Maybe this might be helpful.
Can't believe it's 16 years since I wrote this reply to Chris!
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Regarding:
From: "Chris Gibson" <
[email protected]-net.com>
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 08:12:46 >+0100
Subject: RE: [UFORL] >Cash-Landrum + Chinooks
Chris wrote:
>>>These twelve CH-47 Chinooks. Could they have actually been Vertol CH-46 Sea Knights belonging to the US Marine Corps? Any-one checked that out? The USAF don't use Chinooks, whereas the US Army use loads.<<<
Chris,
I can now reveal that the connection with TF158 and Texas during late 1980 was Reese AFB, in Lubbock.
I noted it wasn't a big secret and that's because it's confirmed on the 'official Night Stalkers' web site.
The background to those Army Chinooks and a whole lot more is explained therein, see:
nightstalkers.com/history/1.html
{THIS LINK IS NOW DEFUNCT}
The pages from this defunct website can be accessed via the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20080308090354/http://www.nightstalkers.com/history/1.html
I'm pleased to say I have persuaded my contact within TF158 that his first-hand insight can be published and he's also agreed to be identified as the source.
This will make any progress much easier, especially being able to identify him when contacting others who served during that formative May to December period.
I won't name said source for now.
That online history is apparently not entirely accurate and this is a point he seems keen to correct.
In summary, he explained:
"The second attempt, 'Honey Badger', was never executed as fortunately the hostages were released. Its planning and training were top secret at the time.
Since then I have never read a complete or accurate account of what took place out there in the western mountains and deserts
between May 1980 to Dec 1980. We only find bits and pieces here and there. Even the Night Stalker website description of operation 'Honey Badger' is flawed. It's probably due to the fact that the operation, or operations, had a sort of planning creep due to a changing hostage situation and/or location. Different people participating in that later stages from the former.
'Honey Badger', the training that I participated in, started in late May 1980 and was completed by Aug 1980. We fully expected to deploy at that time. However, we were released and sworn to secrecy back to our home base at Fort Campbell Ky.
That training, 'Honey Badger' involved the original cast operating out of Norton AFB California, Dugway Proving Grounds Utah and White Sands, New Mexico. There were no OH-6 involved then. Only Army Uh-60s, Ch-47ds, Air Force H-53 pavelow helicopters and C-130 aircraft. I am sure the 'Honey Badger' execution was to be very similar to the first rescue attempt.
The one main weakness of the first attempt was the helicopter element. That is, we had Marine pilots flying Navy helos conducting an Army aviation mission. Long range night vision goggle flights through mountains and over desert.
The problem with Army aviation in April 1980 was we were not trained to that capability as we had just received the Uh-60, so in May 1980 a decision was made to obtain that mission capability using the Uh-60 and conduct the second attempt to free the hostages using Army aviation flying Delta Force and Army Rangers in Army Uh-60s supported by Army Ch-47d, Air Force H-53 pavelow and C-130 transports.
That was 'operation Honey Badger'.
After returning to Ft Campbell add on operations which took place from Aug 1980 until Dec 1980, of which I have only second hand information; I did not participate.
That's when the Oh-6 'Little Bird' was added to the original task force with an entirely new plan in mind.
That's the training witnessed in Texas.
Although the second rescue attempt was not required due to their release in Jan 1981, the lessons learned from 'Honey Badger' and the long term benefits to our military aviation training, in particular to special operations, had become quite obvious to those of us who were involved".
Presently designated the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), the 'Night Stalkers' remain based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
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