Chindit Chatter

By Dennis Barnett, Col, USAF (Retired) ACA Chief Operating Officer and Editor-in-Chief

2020 is one of those years where a number of significant anniversaries of major SOF events come together. First is the 50th anniversary of the Son Tay raid, Operation KINGPIN. Second, and one that directly led to the third, is the 40th anniversary of Operation EAGLE CLAW, the failed rescue attempt that resulted in the loss of eight brave Americans and eventually to the stand up of USSOCOM in 1987. And, in 1990, 30 years ago this year, Air Force Special Operations Command was created.

Your Air Commando Association was going to have a hand in the key celebratory events for each of these anniversaries. First, AFSOC had asked ACA to assist in culminating a week of celebration of Thirty Years of AFSOC with a dinner patterned after our successful Chapman Medal of Honor Hall of Fame celebration last fall. Next, there were going to be several events commemorating Operation EAGLE CLAW and ACA was going to be represented and supporting those in a variety of ways. Third, this is the 50th and final anniversary celebration of the Son Tay raid that attempted to free American POWs from a prison in North Viet Nam. In that case, our intent was to join with the Son Tay Raiders Association and host their last reunion as part of our annual convention which was to be themed around Operation KINGPIN. But the best laid plans were sidelined at least temporarily by the COVID 19 crisis. Note I said, temporarily, because we are still looking forward to our convention and will adjust fire as necessary based on the guidance at the time. We are also working closely with the leadership at AFSOC to ensure these important anniversaries will not go unhighlighted. We intend to honor all who have played significant roles in each. We will keep our members in the loop regarding the status of the celebrations through our various social media venues.

One very significant event that is also linked to Operation EAGLE CLAW and the stand-up of AFSOC, was the acquisition, operational testing, and fielding of the CV-22 Osprey. This issue of the Air Commando Journal, is designed to take our readers through each of those phases, and resulted in what is now a very successful and battle-tested aircraft. The authors who contributed to this issue also showcase how, over the last ten years, the Osprey’s transformational technology and the men and women who fly and maintain these airframes, have given the nation and the special operators in all four Services the ability to be anywhere any time, and safely get home again. As always, in SOF the hardware is important, but after reading this issue we think you’ll agree that it is the people who use the hardware in ways unexpected by our adversaries that make the weapon systems “special.” Please enjoy this edition of the Air Commando Journal.

It is with great sadness that the ACA mourns the loss of one of the great Air Commandos of our time. Col Jim Kyle, the Air Force component commander during Operation EAGLE CLAW, served our nation for more than 30 years, 20 of them in special operations. In 2015, Col Kyle was inducted into the USSOCOM Hall of Honor. May he rest in peace and may God bless his family.

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