Developing Delta Force Medicine: A Vietnam Vet and Special Operations Surgeon

COL(R) Carl Savory graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1967 and was commissioned as an Infantry Officer. In 1968, he led the first federal troops into the Baltimore area following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. Volunteering for service in Vietnam, he served as a Platoon Leader in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Company Commander of "E", 20th Long Range Patrol, which in January 1969 was re-designated Company "C" Rangers, 75th Infantry. After Vietnam, he served in Germany in the 3rd Armored Division before returning to the University of Arizona for Medical School. Dr. Savory then served at Fort Bragg, and at the request of the Surgeon General and Colonel Charles Beckwith, the commander of Delta Force, he assumed the lead in establishing a medical support program for 1st Special Forces Operations Detachment (Delta). Dr. Savory was the chief medical officer on the failed Iranian hostage mission. He was the first Delta Force surgeon and later the next command surgeon of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Later, he served at Walter Reed and was part of the Long Commission, a blue ribbon panel appointed to investigate the Marine Corps barracks bombing in Beirut. Dr. Savory also returned to Vietnam, on behalf of President Reagan, to facilitate the resolution of POW/MIA issues. In 1990, he was recalled to active duty in support of the first Gulf War. During the invasion of Iraq, he was assigned to the 274th Forward Airborne Surgical Team, attached to 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry Division. Upon completion of the Gulf War, he returned to private practice. In this interview, he talks about his deployment to Vietnam, becoming an Army Doctor, the Long Commission, and being reactivated for Desert Storm. He discusses, at length, serving in Baltimore in 1968 following Dr. King’s assassination and his participation in Desert 1, the failed Iranian hostage rescue attempt.