Fully retired. Keeping busy with writing, hiking, backpacking, rock and mountain climbing, mountain biking, snowshoeing, and alpine and backcountry skiing.
Questions That People Have Asked:
Why is my Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Badge placed below my jump wings in my retirement photo taken in November 1998? From the period when the EOD Badges were first authorized for wear in 1956 until 2005, the EOD Badges were placed in Special Skill Group 5. AR 670-1, dated 3 February 2005, now lists the EOD Badges in Special Skill Group 3, above the Parachutist Badge and the HALO Badge in Special Skills Group 4. This is where it should have been all along.
How was I awarded the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) for Operation URGENT FURY when I was EOD (at that time MOS 55D). Although my primary MOS was 55D, I was in an Infantry duty MOS 11B billet. Today, the enlisted Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) code for EOD is 89D. That change took place on 1 January 2005.
When and why did I transfer from EOD to Infantry MOS? As soon as I was promoted to Master Sergeant in the EOD MOS, I changed my MOS to Infantry on 11 July 1988 (19 years in EOD). I felt because of my duty assignments and ten years in 1st SFOD-D, I would be more competitive for Sergeant Major in the Infantry field. My duties in 1st SFOD-D and later JSOC were not affected by the change. This decision proved correct.
For my combat patch, Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI) that I wore on my right shoulder, I chose the United States Army, Vietnam (USARV) patch.
As for headgear, I wore a green beret with a U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) flash. The USASOC Distinguished Unit Insignia (DUI) is centered on the flash. Although I went through the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta (Airborne) Assessment and Selection Course and the complete Operator Training course, I was not Special Forces qualified, but I was airborne qualified.
The badge that I am wearing above my right breast pocket of my jacket is the Austrian (Österreich) Police Gendarmerie High Alpinists “Polizei Gendarmerie Hochalpinist” Badge (Abzeichen). I and five others from Delta trained with the Austrian GEK (Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando) Cobra on their ski mountaineering training course from 12 to 28 May 1984. We climbed and skied in the Glockner Group in the Austrian high (Hohe) Tauern. In 2002, GEK's name was changed to EKO (Einsatzkommando). The badge was presented by the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior on 28 May 1984. Under the provisions of Chapter 7, AR 672-5-1, and Public Law 95-105, Foreign Relations Authorization Act, I was authorized to accept and wear the badge. AR 670-1 permits the permanent wearing of one foreign badge. The order authorizing me to wear the badge is a DAPC-PDA order dated 12 March 1987.
My Army dress uniform is now on display at the U.S. Army Ordnance Training Support Facility (OTSF) at Fort Gregg-Adams (formerly Fort Lee), Virginia.
The photos on the internet that identify me as being on General H. Norman Schwarzhopf, Jr., security detail during Operation DESERT STORM is not me. It is William F. "Bill" Cronin III, a friend and co-worker in Delta. I did not do any personal security during my time in Delta. I did conduct security/survivability assessments within the United States and world-wide during my time in Delta. My assignment during Operation DESERT STORM was the assault on Taji #2, the two-story cut-and-cover Iraqi Command and Control (C2) facility located approximately 15 nautical miles northwest of Baghdad. The Air Force had dropped 60 2,000-pound BLU-109/B on it without damaging it. We were to breach it and destroy it in a ground attack. On the last day of the war, it was partially taken out by the newly developed 4,700-pound GBU-28/B. During Operation DESERT STORM I was located in Ar'ar, Saudi Arabia.
My interests are spelunking, rock climbing, and mountaineering. During my time on active-duty I was a professional member of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), American Alpine Club (AAC), and the National Speleological Society (NSS). I was also nationally registered as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). I first learned to rock climb in 1967, when I attended Exum Mountaineering School at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Other Comments:
Recipient of The Order of 1st SFOD-D - Delta Colors, Serial Number 123, on 19 October 1995, for singularly exemplary contributions to 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta (Airborne). Graduate of Operator Training Course -1 (OTC-1). In Delta, I served as an Operator, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician, Master Breacher, Climbing Instructor, and Mountain Guide. Assistant Historian for the National Explosive Ordnance Disposal Association (NATEODA). Assist the EOD Warrior Foundation with historical EOD research. Received the 2013 Art Macksey Citizenship Award presented by the Vietnam EOD Veterans Association. Inducted into the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame, Class of 2018.
Family:
Married to Donna L. Ikenberry, a freelance photojournalist. We have two daughters, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. The oldest two grandchildren had served in the U.S. Navy. We currently have one grandson in the U.S. Army. On 1 June 2018, Donna was awarded the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps "Keeper of the Flame" award.
Interviews: I have given several podcast interviews; BBC Radio 4, Hazard Ground, SOFREP Radio, The After Action Review,The Team House, Shaping Opinion, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Warrior Foundation (EODWF), American Warrior Radio, Late Night History, The Blue Falcon Broadcast, The Reconnaissance Cast, D.B. Cooper Vortex, and Mother of Tanks.
Ten years after Operation EAGLE CLAW, the Iran Hostage Rescue Mission was declassified. The mission took place from 24-25 April 1980. From 13 October 1992 to 29 April 1993, I was part of USSOCOM Special Operations Forces Strategic Potential briefings under General Carl Stiner. Twenty some special operations personnel and I went around the country giving this presentation to the civilian populace. John T. Carney, Jr., USAF George C. Ferkes, USAF and I gave the Iran Hostage Rescue Mission portion of the presentation.
I gave an audio BBC Radio4 interview on Operation EAGLE CLAW. In the photo on the website we are debarking from a C-141 at Wadi Kena, Egypt following the rescue attempt. I am the person in the photo on the far right.
I gave two audio podcast interviews for Hazard Ground. Hazard Ground is a free military oral history website on iTunes. Service members from across the military share their accounts of combat and survival. The program is hosted by sports talk radio host and Army veteran, Mark Zinno and Producer Matthew Pascarella. This podcast brings inspirational stories of service and resiliency from those who have fought on and off the battlefield.
The main subject I was asked to talk about on 26 February 2018 was Operation EAGLE CLAW, the 1980, Iran hostage rescue attempt and Operation URGENT FURY, the 1983 invasion of Grenada. This interview was Special Operations oriented. During this interview I discussed the mission to rescue 53 American hostages and the tragic accident at Desert One where eight members of the rescue force were killed. For Grenada, I discussed the air assault on Richmond Hill Prison to rescue the political prisoners held there. The mission resulted in one aircrew member being killed, seven were wounded, and our assault force suffered 17 wounded.
My next interview was on 9 July 2018 and was more EOD oriented. In this interview I will discuss the May 1970 capture and destruction of the 327-ton weapons and ammunition cache in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, known as "Rock Island East. The capture of the cache resulted in seven American deaths and 20 wounded, and before that was over three more killed. I also talk about the Secret Service support that resulted in the death of my teammate SGM Ken Foster in 1976, and the 1996 Khobar Towers, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia truck bombing where 19 Air Force personnel were killed, 488 casualties (109 seriously wounded). I was the explosive investigator for the Department of Defense and part of the Downing Assessment Force, plus more. I also talked about my support to the FBI during the 1987 Atlanta prison riots, Operation POCKET PLANNER.
Note: If you don't have iTunes loaded on your computer or device, you can download the free iTune program from the above site. The iTunes program is 248 MB and free. Hazard Ground audio podcasts are free.
Their website: Hazard Ground Podcast Series - Apple Podcasts
I gave two audio podcast interviews for SOFREP Radio with Jack Murphy. The links below will connect you to iTunes Store.
Their website: Connecting to the iTunes Store.
I gave a video podcast interview for The Team House hosted by Jack Murphy and Dave Parke. The Team House is a weekly stream featuring interviews with military veterans and other experts in their field. The links below will connect you to the interview.
Their website: (4) The Team House - YouTube
8. The Team House video podcast interview #1, Episode #40, Delta Force Plank Owner, 1 May 2020, 2 hours and 19 minutes. This one has over 248,000 views:
My interview: Delta Force Plank Owner SGM Mike Vining, Ep. 40
9. Podcast #14, Behind the Warrior – Historian, EOD Veteran and World Traveler, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Warrior Foundation (EODWF). Interviewed by Sherri Beck and Mike Mack, website: PODCAST|EOD Warrior Foundation
16. The Reconnaissance Cast - Live interviewed by Cecil “Bud” Gibson on a little bit about everything. I tried to cover topics in my career that I have not talked about in the previous interviews.
17. The Cooper Vortex – Episode 75 - Interview with Darren Schaefer on my opinion of the D.B. “Dan” Cooper bomb and my opinion on his jumping out of the B-727 aircraft in flight.
19. Co-interview with Brian Castner (Air Force EOD Veteran and book author) with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Warrior Foundation (EODWF). Interviewed by Maria Schabla, website: https://eodwarriorfoundation.org/behind-the-warrior-podcast/
22. YouTube Short - American Military Network: 1 January 2025. How did your uncle become one of the baddest men in Delta Force? Delta Force legend Mike Vining took on some of the most daring missions in military history, showcasing fearless resolve in rescues, riot control, and high-stakes combat deep behind enemy lines. Length: 50 seconds. Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/z5g-bnGAqrM?si=mlyJhifHB6mv5GyO
Description Operation Uphold Democracy (19 September 1994 – 31 March 1995) was an intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by the 31 July 1994 United Nations Security Council Resolution 940.
The U.S.-led, multinational effort to create a safe and secure environment and support the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti, was conducted from September 1994 through March 1996. In excess of 20,000 American service men and women from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, in conjunction with approximately 5,000 non-U.S. forces from 24 nations, served as part of the Multinational Force, and later, United Nations Mission in Haiti. Upon direction of President Bill Clinton, the operation was conducted by U.S. Atlantic Command, in Norfolk, Va.
President Aristide was elected in December 1990 as the first democratically-elected head of state in Haitian history. Seven months after taking office in February 1991, President Aristide was overthrown in a coup led by Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, the head of the Forces Armees d'Haiti (FAd'H). This eventually would be the impetus for renewed U.S. operational involvement in Haiti.
A United Nations international embargo began in late June 1993. In support of the international embargo, USACOM activated Joint Task Force 120 in mid-October to conduct maritime interdiction operations and increase pressure on the illegitimate government of Haiti. To provide humanitarian assistance to more than 21,000 Haitians escaping by sea from political strife, USACOM established a second JTF, JTF 160, on May 18, 1994. The mission of JTF 160 included migrant interdiction and processing, both at sea and at designated migrant camp sites ashore. The largest of these migrant camp sites was at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On July 31 the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorizing the U.S. to use "all means necessary" to remove Haiti's military-backed government. As military forces began final preparations for an invasion, President Bill Clinton dispatched a negotiating team to Haiti to avert an invasion. The team was headed by former President Jimmy Carter, and included former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Colin Powell, and Senator Sam Nunn, D-Ga., former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
With U.S. invasion forces enroute to Haiti the evening of September 18, Lt. Gen. Cedras relayed his decision to relinquish control and ultimately leave Haiti through the Carter mission. The following morning U.S. forces began a peaceful entry into Haiti.
Over the next six months, significant accomplishments of the U.S.-led MultinationalForce (MNF) included: ensuring the peaceful restoration of President Aristide; helping standup a fragile Government in Haiti; fostering a safe and secure environment; initiating a weapons buy-back program; eliminating arms caches; restoration of electrical power and commercial communications; commencing police force training; overseeing the return of Haitian migrants from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and establishing conditions for democratic elections.
On March 31, 1995, the MNF transferred command to United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) forces. Under UNMIH, forces continued to maintain a secure and stable environment which facilitated free and fair democratic elections. In addition, civil engineering projects such as repairing schools, roads, bridges, water wells, and distribution systems were undertaken, and thousands of tons of donated materials and supplies were distributed.
On June 25, UNMIH forces provided support and security for Haiti's first round of national parliamentary free elections since the restoration of President Aristide to office.
The last Haitian migrant selected for repatriation from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was returned to Port-au-Prince October 16, 1995. Approximately 75,000 Haitians had been repatriated since the beginning of the maritime interdiction operation; more than 21,000 of which were processed through migrant facilities at Guantanamo Bay.
On December 17, Haiti conducted presidential elections, again with UNMIH forces providing support and security. Former Prime Minister Rene Preval won handily and was inaugurated February 7, 1996, as Haiti's second democratically elected president, succeeding President Aristide.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
September / 1994
To Month/Year
December / 1994
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Joint Special Operation Task Force - 188, aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. America (CV-66), Haiti, while assigned to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).
