An Evening in the Desert with Operation Eagle Claw | News [Video]

It’s often referred to as one of the most successful failures in the history of the U.S. military.

Operation Eagle Claw was an ill-fated mission on April 24, 1980, to rescue Americans held captive at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran.

The mission exposed the deficiencies in mission planning, command and control and inter-service operability within the U.S. military at the time, thus prompting changes within the Department of Defense that remain in effect today, to include the establishment of the Joint Special Operations Command and later the U.S. Special Operations Command and the creation of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

Seven Army Delta Force veterans who took part in Operation Eagle Claw will be in Huntsville next week to share their experiences. This will mark the first time this group …