Task Force Hawk
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Task Force Hawk was a U.S. military unit constructed and deployed by General
Wesley Clark Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree ...
to provide additional support to NATO's
Operation Allied Force The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
against the Yugoslavian government during the 1999 unrest in the Serbian province of
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
. The task force was to operate from the March 1999 until June 1999 when
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
withdrew the Yugoslavian Army from
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
. Task Force Hawk, which never fired a round, has been hailed as both one of the largest blunders and largest successes by the U.S. military in recent years. This action has been reviewed and analyzed from every angle to determine what went right and what went wrong.


Planning / pre-deployment

Planning for Task Force Hawk did not start until 20 March 1999 in Grafenwöhr, Germany; even though, the planning for Operation Allied Force had begun in the winter of 1998. General Clark and Admiral James O. Ellis, while at the Warfighter Exercise, discussed how to utilize the Apaches to augment the Air Force assets poised to strike in four days. The Army's planners would be strapped for time to put together a plan to deploy a mission that had never been employed by an AH-64 Apache unit. Instead of supporting ground troops the Apaches would be supporting Air Force missions. General Clark's vision for the unit was to destroy the Yugoslavian units stationed in Kosovo supporting the Serbian police force. The Yugoslavian units were not formed in the
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
or
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
sized formations but rather spread out through the countryside. This made acquiring the targets and relaying the information to bomber units who couldn't spot them easily. It was projected that the Apache units would be able to identify and eliminate these targets more efficiently, due to their effectiveness in the first
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
. The Apaches would be supported by MLRS units conducting SEAD missions. General Clark's hope was that by eliminating a large enough portion of the Serbian forces would force Yugoslavian government to end the conflict. General Clark would face opposition to this opinion from several members of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
. By 22 March 1999, the planners would be finished with the initial plans for operation. These plans projected that the forces would be deployed to Macedonia, but the Macedonian government refused to allow offensive
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
operations to be launched from their country. "Army planners in Germany learned the mission would probably be cancelled on the Friday before Easter." Many soldiers would be given their first day off in weeks due to the Warfighter Exercise, hasty redeployment from Grafenwöhr, and preparations for deployment on Task Force Hawk; however, on 3 April, General Clark would decide to deploy the task force. It was announced on 4 April 1999 by the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
that Task Force Hawk would be deployed to Albania to assist in Operation Allied Force. The original size of the task force was estimated at 2000 but had to be increased due to the lack of force protection that was present in Albania.


Deployment

Many units would begin the movement to
Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...
in
Ramstein-Miesenbach Ramstein-Miesenbach is a town in the district of Kaiserslautern in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, adjacent to the U.S. Ramstein Air Base. History As a result of the State of Rheinland-Pfalz administrative reform, Ramstein-Miesenbach, which ...
, Germany, the main departure point as many of the units were part of
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...
. The airlift was directed by the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Operations Control Center (AMOCC) at the Ramstein Air Base, who was also coordinating the relief effect flights to Rinas. The Air Force would utilize the
C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
instead of
C-5 Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-ran ...
to deploy the Task Force to
Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
's Rinas Mother Teresa Airport airfield due to the runway length, taxiway, and ramp requirements. The short runway length would not be the only challenge for the deployment at Rinas. Operation Shining Hope was also utilizing the airfield to spearhead the humanitarian effects for the refugees of the war. The limited number of runways would only allow 20 sorties to be flown in the base per day. It would take 200 sorties to deploy full complement of equipment. Despite this being the first time that the
United States Transportation Command The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and was established in 1987. The USTRANSCO ...
"gave a theater tactical control of a significant number of strategic airlift aircraft for a specific deployment, General Montegomery C. Meigs later called one of the most successful airlift operations in history." The Apaches self deployed from Illesheim, Germany in support of Task Force Hawk. The route taken was dictated by the fact that Austria and Switzerland would not allow use of their airspace due to the aircraft deploying to an armed conflict. The aircraft had to circumnavigate those two countries by first flying west into France around the western end of the Alps. From the southeast corner of France the flight turned south towards the Mediterranean Sea to follow the coast into northwest Italy where the aircraft and crews were made to wait for several days until the assembly area at Tirana airport was prepared for their arrival. (The ground was very soft and became quite muddy when driven over by army vehicles. The assembly area was not on a hard surface, positioned immediately west of the runway in the grass. The aircraft would have sunk up to their bellys if perforated steel planking had not been laid down. A mile long wood sidewalk had to be constructed to allow the flight and maintenance crews to walk from the assembly area to the aircraft parking area without sinking in the mud.) Once the assembly area was built up enough to support the aircraft, the crews were given the go-ahead to continue south, down and across the Italian peninsula to the Brindisi airport where the aircraft were armed, and provisions made for the crews, for the flight over the open water of the Adriatic sea to Tirana. Soldiers from the Task Force were also tasked with providing base security, establishing two Forward Operating Bases. The exact function of these FOB's are not quite known other by the military personnel stationed on them.


Units deployed

* Task Force Command Group (
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...
Headquarters) ** V Corps Artillery Headquarters *** U.S. 41st Field Artillery Brigade – Headquarters **** 1st Battalion, 27th Field Artillery (MLRS) **** A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery, 212th Brigade (MLRS) ** 12th Aviation Brigade *** 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment (Two squadrons of Apache pilots, one squadron of AH-64A Apache Attack Helicopters) *** F Company, 159th Aviation Regiment, Big Windy (minus) CH-47D Chinook helicopters and aviation maintenance/support *** 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (minus) - UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and aviation maintenance/support *** 4th Air Support Operations Squadron - Air Force Liaison Element to V Corps *** A Company, 3rd Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment - Air Traffic Services personnel ** 2d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division *** C Company, 47th Forward Support Battalion (FSB) *** 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) *** C Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment *** A Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, (M109A6) *** Field Artillery Target Acquisition Section, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, *** 2nd Platoon, B Battery, 1st Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (M2A2 Bradley) *** D Battery, 1st Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (Avenger) *** 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, augmented by: **** A and C Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment **** C Battery, 1st Battalion, 319th Field Artillery, (M119) **** 2nd Platoon, C Company, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division ** V Corps Support Group *** 32nd Signal Battalion (MSE) ****HQs ****A Company (Node Center 2) ****C Company ****D Company (Long Haul Platoons) *** 615th Military Police Company *** 3rd Platoon, 212th Military Police Company ** Psychological Operations Detachment ** Special Operations Command and Control Element 1st Combat Camera Sq.- Charleston AFB SC 515th Transportation Company DD-SD-00-02699.jpg, A C-17 Globemaster III offloads equipment at Rinas Airport, Tirana, Albania on 18 April 1999. Defense.gov News Photo 990421-F-2095R-004.jpg, An AH-64A Apache attack helicopter from Task Force Hawk landing at Rinas Airport on 21 April 1999. Task Force Hawk, Rinas Airport in Tirana, Albania, April 25, 1999.jpg, UH-60 Blackhawk and AH-64A Apache landing on 25 April 1999. Rinas Airfield Hawk AH-64 Task force 1999.jpg, Muddy ground Coordinating aircraft traffic in Tirana.JPEG, Air traffic control 31 May 1999.


References

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External links


The first "Task Force Hawk": A 1989 Department of Defense news archive about Task Force Hawk training in the Panama Canal Zone.
Ad hoc units and formations of the United States Army Kosovo War