Combat Talon ends career as historic monument

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Samuel King Jr.
  • 919th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Exactly one year after making its final flight, the MC-130E Combat Talon I 64-0567 reached the end of its 47-year journey with a stirring dedication ceremony at the base's airpark May 6.

The Talon, or as it came to be know by 919th Special Operations Wing Airmen, "Wild Thing," will now be a historic monument forever reminding future Airmen of what came before.

The dedication brought together reservists, active duty, historians, aircraft aficionados and even the Air Force's highest officer and enlisted leadership. Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, a former Talon pilot and commander at Hurlburt, saw the aircraft honored.

"She was a good girl," said Chief Master Sgt. Ken Potter, 919th Maintenance Group. "The best flying aircraft we had."

Chief Potter and six other 919th maintainers were tasked with getting 567 prepared for "her" last flight from Gowen Field, Idaho, to Hurlburt Field last May.

At the end of that flight, Wild Thing had recorded 21,336.5 flight hours. Many of those hours were in support of vital American conflicts.

567 took fire in Vietnam in 1969. It flew the first mission where night vision goggles were used to fly the aircraft in 1979. It was flown to Egypt to be a part of Operation Eagle Claw (Desert One) in 1980 and flew in Operation Urgent Fury in Granada in 1983. In 1990, during Operation Just Cause, 567 carried Manuel Noriega to Miami. It was assigned to the 919th in 1997.

In 2003, it was one of the first MC-130Es to operate in missions for Operation Enduring Freedom.

For its new Air Force role, it was given a new "Blackbird" camouflage paint scheme and outfitted with the Fulton Surface-to-Air-Recovery-System, which is used for retrieving persons on the ground. 567 was one of the few ever fitted with the "Skyhook" system in 1966.

Guest speaker, Chief Master Sgt. Dale Berryhill, 711th Special Operation Squadron loadmaster, told the large crowd about the eccentricities of flying the Combat Talon.

"Each one has a unique attitude and often quirky personality," he said. "I hope this mighty Talon enjoys its time in the sun and that all its crew members and maintainers, young and old stop by to visit their old friend. 64-0567 has served its crews and nation proudly."