ABSTRACT
Americans awoke on 25 April to learn of the President's speech in the wee hours of the morning in which he announced the rescue attempt and accepted personal responsibility for its failure. What is clear is that the failure at Desert One helped to change the way the United States military does business—routinely and when we're at war. Helicopter crew selection and performance remain the most controversial element of Eagle Claw's history. The tendency to overestimate Iranian intelligence and intercept capabilities sprang from the mission's overriding concern with operational security. The Holloway Report felt that an intelligence task force run by the Defense Intelligence Agency would have eased the burden for Major General Vaught and his J-2. The Holloway group provided a catalyst for efforts to reorganize the Department of Defense, as finally realized in the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols legislation.
