The Essence of Courage

By Hugh Sidey

The Presidency

On the afternoon of April 24, the sun poured down on an Egyptian airfield where six C-130 transports squatted. The men who would fly the planes to Iran and those who would storm the U.S. embassy compound milled around the craft. The rescue force commander stood in the open beside the elaborate communications gear that linked the tense unit with the White House, the Pentagon and a collection of technical groups spread halfway around the world.

The officer, a veteran of much combat, looked out over the field and felt something entirely different from anything he had felt before when he had fought with armies beside him and behind him. These troops were going alone into a world of 35 million suspicious and hostile people. No other nation had ever tried a military operation so distant and complex. The idea of failure was acknowledged but locked away. It had to be. The belief that success can be achieved in such an exploit may be 60% of the effort. It is a beautiful scene, thought the officer as he swept his eyes far down the horizon, taking in each airplane. He mused as a warrior, sensing not the horrors of battle that might be coming but the pride and honor the men felt to be there, the singular essence of courage that only those who do such things can fully understand.

The time ticked away in long seconds toward that moment when the signal would come that the mission was on. The commander received his orders. The soldiers and airmen were watching his face. He turned and jammed his fist into the air with his thumb up. Shouts shattered the stillness. It was a brief burst. There were no bands and no U.S. flags. The next stir was the big turbo props coming to life--then the transports lifting off into tragedy.

History will sort out the reasons why the mission failed. The experts in hindsight are thunderous now. There will be theories and reasons stated with the certitude that critics can always put on paper. But the mission might have succeeded. It might have succeeded because the extraordinary men who put it together thought it could. They calculated thousands of human and mechanical contingencies and provided for them in their preparations. But always in these things providence demands a part, and no human can reckon with that hand. Washington, Jackson, Custer, Doolittle risked and won--and sometimes lost. God knows why, and we are not going to know finally this time.

It is so easy not to attempt such missions. That is the worry now among men who must provide for the security of the U.S. Terrorism is based on the willingness of those who terrorize to take high risks. To confront it demands risks. And no crisis will ever be quite the same as the one before.

The mission's planners tried to allow not only for all the technical strains, but also for the human factors. Phone calls and letters from the members of the mission were monitored. They were allowed to go home for Christmas to keep their families unsuspecting. Men were judged for their compatibility with the machines they would use. Ten or so were squeezed out of the task force when their resolve softened. The planners studied the mentality of the Soviets and were able to fool them, even though elements of the rescue force were maneuvering right beside them. The entire task force discussed the regional politics, the American cause, the likely response of the Iranians and the world. They knew they were the vanguard in a new era of unrest. There was the conviction among those men that the nation had to try, that if the U.S. ever stopped doing such things, the future would be even more dangerous.

Too gung-ho? ask the critics. Spirit is the fundamental strength in those who fight. Otherwise, forget it. When they came in on that morning there was no bitching, no real despair. When they spilled out of the C-130s they were ordered to line up like soldiers and give their name, rank and serial number. The men quietly obeyed their orders, eyes showing profound disappointment. But, the commander noticed, no chins were down. That, he thought, is a beautiful sight in the world of those who go to fight.

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