Operation Eagle Claw : What Went Wrong

This paper was written by Dr. Richard L. Kugler from the National Defense University, Center of Technology and National Security. Operation Anaconda was a success, but taught many lessons for modern-era force operations and defense transformation that deserves to be remembered (Kugler, 2007). Even though the battle plan was complex and sophisticated, it was not followed by the Afghan forces, which left US ground troops to do the battle alone. US forces had to replan the battle at a moment's notice.

In November 1979, a group on Iranian militants took over the United States (US) Embassy in Tehran, Iran taking 72 hostages. The US devised a plan to rescue the hostages called Operation EAGLE CLAW, which combined elements of Special Operations Forces (SOF) across all four

The command structure in United States Military is vital to the success of missions carried out in or outside the country. The Department of Defense is responsible for overseeing the establishment of command hierarchies that work for specific units. The commands, guidelines, and orders are passed from the highest-ranking personnel to lowest ranking officers who must perform the directive or pass it to subordinates with the same instructions. The principles that establish the command structure in the military evaluates the performance of each command and the officers involved in the various missions. The key principles that affected the execution of Operation Anaconda resulting in mission deficiencies are organizational structure, decision-making, and collaboration.

The battle started when Navy SEAL, Petty Officer First Class Neil Roberts fell from a MH-47E Chinook, on an attempted landing to an unknowingly hot LZ, when he lost his footing due to a combination of RPG blast and spilled hydraulic fluid of the mangled aircraft. Razor 03, the call sign of the Chinook was eventually forced to land putting a gap of 4 miles and several thousand feet between Roberts and the rest of his team.

Commitment towards the recovery of isolated personnel has remained a steadfast value in the military throughout the evolution of warfare and supports the stronghold of the Warrior Ethos, “never leave a fallen comrade behind.” The rescue of Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Iceal “Gene” Hambleton is regarded as the “largest, longest, and most complex search and rescue operation” by American Forces during the Vietnam War. On Easter Sunday, April 2 1972, Hambleton was serving on board of a United States Air Force EB-66 aircraft (call sign Bat 21) as a navigator in a flight of 2 aircraft, which was escorting 3 B-52 bombers, when his aircraft was destroyed by a SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM). As the sole survivor, Hambleton was able to eject from his

The US Central Command’s planning for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) was not the all-inclusive plan that joint operations require. Joint operations are no longer limited to major combat operations, but encompass a wide range of actions. Planning for joint operations requires input from many sources to produce a successful campaign plan to meet the desired end state. Operational design provides a concept and a construction framework that underpins a campaign and its execution. (JP GL13). Evaluating the planning process by using the operational design identifies some of CENTCOM’s shortfalls. US military planners’ lack of understanding of the operational environment led to an inadequately defined problem that resulted in a faulty operational approach. CENTCOM’s approach did not have the right assessment to gauge the effectiveness of the plan such as alerting planners when and if the plan needed modification. Current joint planning policy incorporates several of CENTCOM’s shortfalls in an attempt to provide a better planning process for future joint operations.

Throughout history, the United States Government and Armed Forces have learned from devastating mistakes and decisive victories making the US Armed Forces superior to most, if not all, other militaries; however, the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia throughout Operation Restore Hope, Operation Provide Relief, and the Joint Special Operations Task Force missed the mark on such “lessons learned”. The inadequate intelligence; the ignorance of tactics, techniques, and procedures; and absence of reinforcements cost needless loss of US troops, and crippling a sophisticated, well-equipped military at the hands of an under-equipped militia using irregular warfare tactics. Even 24 years later, the impact resonating still weighs heavily on minds of key leaders in the government along with all echelons of military commanders.

To understand how some of the soon to be discussed failures arose, all of the key commanders need to be identified. When Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) began General Tommy Franks was the CENTCOM Combatant Commander in Tampa, Florida. Events on 9/11 lead to us having forces in Afghanistan soon after. From the beginning of the war Special Forces (SOF) were the primary assets utilized. As time went on conventional units were joining the forces in theatre. This caused the need for the Command and Control (C2) structure to adapt to the

I am writing this paper to identify and analyze the historic failed mission of Operation: Eagle Claw. Operation Eagle Claw is a prime example of a failed mission due to lack of communication and sharing of knowledge between government agencies and military branches. This operation took five months to plan and took place on April 24, 1980. The mission was proceeded by an attack on the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran. This attack was made by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who was the leader of Iran at the time. In the late 1970’s when Khomeini took over the Iran, Shah fled the country and was eventually granted entrance into the United States by President Carter in order to obtain treatment for his cancer. Khomeini demanded that the US release

Howard, E. 2003). CENTCOM wanted to keep as little of a footprint in Afghanistan as it could, and, therefore, tasked JSOFT DAGGER, known through the case study as TF DAGGER, to develop a plan to clear out the Shahi Kot Valley (Fleri, E. Howard, E. 2003). There are several key components necessary when planning such as “task organization, mission statement, commander’s intent, concept of operations, tasks to subordinate units, coordinating instructions and control measures” (ADRP 5-0, para 2-69). During COA development, the mistakes in planning became apparent. In the case study there are missing elements “Initially Task Force Mountain was not designated a joint task force which led to joint planning problems” (Fleri, E. Howard, E. 2003).

In order to develop effective solutions for complex military problems, the Joint Community within the US Military adopted the methodology of Operational Design in Joint Doctrine. This methodology addresses the concept of complex, ill-structured or “wicked” problems. In fact, Lessons Learned as a result of operations conducted over the last 15 years played an instrumental role in the continued development of this doctrine. Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) illustrates a perfect case study for evaluation utilizing this methodology. Therefore, the intent of this paper is to evaluate US Military campaign planning for OIF by using operational design as the framework for this analysis. First, this paper looks at how planners and commanders interpreted pre-invasion civilian policy guidance, their understanding of the current operational environment, and how these commanders defined the problem. Next, it identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the initial approach. After discussing this initial approach, this paper examines how commanders assessed the campaign and refined the approach – to include how the reframing occurred. Lastly, it provides examples of how these lessons learned shaped current joint planning policy and doctrine.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a historical battle utilizing the four steps of battle analysis to provide an alternate outcome. This paper will define the battle, review the settings, describe the actions, and assess the significance of the actions for Operation Ivory Coast. Furthermore, this paper will relate the causes and effects of essential elements critical to the tactical success and mission failure of Operation Ivory Coast. Ultimately, all contributing factors will coalesce into lessons learned from the operation that are still applicable to this day.

The United States attacked Iraq on March 19, 2003. The question of whether this action is a case of justified anticipatory self-defense or not is answered by clearly understanding the definition of “anticipatory self-defense”. Anticipatory self-defense basically says that if you have a good reason to believe that someone is going to harm you in a particular way, you can act first. The proper definition would have two conditions; “There is clear and convincing evidence that the proposed target has the ability to strike a devastating blow” and “There is clear and convincing evidence that the proposed target has the inclination to strike a devastating blow”. That being said, the decision to go to war with Iraq was a decision based upon dishonesty and a one-sided perspective. Therefore, U.S does not qualify to call it a case of justified anticipatory self-defense so; it was not a last resort as it had other less violent options.

In January 1979, Iranians opposed to the Shah’s rule invaded the American embassy in Tehran and held a group of 52 American diplomats and other hostages for 444 days. The Shah left Iran and the victorious Ayatollah Khomeini returned that February. Of the approximately 90 people inside the embassy, 52 remained in captivity until the end of the crisis. The reputation of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the hostage taking was further enhanced with the failure of a hostage rescue attempt that cost lives. The Ayatollah Khomeini set forth several demands to be met prior to the release of the hostages. The US had options of their own; however, the risk to the hostages required the utmost consideration. In order to secure their freedom, outgoing

President Carter accepted the permission for the Shah to come the the United States to obtain treatment for cancer. The College students charged the palace quite quickly, with the takeover happening within a matter of hours. The CIA has tried to intervene the situation, but failed. Another report says that the capture of America’s Embassy and its diplomatic staff was a hugely symbolic victory over “The Great Satan.” “The Great Satan” as being America, because America is known to be hated by most Iranians. The hostages are still being kept captive with little food and water. There are supposed " mock executions" happening at the Embassy. Another source says that this is a way to raise the intra and international profile of the revolution leader, the anti-american cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. There was a hostage rescue attempt called “Operation Eagle Claw” it was a United States Armed Forces operation ordered by US President Jimmy Carter to attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 52 embassy staff held captive at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran on 24 April 1980. When they tried to rescue the 52 American hostages held in Tehran it ended with eight U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages