Overview of the wreckage at the Desert One base in Iran.
Posted on 11/13/2009 7:05:26 AM PST by Danae
Ok, I got up this morning and got one of the biggest shocks of my life. I checked my School work, and I am taking a History class right now from a professor that I have been angling to get for about 6 months at American Military University. He has a Bio that is amazing, a real Military hero and a serious scholar as well. Anyway, I had a short essay topic that I did regarding the Middle East Iran Iraq and touched on the Hostage crisis, and the rescue attempt that failed to rescue the hostages. It was sort of personal to me because it was the first time I can remember being aware of something Political, and international. I was abotu 10 at the time. My dad was SOOOO pissed off at the government for setting up this mission impossible, and even madder that 8 guys died doing it, he felt they had been let down my their leadership etc.
So my professor asked me to research deeper into Operation Eagle Claw, and what happened operationally, which I did. This morning he gets back to me (As I had said that it was a really interesting question, it really was a pivotal event for me in that it woke me up to the world and reality in a lot of ways)and says this.
The reason I asked you to research the operation is because I was there.
WOW
I am taking a History class from a real live "Balls of Steel" hero. Talk about HUMBLED.... man.... and I called the operation an abject failure! ROFL... Which it was, but not because of they guys who were there doing the job, but because the Leadership that put them there didn't plan it to succeed! It really was mission impossible I think, and my 30 year old memories of the event say the same. How could those guys have possibly succeeded at flying right into Tehran and snatching the Hostages......AMAZING, and here is one of the guys who was there.
I had an A in the class.... LOL HAD being the operative word lol And if I loose it, it will be 100% worth it to have had the chance to sincerely thank a real live American Hero! I am seriously just totally floored this morning.
Where? In the embassy? At the Pentagon? In the desert? In the newsroom??
Overview of the wreckage at the Desert One base in Iran.
Most likely "he" was at Desert One, a refueling depot where a taxiing CH-53 hit a C-130.
I was in the Air Force during this crisis, and we launched all of our aircraft, F-111As, to our deployment base in Insurlik Turkey two days before the Desert One debacle.
Our aircraft were deployed in case the Iranians decided to start a shooting war over the "invasion" of their airspace.
Thare was another rescue attempt prior to Eagle Claw, called Credible Sport
I would certainly want to know if the Entebbe operation was talked about at the time of planning this Eagle Claw.
In the Desert. He is Air Force. He was in the mission.
(Still totally floored)
I remember seeing this on the news one morning before school. My Mom, big Dem/ big Carter supporter at the time, was pretty upset with Carter over this. I knew, even though I was 10 yrs old, that this was good for the Iranians. And I was horrified that this became a part of a parade through the streets of Tehran.
That info is available on the internet. It was discussed, but the Israelis had the advantage of having their hostages at the Airport. That was not the case with Eagle Claw.
I was 10 too. It was the first time I can remember being specifically aware of what was on the news. I was horrified.
I am Still so stunned that my Prof was there... just WOW. I am so humbled.
Talk about a GREAT freaking school. American Military University is AWESOME!
ping
I hope that your professor actually was there, Danae — if so, it will have been an amazing experience for you to meet a real piece of history.
That said, it is also *just possible* that he might not have been there: so-called “Stolen Valor” is not an unknown thing, particularly when it comes to well-known military events.
My thoughts are that you should trust, but verify and ask lots and lots of good, detailed questions. If you do, you won’t be sorry either way.
Would you please ask him for me if he believes the mission had a realistic chance of success and what does he think would have been the best response to governmental hostage taking?
I recently saw and excellent hour long documentary on this debacle on the History channel.
Awaiting your response, please.
The word at the time was that the failure of the mission was due to micro-management by Carter (”After all, I AM a nuclear engineer !”). Instead of being planned, staffed and run by military men, it was done out of the White House - as I understand it.
Ask your prof if he thinks that was true.
Photo of USS Pueblo still in N Korea:
Photos of the USS Liberty after being "abandoned" by LBJ:
The fatal flaw according to both the aircraft commander and the ground commander was the Marine helicopter pilots that the army was forced to use Beckwith had succeeded in canning the navy pilots but they were only replaced by Marines.
“In the Desert. He is Air Force. He was in the mission.”
Then he would know this book by the Air Force’s Desert 1 commander.
http://www.amazon.com/Guts-Try-Hostage-Scene-Commander/dp/0739311948/ref=pd_cp_b_0
I never heard of AMU, but after reading your note and visiting their website. Im now thinking about working on the Graduate Certificate in World War II Studies. Would you provide the name of the instructor? I’ve had history instructors who thought they knew everything about Viet Nam, but when corrected by someone who was actually there, they disliked having their bubbles burst.
Thanks.
I never heard of AMU, but after reading your note and visiting their website. Im now thinking about working on the Graduate Certificate in World War II Studies. Would you provide the name of the instructor? I’ve had history instructors who thought they knew everything about Viet Nam, but when corrected by someone who was actually there, they disliked having their bubbles burst.
Thanks.
I never heard of AMU, but after reading your note and visiting their website. Im now thinking about working on the Graduate Certificate in World War II Studies. Would you provide the name of the instructor? I’ve had history instructors who thought they knew everything about Viet Nam, but when corrected by someone who was actually there, they disliked having their bubbles burst.
Thanks.
That's my site
While ONE Marine pilot screwed up, and totally, to blame the failure on Marines entirely is totally wrong.
They didn't use the aircraft they trained with, my squadron had to bone one of our 53’s to keep the RH-53’s operating on the Nimitz in the final weeks before the operation.
There is a lot of blame on HM-16 for not flying the pants off these birds to iron out any issues before the mission, but most likely, they were ordered not to due to operational secrecy.
The failure lies in fate; not in Jimmy Carter or the Marine pilots as a whole or in general.
In fact, according to one of the Marine air crews on site, they insisted they were willing to fly on to Tehran but it was Beckwith who insisted that all aircraft be 100% or his men wouldn't be getting on board that final leg. Beckwith cancelled the mission, not Siefert and not the Air Force Col. Beckwith did when he refused to use the aircraft with the secondary hydraulic system only.
The Marines of the mission never wrote books to make money like the Air Force and Army commanders did, and you would hear an earful.
And that comment on how Beckwith wanted Navy pilots only? That is bullshit, too, all services went to Yuma, Arizona, to TRY OUT for the mission, it was a secret elimination, you showed up and if you could hack it, you were on the team. Air Force crews that showed up, one team, refused to sleep in the tent city and insisted on staying in a local hotel 25 miles away. Sieffert immediately threw them out of the cycle and sent them packing.
I have other stories, but they aren't fit to print, it would identify a normally good man who made a serious error when he over drank one night. He was gone immediately.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.