In its first decade, AFSOC conducted an array of mission
sets that became standard operating procedures to provide swift and efficient
responses across the globe to support conventional and special operations
through its air power.
Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM
The earliest explicit demonstration of AFSOC’s capabilities
since its activation came in response to the unlawful invasion of Kuwait by
Iraqi forces on 2 August 1990. The U.S. Government initiated Operation DESERT
SHIELD on 6 August, and one week later, AFSOC forces arrived in theater first
at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia then King Fahd International Airport. The fullest
extent of AFSOC forces during DESERT SHIELD included 1st SOW Airmen with their
AC-130s, HC-130s, MC-130s, MH-53 and HG-60s, 193rd SOG Guardsmen with EC-130s,
Reservists of the 919 SOW with AC-130As and its squadron of HH-3 helicopters,
and the Turkey-based 39 SOW’s HC-130s, MC-130s, and MH-53s. Special Tactics personnel
operated throughout the theater, often attached as combat controller and
pararescuemen.
Combat operations began the night of 17 January 1991 when
MH-53 helicopter aircrews from the 1 SOW escorted Army Apache helicopters on a raid to destroy Iraqi radar sites near the
border of Saudi Arabia, thus beginning Operation DESERT STORM. This escort
mission, a true show of the MH‑53s specialized radar capabilities, earned its
crews the Mackay Trophy.
MH-53 crews also conducted
the first, and deepest, rescue mission of the war with the pick-up of U.S. Navy
F-14 pilot Lt. Devon Jones, who was downed roughly 130 miles inside of Iraq.
MC-130 Combat Talons dropped BLU-82s,
the largest conventional bombs of the war, and, along with the HC-130 Combat Shadow aircrews who dropped the
most psy-war leaflets. AC-130s provided critical fire support and armed
reconnaissance, but they also suffered the single greatest combat loss of
coalition air forces with the shoot down of Spirit 03 on 31 January 1991 – all
14 crewmembers, who belonged to the 16th SOS, perished. On 27 February 1991, Iraq
agreed to Allies’ terms for a cease-fire, bringing an end to DESERT STORM
combat operations.
Over the course of
Operation DESERT STORM, special operations forces performed direct-action
missions, combat search and rescue, infiltration, exfiltration, special
reconnaissance, close air support, psychological operations, and helicopter air
refueling.
Somalia - 1991-1995
When U.S. citizens needed evacuation during the Somali civil
war, AFSOC forces supported Operation EASTERN EXIT on 3 January 1991. An
AC-130H aircrew departed from King Fahd Airport, Saudi Arabia, to perform close
air support missions over Mogadishu, Somalia.
In December 1992, Special Tactics and AFSOC intelligence
Airmen returned to the country supporting Operation RESTORE HOPE, a protective
mission for relief workers performing humanitarian service. Gunship aircrews
followed in the spring of 1993 under Operation CONTINUE HOPE and CONTINUE HOPE
II to stabilize the Somalian government and stifle militia activity. After two
U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters
crashed 3 October 1993 in Mogadishu, AFSOC people responded with search and
recovery efforts. TSgt Timothy A. Wilkinson supported Task Force Ranger during
one of the longest sustained firefight by U.S. forces since Vietnam by
providing medical support and treatment that saved three service members’
lives. Sergeant Wilkinson earned the Air Force Cross for his actions in
Mogadishu.
During CONTINUING HOPE II, eight members of an AC-130H crew,
call sign Jockey 14, paid the ultimate sacrifice. In March 1994, the aircraft
experienced an in-flight explosion that forced the crew to ditch off the coast
of Kenya. Six Airmen on that flight survived the crash. A year later, AFSOC
forces returned in Somalia to support Operation UNITED SHIELD, the final United
Nations mission in Somalia to stabilize the country following its civil war.
Haiti - 1994
In the fall of 1994, AFSOC units played an essential role in
Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in establishing security and assuring de facto
public administration in rural Haiti. Most aircraft operated out of Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, which included the largest gathering of MH-53s to participate in one
action.
During UPHOLD
DEMOCRACY, 193rd SOG Commando Solo crews broadcasted radio messages to the
Haitian people. To help ensure that the radio messages would get to the target
audience, 10,000 radios were air dropped into Haiti, in order to
substantially increase the listening audience. Messages from Haitian President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide broadcasted daily on three FM radio channels along with discussions by
a panel of Haitian political experts. The purpose of these broadcasts was to
educate the Haitian people on the basic theories and concepts of democracy and
what benefits they could expect to see with the restoration of a democracy in
Haiti. Operations in Haiti also saw the last deployment of AC-130A gunships
by the 919th SOW.
The Balkans - 1992-1996
The security and humanitarian conditions rapidly
deteriorated following ethnic clashes in the former republic of Yugoslavia.
AFSOC units flew Operation PROVIDE PROMISE missions as part of U.S. support of
United Nations humanitarian relief efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina from July 1992
through June 1996. In total, more than 4,000 U.S. airland sorties delivered
over 60,000 tons of supplies to the capital city of Sarajevo.
As tensions escalated, AFSOC units participated in Operation
DENY FLIGHT, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) enforcement of a
no-fly zone over Bosnia. The command’s flights were part of over 40,000 sorties
to protect the airspace from April 1993 through December 1995. Then NATO
conducted air strikes against Bosnian Serbs in Operation DELIBERATE FORCE from
August through September 1995 with AFSOC units in support. During these combat
operations, Pave Low crewmembers received
wounds while rescuing two French aviators shot down near Sarajevo. The rescue
attempt earned the crew the 1995 Air Force Cheney Award for their act of valor
and self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest.
AFSOC Airmen arrived first on scene following the CT-43 aircraft
crash 3 April 1996 near Dubrovnik, Croatia, which claimed the life of U.S. Commerce
Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others. Two MH-53Js and an MC-130P conducted search
and rescue flights. Their efforts won the 1996 Air Force Cheney Award.
Stabilization efforts in the region continued in September
1997 with 193 SOG aircrews deploying three EC-130s in support of Operation JOINT
GUARD to relay NATO information and counter Serb radio and television
broadcasts seeking to hinder the Dayton Peace Accords. Search and rescue alert
postures remained throughout JOINT GUARD with AFSOC aircraft and personnel
routinely rotating from the Hurlburt Field and RAF Mildenhall, U.K., into San
Vito, Italy. The missions in the Balkans transitioned to Operation ALLIED FORCE
following the NATO air campaign to remove Serbian forces in Kosovo, beginning
in March 1999. AFSOC MH-53s and MH-60 aircrews conducted two successful,
low-level, combat search and rescue operations of downed American F-117 and
F-16 pilots. The rescued F-16 pilot, then-Lt Col David L. Goldfein, commander
of the 555th Fighter Squadron, became 21st Air Force Chief of Staff in July 2016.
Other AFSOC missions during ALLIED FORCE included: the EC-130’s counter-radio
and television broadcast, MC-130H leaflets drops, and AC-130U armed
reconnaissance.