In 1979, Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran and held the embassy staff hostage; the first rescue operation, code-named Eagle Claw ended in failure due to equipment and coordination problems, culminating in the crash of a RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter into a parked C-130 Hercules in the Iranian desert, killing eight servicemen. A second rescue attempt, Operation Honey Badger, was ordered, and Brown was involved in planning and preparation. The follow-up rescue included U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Army assets. The Army units involved were the battalions that made up the 101st Aviation Group: the 158th Aviation Battalion, the 229th Aviation Battalion and the 159th Aviation Battalion. All three battalions formed Task Force 158. President Carter meanwhile appointed the former Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral James L. Holloway, III, to head a commission to study the deficiencies revealed by the failure of Eagle Claw. Among the presented findings was the fact that the military lacked aircraft and crews who were trained and prepared to perform these mission types.