Joint induction points to ‘joint’ nature of military success Published Oct. 28, 2011 By Mike W. Ray Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The ability to integrate the diverse capabilities of multiple military services, to create a unit that is greater than its individual parts, makes U.S. armed forces the strongest in the world. "A small number of people in a joint operation can have a huge impact," retired Chief Master Sgt. Ralph Humphrey told several dozen Air Force senior NCO inductees recently during a "joint environment" briefing. The chief retired from the Air Force in 2009 after a career that spanned more than 30 years. He pointed to Operation Enduring Freedom as an illustration. U.S. Army Special Forces, with close air support from the Air Force, along with Navy and Marine Corps assets, coordinated operations of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan against the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies. Air Force Master Sgt. Bart Decker summoned close air support from B-52s while riding a horse in the mountains of Afghanistan, Chief Humphrey said. Another example was Operation Anaconda in March 2002, in which U.S. conventional military and special operations forces and CIA paramilitary officers, working with Afghan military forces plus NATO and non-NATO forces, attacked Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. Air Force Technical Sgt. John Chapman, attached to a Navy SEAL team, was awarded the Air Force Cross posthumously for heroic actions in an assault on a heavily fortified position during that campaign, Chief Humphrey related. "Sometimes you may have to step up and do other things, such as run and shoot." During Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Air Force assisted the Army with its trucking assignments, even going so far as to develop a combat convoy course. "Airmen training Airmen to do combat missions," Chief Humphrey said. "It's a perfect example of working outside your career field," said Chief Humphrey, who now is an evaluator at the Tinker AFB Fitness Assessment Cell. Of the 56 Air Force senior NCO inductees who answered a survey that Chief Humphrey circulated, fully two-thirds of them said they've been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan. One of the NCOs, Master Sgt. Pamela Hines of Tinker's 72nd Security Forces Squadron, said she was assigned to a prisoner detention center in Iraq for six months in 2006. Thirty percent of the survey respondents (17) said they'd been attached to other services at some point in their military careers. For instance, Master Sgt. Eric Streeter of the 552nd Air Control Wing said he once was stationed in Naples, performing antenna maintenance for NATO forces. Sergeant Streeter said he worked with Turkish and Italian personnel, among others, and his supervisor was a German captain. Special operations can involve direct action, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism activities, unconventional warfare, counterinsurgency, security forces assistance, and civil affairs operations, the Chief said. He should know. He worked closely with Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., for 13 years. Chief Humphrey was a member of the special ops force that eventually doubled the size of Task Force Ranger special forces operatives who were attacked by hundreds of Somali militiamen in Mogadishu in 1993. A U.S. Air Force pararescue, Technical Sgt. Tim Wilkinson, was wounded in the firefight and was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions. The bloody ordeal in Somalia was recounted in the book "Black Hawk Down" and the movie of the same name. A significant change to joint operations resulted from the failure of the Iranian hostage rescue effort, Chief Humphrey indicated. The U.S. Embassy in Tehran was overrun on Nov. 4, 1979, and 52 Americans were taken captive, he recalled. A rescue attempt on April 24, 1980 -- Operation Eagle Claw -- proved disastrous. Eight U.S. military personnel were killed and four were wounded; six U.S. helicopters were destroyed, abandoned or captured, and an MC-130 aircraft was destroyed. The hostages were finally released on Jan. 20, 1981, after 444-days of captivity. Subsequently the Counter-Terrorism Joint Task Force was established as a field agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief Humphrey said.