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Thomas F. Kovach
405 Anthony Branch Drive
Mount Juliet, TN 37122-4028
h: (615) 470-5211
c: (615) 852-0823
[email protected]
Friday, 30 June 2017
AFSFC/SFOP
1517 Billy Mitchell Blvd Bldg 954
Lackland AFB, TX 78236
Re: suggested addition to AFM 31-201, Security Forces History
Dear Sir or Madam:
While researching another topic online, I discovered the above-referenced AF Manual. I'm
glad to see that someone has developed such a document, as the maintenance of our SP/SF
history and culture is an important aspect of warfighting preparation.
I'd like to suggest the addition of a paragraph in Section 2.4, "The 1980s". At that time, I was
involved in a little-known incident that is quintessential to the SP/SF mission. Here is the
text of the suggested paragraph.
On 4 November 1979, a large number of radical students (and others) stormed
the United States Embassy in the capital city of Tehran, Iran. Seven months
prior, that country had undergone a revolution that turned Iran overnight from
an ally to an enemy. The radicals took 52 members of the embassy staff as
hostages, and held them for 444 days. (They were released during the
inauguration speech of President Ronald Reagan.) During the "hostage
crisis" (as it came to be known), USAF Security Police were involved in a
number of supporting roles. High-level military leaders were already in the
process of creating a highly capable and highly mobile commando unit, and
the hostage crisis provided incentive to speed up that process. The result was
the creation of a unit that came to be known as Delta Force. They conducted
a raid into Iran to rescue the hostages. Although Operation EAGLE CLAW
ended disastrously on 24 April 1980, when a Marine Corps HH-53 helicopter
collided with a USAF KC-130 tanker at a desert landing zone in Iran, USAF
Security Police were stationed to guard forward support locations for the
extraction portion of the mission. Three weeks after Operation EAGLE
CLAW, an Iranian diplomatic team landed at Griffiss AFB, New York, and
was transported to the United Nations headquarters building in New York
City for negotiations with Donald McHenry, the US Ambassador to the
United Nations. While the diplomatic team was involved in the negotiations,
early on the morning of Sunday, 18 May 1980, the civilian navigator of the
Iran Air crew snuck away from Griffiss. An alert Security Policeman, Staff
Sgt. Tom Kovach, took a patrol car off-base and found the Iranian navigator
at the civilian airport several miles from the base. Greeting the navigator in
the Farsi language, Kovach escorted him back to Griffiss and turned the
navigator over to special agents of the Air Force Office of Special
Investigations (AFOSI). An agent later told Kovach that the navigator had
purchased an airline ticket to California. At the time the navigator was
caught, he was in line to board the airliner. Had the navigator not been found,
then the Iranians could have claimed that the United States had taken him
hostage to gain leverage in the negotiations. Although the charge would have
been untrue, it also would've been impossible to disprove without the
presence of the navigator. It is likely that the decisive actions of one USAF
Security Policeman prevented an international incident that could have cost
the lives of some or all of the 52 American hostages in Tehran. This incident
is proof that any moment of any day can become a pivotal moment for a
member of the USAF Security Forces.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and to consider including this little-known
incident in the rich history of our career field. During my career, one of the highlights
was getting to know then-Senior Master Sgt. Clyde Cochrane (he later retired as a Chief),
who in 1979 wrote the long-lasting version of AF Regulation 125-3, "The Security Police
Handbook". When we served together in Taegu, Korea, it was my pleasure to be able to
"pick his brain" over dinner at the All-Ranks Club there. As a result, I returned to the
States with a wealth of knowledge that I could not have gained otherwise. It was the
example of Sgt. Cochrane that showed me there is much more to our career field than
many people take the time to realize.
And, it was my experience on that foggy Sunday morning at Griffiss that caused me to
coin the saying, "Big doors swing on little hinges." That saying proved true repeatedly
during my career as a Security Policeman. (I also later invented the "Kovach Klip"
extender for the ALICE-gear pistol belt, and got a thank-you letter from General H.
Norman Schwarzkopf. When he was about to retire, and gave his famous "Thunder and
Lightning" speech at West Point, I was there. He was presented only two official gifts
from the West Point staff: an engraved saber from the Corps of Cadets, and a Kovach
Klip from the office of Public Affairs.)
Thanks, again, for your attention. I look forward to your reply.
/s/ Tom Kovach
www.TomKovach.US
former Staff Sgt., USAF Security Police
Mount Juliet, TN