator. By using commercial subsystems, we could deploy capability much faster, but we risked unintended consequences.

In Alan’s case, he was controlling aircraft in support of friendly Afghan forces when his colleague came forward to relieve him so that he, Alan, could grab a cup of coffee. His colleague continued the mission but noticed that the batteries in the GPS unit were dying, and so he replaced them with fresh ones. What he didn’t realize was that the device would reset to its current location, and not to where the curser had been before. This mistake resulted in Alan’s injures when a 2000-pound bomb fell near their own location. Luckily, Alan was low to the ground because he bent over to get some coffee off the fire. Because of his intense sense of excellence and love of Combat Control, Alan has devoted himself to improving the combat skills and equipment of his colleagues. And, despite his injuries, he continues his career to this day. But now he is known as Chief Master Sergeant Yoshida.

So, the first goal of the innovative team was to organize a Battlefield Airman’s Operations kit, which had the separate components integrated together, and to make it smaller, lighter, and safer. We also found that the individual Combat Controller carried about 135-150 pounds of gear, so the second goal was to lighten this load. By using composite stands for the optical equipment instead of metal, as well as getting smaller versions of other equipment, we were able to reduce the average carrying weight down to 105 pounds, with a longer-term goal of getting it down to 85 pounds. Batteries are heavy and something we really didn’t want to scatter about the countryside. So, we experimented with various fuel cells (including one which did just fine burning vodka), thin-film photovoltaic panels, as well as tapping the natural heat of a person’s body. But, in the short run, there was no efficient substitute for batteries. Attention was then turned to searching for new subsystems, which used less power.

Another innovation we sought was to find a way that Combat Controllers who are separated and not visible to each other, but operating together, could not only communicate with each other, but could sense the relative location of each voice. Alan’s team developed a system that transmitted the GPS location of an individual so that a small computer could compare it to the receiver’s location and reproduce the sound with a spatial effect akin to stereophonic music. If your colleague was to your left, the sound in your headphones gave you the sense of his direction.

In another case, I wanted to increase the situational awareness of small units. To do this, we devised the concept of a small UAV which could fit into a CCT’s rucksack, be launched by hand, be GPS guided, fly for about a half an hour with at least one optical sensor streaming video to the CCT’s computer, be able to circle a target of interest as directed by the CCT, and land at a predetermined point. We did this, and even I could fly it (I tested each of the innovations which made Alan’s cut.) Unfortunately, almost immediately after I relinquished my position as SecAF in 2005, the acquisition community took control of this and other of Alan’s programs. It was not until the summer of 2007 that the lumbering process made its choice. The UAV was different to a small degree, but better (you can have either an EO or an IR sensor depending on time of day.) However, Alan and his team had more than an 80% -solution years earlier. General Mike Ryan used to refer to the Air Force’s acquisition tyranny and this was a case to prove him right. The whole sad story is contained in a MIT doctoral dissertation done by an Air Force Systems Engineer.

Why my interest? Several years before I became the Secretary, during a visit to Israel, I had had a lengthy discussion with a retired Israeli Air Force general who set up a small think tank which he named Longbow. His thesis was that, like the British at Agincourt, we would be well advised to devote R&D funds to make the individual ground troop (of any variety) as militarily powerful as possible in combat. He would need sensors and weapons and other systems to exploit the remarkable brain that a free man could bring to the fight. Then, the duty of commanders was to devise integrating technologies and systems which permitted these superbly equipped and trained fighting men to operate in concert as a highly integrated team. His belief was that such fighting teams would be incredibly effective in combat.

"At Agincourt many centuries ago, noblemen and peasants alike witnessed the might of a small group of men who brought death

and destruction from above against enemy foot soldiers and armored knights. These dedicated and well-trained men with their Longbows were the key to Henry V’s defeat of the French that day, even though he was greatly outnumbered."

Air Force Special Tactics Combat Controllers are today’s Longbow fighters. Individually, they are specially selected, specially trained, and, in support of special operations, almost daily bring American airpower to bear on our nation’s enemies. Indeed, they are very remarkable warriors, and this book will help many understand why so many of us hold our Combat Controllers in such incredibly high regard.

I was convinced that he was right, and once I understood the remarkable talent contained in Special Tactics, I recognized that there were such teams in our Air Force. The question, then, was how to make them even better. I did my best to bring my belief to anyone in the leadership of the U.S. Air Force who would listen, and in Generals John Jumper and Paul Hester I found kindred spirits. My determination that airmen like Alan Yoshida should have the very best in technology to match their superlative training and culture drove me, as did my heart-wrenching duty to join John Jumper in presenting two Air Force Crosses to the widows of a Combat Controller and a Special Tactics Pararescueman.

I have been privileged to work with Alan and other wonderful airmen to make Special Tactics even better. I also am proud that, in cooperation with some wonderful AFSOC Commanders, we have been able to build a new Combat Control School and a separate Special Tactics School.

Special Tactics is a significant addition to the Special Forces of the United States, as is AFSOC more generally. These unique warriors permit small units to operate very effectively without having to haul massive firepower with them. They need only turn to the Combat Controller in their team; not long thereafter the Heavens will rain down precise and dramatic firepower on the enemy.

Can you imagine my sorrow, then, to see some of our best cadets at the Air Force Academy transfer services to join Navy SEAL teams because most of them knew nothing about our Air Commandos? But, on one trip to the Academy, my aide, Major (now Brigadier General) RA Armfield was approached by a Cadet and asked questions about what he was and what he did. RA saved this Cadet, and he now also proudly wears the red beret. The stories of our fellow airmen who make up AFSOC and Special Tactics should be required reading for every cadet in Colorado Springs and at every AFROTC unit!

Hon. James G. Roche, Secretary of the Air Force #20

Combat Control Association Honorary Life Member #4

INTRODUCTION

It is my honor and privilege to introduce Gene’s third volume of CCT history. I cannot fathom an individual more uniquely qualified to author to this historical continuation of the Combat Control history. Gene is a master historian having studied the U.S. Air Force Combat Control career field from its inception to today.

More to the point, Gene Adcock is not only a researcher - he’s a doer. Firsthand, he has experienced the horrors of combat, the sometimes-mind-numbing boredom suddenly interrupted with jags of adrenalin -- and the sadness for teammates who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Gene speaks with moral authority, the rare but necessary I was there credibility.

He has also endured challenges of a wholly other nature: Air Force leaders with no concept of what I consider to be the Air Force’s most demanding career field. Gene has experienced organizational mismanagement, archaic tactics directed from on-high, and hand-me-down equipment. Not that many years ago, the Air Force literally ate its young from this career field. Mid-level managers and leaders, in order to progress up the promotional ladder, were forced to cross-train to other specialties at precisely the point at which they’d reached the height of their experience and knowledge.

Thankfully and fortunately for our nation and my Air Force, that is no longer the case.

Over a half century I’ve closely observed the highs and lows faced by combat controllers. I’ve also repeatedly asked myself, Where do we get these exquisite individuals? Because of visionaries like Gene and his comrades, today’s combat controller represents the best-trained, best equipped, and most patriotic airmen and officers found in any military service.

On military installations today, it is common to see senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and officers proudly wearing their red berets and bloused jump boots (symbols of the pride and professionalism which separates them from their peers). Three combat controllers wear the stars of general officers; an impossible thought just twenty-five years ago. Despite the challenges they’ve endured over the last 60 years, US Air Force combat controllers have always represented the very best this great country has to offer.

An extremely difficult Special Tactics Team selection course is held at the U.S. Army Ranger camp at Dahlonega, GA. To get this far you must have already proved yourself mentally and physically. Combat Controllers and Pararescuemen (PJ) must join other service teams, such as SEALS, Special Forces, and Rangers, in small numbers. Normally, these closely-knit units don’t welcome outsiders warmly into their special fraternity.

I once asked the selection psychiatrist what he looked for in Air Force candidates to this highly specialized career field. He said, A bit of a used car salesman. They come in, as outsiders and they must be better physically, professionally, and socially. Today, you would be hard pressed to find any sister service team that wants to go into combat without their Air Force brethren.

Ironically, hardships and adversities have drawn this special fraternity closer. Excessive tasking and long periods of family separation still force the decision: It is either my family or my profession. That choice is clearly understandable.

I can’t help but recall Thomas Wolfe’s book, The Right Stuff: * he said, In the 50s it was difficult for civilians to comprehend such a thing, but military officers and enlisted men tended to feel superior to civilians. It was quite ironic given the fact that for a good thirty years the rising business class in cities has been steering their sons away from the military, as if from a bad smell. The (officer and enlisted) corps had never been held in lower esteem. Well, their contempt was returned in trumps. They looked upon themselves as men who lived by higher standards of behavior than civilians, as men who were bearers and protectors -of the most important values of American life, who maintained a sense of discipline while civilians abandoned themselves to hedonism, who maintained a sense of honor while civilians lived by opportunism and greed. When the showdowns come—and the showdowns always come – not all the wealth in the world or all the sophisticated weapons and radar and missile systems it could buy would take the place of those who had the uncritical willingness to face danger, those who in short had the RIGHT STUFF. *

I’ve lived through the If it feels good do it era of the ‘60s, and the I want it now generation of the 70s and 80s. Sadly, today’s average citizen is worried more about their 401K than the heroes who are risking it all to preserve America’s freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thankfully, the military forces of the 21st century are held in much greater esteem than my comrades and me when we came home from Southeast Asia.

An inescapable fact of the American culture lies in the fact that as a people we have a short attention span. We have little reliance on lessons of the past and have tremendous impatience. President Harry Truman said, The only thing we don’t know about the future is the history we have forgotten. We will make the same mistakes. We will pay for them in huge outlay of dollars and worst, the loss of life.

On a closing note, I join my comrades in the Special Tactics profession in honoring two past Secretaries of the Air Force who recognized a diamond when they saw it and took action to provide leadership, resources, and support - the Honorable Whitten F. Peters and Dr. James G. Roche. General Duane H. Cassidy, Commander-in-Chief, Military Airlift Command, approved the reorganization of Combat Controllers and Pararescuemen into a Special Tactics Group and several Squadrons.

These units were trained and equipped to sprint to the sound of battle. After 9/11, response was immediate. They were on their way before the smoke cleared in New York and at the Pentagon. I cannot imagine the deficit we would have faced without the organization, training, equipment, and recruitment ensured by the above visionaries. The results speak for themselves.

My prayer is that The Eye of the Storm will wake up America to a special brotherhood within. The combat controllers are a fraternity that has written, and continues to write, truly unique and heroic chapters in American military history.

Major General Robert B. Patterson USAF, Retired

First Commander,

Air Force Special Operations Command

Combat Control Association Honorary Life Member #5

At retirement, General Patterson was Commander of Military Airlift Command’s 23rd Air Force, Hurlburt Field, Florida and Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command. He entered the Air Force in August 1956 and received his pilot’s wings at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, in October 1957. He is a command pilot with more than 9,600 flying hours and 293 combat hours. He has flown 44 types of aircraft, including the AC-130 in combat. He was promoted to major general on September 1, 1984, with date of rank of March 1, 1981.

General Patterson’s strategic thinking was critical, especially after the birth of the unified U.S. Special Operations Command. For the first time, CONUS-based special operations forces of the Army, Navy and Air Force were unified under one joint commander. The 23 AF served a dual role – still reporting to MAC while also functioning as the air component to USSOCOM. In July 1987, General Patterson issued a statement concerning his understanding of the new relationship among MAC, USSOCOM, other unified commands and Headquarters 23 AF. Historians recorded this as the most definitive directive concerning command relationships issued by HQs 23 AF. It was this document that informally designated General Patterson’s air component as the Air Force Special Operations Command. His leadership made a lasting impact on AFSOC’s organizational structure and how it fits in with USSOCOM and the rest of the Air Force today.

At his retirement ceremony at Hurlburt Field in October 1989, General Duane H. Cassidy, Commander in Chief, Military Airlift Command recognized General Patterson, as "the best field commander in the Air Force." We Combat Controllers who know him well, wholeheartedly agree.

AC-130 Gatling gun smoke and tracer trail are visible during twilight operations. (US Air Force photo)

PRELUDE TO THE STORM

BEFORE WORLD WAR II, THE USAF’S FIRST COMBAT CONTROLLER WAS IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY

OCTOBER 15, 1921 - COLOGNA, ITALY – In 1921, Alcide S. Bull Benini was born to Luigi and Elvira Benini. He was the first of five children, three boys. In 1930 the family immigrated to the US; settling in the small town of Griffin, near Acosta, PA.

May 6, 1940: At age 18, he decided to leave the family home, a move to ease the financial burden on the struggling family of seven. On May sixth, he enlisted in the US Army at Johnstown, Pennsylvania and was sent to Ft. Slocum, New York for Army induction and processing. Within days, he was on a troop ship headed to the Philippines via the Panama Canal, San Francisco, Honolulu, Guam and finally in Manila.

June 1940: Benini arrived in the Philippines and was assigned to the 31st Infantry Regiment (IR). He immediately attended 31st IR basic training in Manila and was classified as rifle man and radio operator at graduation.

(31st Infantry Regiment patch shown right.)

December 7, 1941: World War II begins for Bull Benini, on December 7, 1941, the same day Pearl Harbor was devastated and in the same manner – a surprise air attack. However, in the case of the Philippines, the initial strike was followed by a full-scale invasion of the main island of Luzon, three days later. By early January, the American and Filipino defenders were forced to retreat to a slim defensive position on the island’s western Bataan Peninsula. The American and Filipino forces fought from an untenable position until formally surrendering to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. Benini fought in the Luzon, Bataan and Defense of the Philippines campaigns of World War II.

April 8, 1942: Benini was captured and spent the rest of his war in Japanese captivity at several locations in the Philippines. Official war records indicate that at some point, he was captured and sent to Camp O’Donnell two days before the Bataan Death March began. On or about June 2, 1942, he was transferred to Cabanatuan, where he stayed until September 1, 1943. He was then put on the Nielsen Field Work Detail. They were sent there to rebuild the Airfield, which is now in Makati.

October 3, 1944: Benini was put on board the Hokusen Maru and sent to Takao, Formosa, arriving on Nov. 9, 1944. In Formosa, he was kept as a prisoner in a schoolhouse in Toroku. There POWs did various odd jobs.

On January 25, 1945, in the Harbor of Keelung, Formosa, he was put on board the Enoshima Maru and sent to Moji, Japan. From Moji, he was sent to POW Camp Sendai 03B in Hosokura, Japan, where he worked in a copper mine until he was liberated in September 1945. From Hosokura, he was sent back to Manila where he remained in the 29th Replacement Camp, south of Manila, until he was deemed fit enough to be sent back to the states.

October 15, 1945 – Benini returned to the Army’s Letterman General Hospital, at the Presidio of San Francisco for processing and soon went by troop train to Woodrow Wilson Hospital, Virginia for two months evaluation and recovery.

Christmas 1945: In mid-December, he was released from the hospital and departed on-leave to Griffin, Pennsylvania; it was the first time he had been home in more than five years.

January 1946: Assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division; he was immediately sent to Ft. Benning, Georgia for jump school.

February 1946: Deployed from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina with the 11th Airborne Division to Sapporo, Japan.

June 1947: Returning from Japan, Benini was assigned to Pathfinder Platoon, 82nd Airborne Division, Ft Bragg, North Carolina.

July 1952: Selected by visionary Special Forces (SF) Colonel Aaron Banks to be part of the initial U.S. Army SF cadre. Benini, fluent in both Italian and Spanish, was assigned as a language and survival instructor in the first Special Forces qualification course.

Early 1951 - December 1952: Benini was courted by Air Force Recruiter Captain Richard Baker, 18th Air Force Pathfinder Project Officer, Donaldson AFB, South Carolina; after two years he finally succumbed. In late December 1952, he was selected by General Robert W. Douglass, Jr., Commander, 18th Air Force to be first USAF Combat Controller. (Historical Note: The USAF Pathfinder Team moniker was changed to the WWII title Combat Control Team within two weeks.)

January 8, 1953: MSgt Benini is discharged as an E-7 from Army at Ft. Bragg.

January 10, 1953: Benini is enlisted as E-4 at 18th Air Force, Donaldson AFB; and is promoted to E-6 on same orders; with the promise of quick E-7 promotion.

July 1, 1953: Benini is promoted to E-7 as promised by General Douglass.

January 1953 – December 1954: Assigned to 18th Air Force R&D staff and tasked with establishing CCT’s administrative procedures; operational structure and logistics requirements.

• It was during this assignment that Benini was busy pulling together everything required to support the newly formed Air Force Combat Control Teams. Tactics, Techniques, Procedures, Administrative documents and most importantly Supplies and Equipment documents were written and processed.

• During the same period, the first team was operating drop zones and landing zones in support of 18th Airborne Corp operations at Ft. Bragg and Ft. Campbell. Support equipment for these missions came primarily from scrounge operations headed by Benini. Most were at Ft. Bragg where colleagues in the Division, the Pathfinder Platoon and the newly formed Special Forces Command were able to help.

December 1954: Benini led an advance party to establish and launch the 6th Aerial Port, Combat Control Team in RAF Burtonwood, England.

December 1957: Deployed as team leader to the 322nd Air Division to establish combat control teams at Wiesbaden AB, Germany and Evreux AB, France.

• July 1958 - Deployed Lebanon crisis.

• July 1960 - Deployed Congo crisis.

• December 1960 – Led four-man CCT parachuted into Kashmir.

o Pakistan/India crisis C-130 aerial-resupply missions.

• October 1962 - Deployed Indo-China War.

September 1963: Returned to the McChord AFB, Washington Combat Control Team.

July 1964: Selected by HQ TAC to open a new Combat Control Team at Forbes AFB, Kansas.

July 1965: Assigned to HQ TAC, Langley AFB, Virginia as the Air Force Combat Control Career Field Manager.

July 31, 1970: Retired from active duty with 30 years’ service; 3.5 years as a POW.

CMSgt. Alcide Benini, USAF retired, chats with Lt. Col. Shively, Commander, 3rd Aerial Port Squadron, during a dedication ceremony of the Benini Heritage Center, Combat Control School, Pope AFB, NC on 18 April 2008.

CMSGT ALCIDE BULL BENINI ATTENDS HERITAGE CENTER OPENING 2008.

PHOTOS LEFT AND RIGHT WERE ADDED SOON AFTER HIS DEATH IN APRIL 2015.

First There

United States Air Force Combat Control Teams

In today’s high-tech environment, it takes an incredible amount of skill, self-confidence, and courage to carry out some of the US Air Force’s most difficult battlefield missions. As members of Air Force Special Operations Command, it is the job of combat control technicians job to provide airhead air traffic control in remote and often hostile environments. These highly specialized experts are, first and foremost, FAA-certified air traffic controllers. Each completes two years of qualification training before being assigned to his or her first operational squadron.

Later, the most experienced are trained as joint terminal attack controllers, or JTACs. These highly qualified combat controllers are further trained and certified to rain deadly air strikes down upon enemy combatants in close combat operations. Each graduate of the five-and-a-half-month JTAC course has completed twenty-three full mission profiles and devoted seven hundred fifty-two hours to training in the classroom and on the range.

Combat control’s motto First There reaffirms the combat controllers’ commitment to undertaking the most dangerous missions behind enemy lines by leading the way so that others may follow.

Yes, the combat control mission is challenging, but it is not science fiction!

CHAPTER

1

The 1940s: Combat Control Conception

World War II spawned both conventional and special operations origins of combat control teams. Conventional roots sprouted in the European theater of operations, whereas the special operations heritage of combat control teams can be traced to the Pacific theater of operations.

The European Theater—Conventional Operations

1941—The Germans at Crete

German paratroopers surprised the Allies by successfully supporting the seaborne invasion of Norway and Denmark in 1940. However, they shocked the world with their first stunning victory over the British on Crete in 1941. The operation employed classic door-kicking techniques in the seizure of airports and port facilities. In the Crete invasion, lightly armed German airborne troops overwhelmed a well-equipped and highly trained British force five times the size of their own. While this battle heralded the potential value of the use of airborne forces to the Allies, it proved catastrophic for Germany; nearly half the German paratroopers were casualties. Consequently, Adolf Hitler never used his troops in an airborne capacity again for the rest of the war.

1943—The Allied Invasion of Sicily

The Allies’ first major airborne assault took place on the night of July 9–10, 1943, when elements of the Eighty-Second Airborne Division and the British First Airborne Division jumped into battle near the city of Gela on the island of Sicily. Code-named Operation Husky during the invasion of Sicily, this was counted as a major campaign of World War II. It involved both an amphibious assault and airborne assaults. In the airborne operation, more than two hundred C-47s were launched. Of those, one-tenth were mistakenly shot down by US Navy gunners before crossing the coastline.

For those soldiers who made it, poor visual references and thirty-five-mile-per-hour winds wreaked havoc with two battalions. The majority landed thirty miles off the drop zone, with a third of them landing fifty-five miles away. In all, the entire airborne invasion force missed the objective area by a wide margin. Despite this lackluster beginning, US and British paratroopers were able to regroup and slow a German counterattack, giving seaborne forces time to gain a foothold at the beach landing.

1943—Gavin’s Decree

Major General James M. Jumpin’ Jim Gavin was the deputy commander of the Eighty-Second Airborne Division. Because of the aerial delivery problems at Sicily, he decreed that future paratroop operations must incorporate a method for ensuring the safe delivery of more paratroopers within the target area. With his decree, General Gavin had planted the first seed for a combat control team.

The Army Pathfinder team was created in response to Gavin’s decree. Pathfinder teams were formed as small groups of specially trained airborne troops. Their mission was to jump in advance of the main force. Upon arrival at the objective, they would set up visual navigation aids and other markers to guide the following airborne armada to the designated objective.

Despite the limited capability of early pathfinders, their rudimentary skills and crude navigation aids made for an improved capability. In operations where pathfinders were used, airborne infantry operations were more successful; where they were not used, operations suffered. For example, during the Normandy invasion, pathfinders jumped in thirty minutes prior to the main force, affording more than thirteen thousand highly motivated paratroopers the ability to quickly assemble and effectively engage the Germans.

1944—At the Bulge

The Allied operation at the French village of Bastogne in the final days of December 1944 will live on in the minds of troop carrier personnel as one of the most critical, albeit one of the most tragic, of the war. By December 22, 1944, elements of the US 101st Airborne Division had dug themselves into fields and forests near Bastogne but found themselves surrounded by advancing German soldiers. Believing they held the advantage, German officers, under a white flag, entered the 101st camp demanding a surrender. Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe issued a one-word, morale-boosting response: "Nuts!"

Without troop carrier resupply ammunition, the Battle of the Bulge would undoubtedly have turned out much differently and McAuliffe may not have been as confident as he appeared. When the first airborne resupply missions arrived, each US artillery position was down to about ten rounds. McAuliffe later admitted, Had it not been for air resupply, the situation would have become worse than desperate; it would have been untenable.

The United States lost 26 percent of the troops in a United States Army Air Force (USAAF) fifty-ship glider tow to Bastogne on December 27, 1944, the highest proportion for any troop carrier mission of the war. To help iron out communication and coordination problems, USAAF-trained combat control teams and pathfinder groups were ordered to mark drop zones and landing zones ahead of oncoming troop carrier serials and have pathfinder equipment and trained personnel in place on the ground when the troop carrier forces arrived. They operated on special VHF radio frequencies to ensure discrete ground-to-air communications. In addition, intership communications were established between troop carrier forces and protecting fighters over the target areas. Later, the largest one-day airborne assault in history took place, March 24, 1945, when troop carrier aircraft and gliders carried British and US divisions to assist the Allied crossing of the Rhine River near Wesel, Germany.

Excerpted from Air Force Times, February 1999

The Dawn of Air Force Combat Control Teams

Gene Adcock

1945—World War II, Operation Varsity: Allied Airborne Assault across the Rhine

December 27, 1944—United States Army Air Force

Troop carrier commanders had grown weary of criticism from US Army Airborne commanders and mission planners who complained of poor airdrop performance at Normandy and Holland. So, for the final push in World War II Europe—the 1945 airborne invasion of Germany—United States Army Air Force (USAAF) commanders elected to discontinue the use of US Army Pathfinders and to form their own forward operating command and control teams, naming them combat control teams (CCT). Unlike the US Army Pathfinders, the USAAF trained and outfitted the CCTs with air traffic control skills, state-of-the-art navigational aids, and modern communications gear.

March 8

General Paul L. Williams, Ninth Troop Carrier Command, reported to General Lewis H. Brereton, Ninth Air Force commander, that nine five-man glider-borne CCTs had been specially equipped and trained to perform advanced pathfinder duties for Operation Varsity. Operationally, each five-man CCT functioned as a completely self-sustaining unit. General Williams ordered that two combat control teams (ten combat controllers) be assigned to each of the four US airborne divisions to ensure reliable communications.

March 24

Under the plan outlined by General Williams, two combat control teams were slated for assignment to XVIII Airborne Corps during the first phase of D-Day for Operation Varsity, scheduled for March 24, 1945. A second, reinforcing phase was scheduled for the following day, March 25, 1945.

Note: Operation Varsity’s D-Day assault proved so successful that the March 25, 1945, reinforcing phase was canceled.

Normally two gliders would be adequate to lift the necessary personnel and equipment belonging to each team, but for the Operation Varsity D-Day assault, two additional gliders were added to haul special pickup equipment for both teams, bringing the total number of gliders to six. Every effort was being made to ensure the operational success of the combat control teams, General Williams stressed.

The lead USAAF combat control team is seen at right during the Varsity mission loading their CG-4A Waco glider, dubbed the Red Waco (see follow-on story). Pictured (left to right) are Sergeant Neil Long, radio operator; Flight Officer Larry Moyer, pilot; First Lieutenant Norman Wilmeth, mission commander; Second Lieutenant Bill Faskin, pilot; and Flight Officer Leon Rounds, pilot. (Photo from Norman Wilmeth’s personal file.)

Varsity execution excerpts are from Colonel Charles H. Young, Into the Valley: The Untold Story of USAAF Troop Carrier in World War II, and Dr. John C. Warren, from his September 1956 report Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater.

In Operation Varsity, two combat control teams, one a spare in case of accidents or casualties, were landed at opposite ends of Landing Zone N to operate several assault zones (DZ or LZ) for XVIII Airborne Corps. The airdrop phase proved a great success. Upon completion of the initial airborne assault, the CCT followed XVIII Airborne Corps units during their advance toward Berlin. Over the following weeks, the CCT supported aerial resupply and medical evacuation operations.

Varsity Conclusions

The following is according to Dr. John C. Warren in his September 1956 report Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater, submitted to the USAF Historical Division, Research Studies Institute, Air University: Varsity was a ‘tremendous success’ and [is] rated … the most successful airborne operation hitherto attempted.

( See top image on the right) Overview of Operation Varsity routes of troop

carrier missions. Excerpt from Colonel Charles H. Young’s book Into the

Valley: The Untold Story of USAAF Troop Carrier in World War II.

Warren’s report continues as follows:

Through the use of multiple traffic lanes, the C-46 aircraft, and double-tow glider formations, nearly seventeen thousand well-equipped airborne troops were poured into the area of less than twenty-five square miles within four hours. This concentration in time and space was decisive.

All concerned agreed that the air side of the operation had gone with remarkable efficiency and that General Williams and his command deserved credit for Varsity’s success. Of 540 planeloads of paratroops, every stick had been brought to the combat area, and [fewer] than 1 percent of the troops had been brought back because of sickness, accidents, wounds, or refusals. Of 908 US gliders, about two-thirds of which were in double tow, all but 23, or 2.5 percent, reached the Rhine despite windy, turbulent weather.

Route, schedule, and tactics proved sound. Not one pilot failed to follow the well-marked course to the IP [initial point]. The forty-three serials had flown from twenty-three bases spread over an area that was about three hundred miles long and divided by the English Channel. They reached their destination in proper sequence within ten minutes of schedule despite their adherence to strictly specified airspeeds, instead of scheduled arrival times.

The introduction of combat control teams was credited with dramatically improving command, control, communications, and flight safety.

(See image on the right) Overview of the Operation Varsity invasion assault

area. Landing Zone North was the landing site of the US Army Air Force

combat control team. Excerpt from Colonel Charles H. Young’s book Into

the Valley: The Untold Story of USAAF Troop Carrier in World War II.

Stories from Three of the First USAAF Combat Controllers

March 22, 1945: The Red Waco, by combat controller First Lieutenant Norman Wilmeth, USAAF mission leader, World War II Operation Varsity, who heralded the introduction of the first air force air traffic control team in combat. They were more than pathfinders; they were the first team of communications experts who could verbally paint a picture of the conditions at a target assault zone and effectively control activities in an airhead.

On March 22, 1945, while loading our CG-4A Waco glider for Operation Varsity, our combat control team severely damaged it, putting it out of commission. On checking the availability of a replacement, we found there was none. I scrounged around and finally found a recovered Normandy glider that had just been rebuilt but not yet painted. The newly replaced canvas skin was still covered with red primer. It was not yet on the ready line, but it was available, so we took it.

I didn’t want to miss this mission or abandon my role as commander of the CCT, so I asked maintenance to release the rebuilt glider to us. They did! After it was towed to the marshaling area, we loaded it very carefully. My copilot for the Varsity mission was Flight Officer Leon V. Rounds, and our crew chief was Technical Sergeant Neal L. Long. The second glider—the one carrying the trailer and radios—was flown by Second Lieutenant William D. Fasking and Flight Officer Lawrence E. Moyer.

On D-Day, March 24, 1945, I was in the first wave of Operation Varsity, crossing the Rhine to a landing near the town of Wesel. Accompanying us was a second glider filled with the rest of the combat control team. We were infiltrated into Germany, crossing the Rhine by glider. We were delivered several hours before the main force of Eighteenth Airborne Corps troops.

We stayed until we were relieved, and before long we became airfield control teams, working the forward fields during the heavy resupply period following the crossing of the Rhine.

Following the successful conclusion of the initial assault, our CCT moved along with the infantry to forward airfields, where we supported aerial resupply operations and provided assault airfield air traffic control.

The combat control teams, after undergoing some operational streamlining, would find their most effective and extensive application in the later stages of the war as airfield control teams (ACTs). The ACTs coordinated the use of the crowded skies and airfields in Germany that were taken over by Ninth Troop Carrier Command for resupplying the rapidly advancing Allied armored columns.

With permission of Turner Publishing (Nashville, Tennessee), publisher of World War II Glider Pilots.

1945—One Combat Controller’s Path to Operation Varsity, by First Lieutenant Milton Linn, United States Army Air Force CCT, World War II

In 1938, I enlisted in the New York National Guard and was assigned to the 244th Coast Artillery. The 244th was later federalized and based at Camp Pendleton, Virginia. When World War II was declared, my unit was sent to Ketchikan, Alaska. It was there that I volunteered for the army’s new glider program. I was accepted and soon sent back stateside for flight training. I took my primary flight training at Plainview, Texas, and basic flight training at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. I graduated as a flight officer from Victorville Air Force Station, California.

After graduation, I was assigned to the 50th Troop Carrier Squadron, part of 314th Troop Carrier Group. While with the 50th Troop Carrier Squadron, I was commissioned as a second lieutenant. I deployed with the 50th Troop Carrier Squadron to North Africa on the USS West Point.

Dubbed the Red Devils, the 50th Troop Carrier Squadron would soon undergo a baptism of fire as they charged their C-47 Skytrains into combat in May 1943. Launching aircraft from Field J in Tunisia, they airdropped a battalion of Eighty-Second