Air Force Combat Controllers at Desert One: April 24-25, 1980‪.‬

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 1979, Iran was in the midst of an Islamic revolution. After thirty-seven years of rule that many Iranians characterized as secular, immoral, and repressive, a growing instability at the start of the year led the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, to flee to Egypt. Soon after, two million cheering Iranians welcomed a radical cleric, the Ayatollah Khomeini, as he returned from exile to become the country's new ruler. Following President Jimmy Carter's decision to allow the Shah to enter the U.S. for medical treatment, on November 4, 1979, Iranian radicals stormed the American Embassy in Tehran, taking some sixty Americans hostage. The resulting crisis would serve as the backdrop for a dramatic rescue attempt resulting in tragedy at a desolate Iranian desert site and would end Carter's chances for a second term. Much ink has been spilled over the mission but, to my knowledge, nothing has been written on the role of the U.S. Air Force Combat Control Team (CCT) at Desert One. (1)