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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  Joint Task Force Eagle Claw

  After the tragic events at Desert One, planning began for another rescue mission. Parallel with this was the decision to create a permanent and robust special operations structure. Keith Nightingale was right in the middle of this difficult effort which involved all the services.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  In the aftermath of the debacle at Desert One, an effort to plan and execute another mission to rescue the hostages in Iran got under way. Air Force special ops pilot George Ferkes recalls that new tactics and equipment were developed that served as the blueprint for the revitalization of special operations units throughout the military.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment

  The rebuild of the 75th Ranger Regiment was underway at Fort Benning. Keith Nightingale was the headquarters company commander among other odd jobs. They were developing a new training regimen that was to be the finest anywhere. One important task was the creation of a Ranger Creed.

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  Bill Pearson - Army +11 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Bill Pearson had been to Vietnam twice and returned unscathed, but the Army wasn't done putting him in danger. He was assigned as an aviation consultant to Iran, advising the Shah's air force on it's supply of American aircraft. The day he arrived, martial law was declared and it wasn't long before there were mobs outside trying to burn down the building. The embassy was no help. Escape seemed impossible.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  Operation Eagle Claw was the name of the attempt by US Special Forces to rescue the hostages from the embassy in Iran. The mission was aborted because of mechanical failures in helicopters and then turned tragic when eight men died in a fiery crash. Pilot George Ferkes was part of that team and he describes the events from his perspective.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division

  Clowns in action. That's how Keith Nightingale describes the confusion and snafus during the initial Grenada operation. Most objectives were quickly achieved but there were some difficult battles, including one with a Cuban unit. When the Rangers got to the medical school where American students were waiting, they found out about a second campus with more students. Part 2 of 3.

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  Michael Boyce - Marines +3 Total Videos

  USMC, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expedition Brigade, 1st-4th Air Wings

  Mr. Boyce discusses working with many Kurds and Iraqi civilians for about a year following the end of the first Gulf War.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  Joint Task Force Eagle Claw

  When the Iranian Revolutionary Guard seized the American embassy, the joint chiefs began looking for the means to rescue the hostages. It was decided to build a team around Delta Force, the elite special ops unit led by Charles Beckwith. General James Vaught was selected as the overall commander of the operation and on his staff was Keith Nightingale, who was then immersed in the urgent planning process. Part 1 of 4.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  When the Iran hostage crisis happened, President Carter asked the joint chiefs if there was any way they could be rescued. This set off a mad scramble to put together a multi-branch operation and Air Force special ops pilot George Ferkes was right in the middle of it.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division

  After a long stint with Joint Task Force Eagle Claw, Keith Nightingale left to command a battalion in the 82nd Airborne. This unit was called to be part of Operation Urgent Fury, the liberation of Grenada from a Communist takeover. Part 1 of 3.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  George Ferkes pays tribute to leaders who inspired him during his career in Air Force special ops. His part in the Iran hostage crisis became a catalyst for the rest of his career which he dedicated to the build up of special forces.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  Joint Task Force Eagle Claw

  Unfortunately, human intelligence had been allowed to wither in favor of satellite technology. This meant that the CIA was little help to the joint task force planning the rescue of the American hostages in Tehran. Every means to extract the hostages was examined and a combination of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters was chosen. Keith Nightingale describes the deliberations that went into this. Pt 2 of 4.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  There is a always lot of dry humor in military life. Special operations pilot George Ferkes recalls some moments from his career that made him laugh.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  Joint Task Force Eagle Claw

  Keith Nightingale recalls the sometimes uncomfortable fallout from the aborted Iran hostage rescue attempt. There were congressional briefings to give, an investigation to face and a special operations structure to build up. This wasn't made any more pleasant by the conflicting personalities involved.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Special forces went through a bit of a renaissance after the failed rescue of the hostages in Iran. Never again would US special operations be caught flat footed and unprepared. Pilot George Ferkes was a part of that mission and it provided him with a purpose that guided him through the rest of his career.

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  Jim Bolan - Army +13 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  It was a lousy assignment. Jim Bolan was one of the first Special Forces officers and, after Vietnam, he wound up in a training unit with no jump slot. Prodded by his wife, he went to Washington to dust off his most valuable inside contact, who was now the Army's Chief of Staff.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment

  Keith Nightingale remembers that, during the buildup of the new Ranger Battalion, the team researched units from the past including British commandos and Vikings to extract any useful training techniques. Live fire exercises and road marches became very important. In December of 1974, the new Rangers were ready.

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  Jim Bolan - Army +13 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Jim Bolan's father was a tool and die man who was so good, he quit several jobs during the Depression. The younger Bolan was allowed a great deal of independence and enjoyed a summer job on a farm and living with a rich aunt on the Jersey shore.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  There was some good intelligence available during the planning of the Iran hostage rescue attempt. For instance, pilot George Ferkes knew that an aircraft could easily avoid the radar at the border. That was not the problem, though, once the effort got underway.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  With so many joint operations with other countries, Keith Nightingale believes it is more important than ever to be cognizant of their culture and mindset. This was not done in Vietnam and it contributed to the failure of that venture. As he looks back on his career, he salutes some of the leaders who helped him along the way.

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  Jake Jacobson - Army +8 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Retired Green Beret Jake Jacobson tells how he came to boycott San Francisco and then acknowledges a couple of inspiring leaders he had in the Army. He also encountered what he considered very bad leadership.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment

  The decimation of the Army was complete. The leadership had punted in Vietnam and there was no support among most of the public. Army Chief of Staff Creighton Abrams decided to rebuild the Army around a reborn Ranger Battalion, which would be built from the ground up as the finest light infantry in the world. Keith Nightingale found out about this and made sure he was in on it.

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  Marshall Eubanks - Army +14 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Marshall Eubanks had two years left to serve when he returned from Vietnam. He stuck around for ten, then he decided to keep going. Instead of flying helicopters, he worked on high level research and simulations, among other things.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  When he returned from Vietnam, George Ferkes is fairly sure he saw his old hooch burning on the television when Quang Tri fell. After a couple of years he leapt at the chance to join a special ops outfit, even though, at the time, there was little interest in those units.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division

  Keith Nightingale was heading up post-invasion operations in Grenada when he got a packet of good intelligence on the leaders of the coup there. This aided him in locating and capturing Hudson Austin, who had been behind the Communist takeover. Part 4 of 4.

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  Geoff Farrell - Army +8 Total Videos

  2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment

  Lt. Geoff Farrell was sleeping in the command track when he heard it on the radio. We were at war with Iraq. His armored cavalry unit crossed from Saudi Arabia into Iraq where they were greeted by friendly children in the middle of nowhere.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  Joint Task Force Eagle Claw

  No one could get Charles Beckwith to admit that Delta Force didn't have enough personnel to secure all the locations that would be needed for the rescue of the hostages in Iran. Keith Nightingale had to present three times the briefing that proved this. Finally, the Rangers were brought in to enhance the operation and training began in earnest. Part 3 of 4.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  Joint Task Force Eagle Claw

  Delta Force and the Rangers had arrived at Desert One but the helicopters were delayed by a dust storm. Only five of them were deemed flyable when they got there and the mission requirements were for six. The mission was scrubbed until the next day and mission planner Keith Nightingale describes the tragic circumstances of the departure from the Iranian desert.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division

  In the aftermath of the Grenada invasion, peacekeeping forces from all around the Caribbean were assembled to help keep order. Keith Nightingale's battalion was spread all around the island involved in various missions and the locals in all these enclaves helped their liberators celebrate Thanksgiving. Part 3 of 4.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +26 Total Videos

  Joint Task Force Eagle Claw

  It had been a long and tortuous process for Keith Nightingale and the rest of the joint task force but Operation Eagle Claw was ready. All the moving parts were primed and all that needed was for President Carter to give the word to go. Pt 4 of 4.