Before 1983, Air Force special operations forces were primarily assigned to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and were generally deployed under the control of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) or, as had been the case during the Vietnam War, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). Just as it had relinquished control of the C-130 theater airlift fleet to Military Airlift Command (MAC) in 1975, TAC relinquished control of Air Force SOF to MAC in December 1982.
Several U.S. and Russian-built aircraft of the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center belonging to the 6th Special Operations SquadronMH-53J Pave Low III helicopters near Hurlburt Field, circa 2001; upgraded to MH-53M Pave Low IV configuration, the last examples were retired from AFSOC service in late 2008 and replaced by the CV-22B OspreyAC-130U Spooky gunship over Hurlburt FieldMC-130H Combat Talon II infiltration/exfiltration and aerial refueling aircraftMC-130J Commando II aircraft on the tarmac at the Lockheed Martin / Air Force Plant 6 facility at Dobbins ARB, GeorgiaEC-130J Commando Solo III psychological warfare/information warfare aircraft
The following list contains the flying and Special Tactics squadrons of the Air Force Special Operations Command:
Additionally, the Air Force Special Operations Command would gain the following units from Air Mobility Command or Air Combat Command aligned Air National Guard wings:[30]
Air Force Special Tactics Commandos training in Jordan
AFSOC has about 20,800 active-duty, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and civilian personnel.[32]
The command's SOF units are composed of highly trained, rapidly deployable airmen who are equipped with specialized aircraft. These forces conduct global special operations missions ranging from precision application of firepower, to infiltration, aviation foreign internal defense, exfiltration, resupply and aerial refueling of SOF operational elements.
In addition to the pilots, combat systems officers, and enlisted aircrew who fly AFSOC's aircraft, there is a highly experienced support force of maintenance officers and enlisted aircraft maintenance personnel who maintain these complex aircraft and their support systems, a cadre of premier intelligence officers and enlisted intelligence specialists well versed in special operations, as well as logisticians, security forces and numerous other support officers and personnel.
Another aspect of AFSOC is Special Tactics, the U.S. Air Force's special operations ground force. Similar in ability and employment to Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC), U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Tactics personnel are typically the first to enter combat and often find themselves deep behind enemy lines in demanding, austere conditions, usually with little or no support.
Due to the rigors of the career field, Special Tactics' year-long training is one of the most demanding in the military, with attrition rates between 80 and 90 percent. In an attempt to reduce the high attrition, Special Tactics is very selective when choosing their officers. Special Tactics Officers (STO) undergo a highly competitive process to gain entry into the Special Tactics career field, ensuring only the most promising and capable leaders are selected. STO leadership and role modeling during the difficult training reduces the attrition rate for enlisted trainees.
STO selection is a two-phase process. Beginning with Phase One, a board of veteran STOs reviews application packages consisting of letters of recommendation, fitness test scores, and narratives written by the applicants describing their career aspirations and reasons for applying. Based on Phase One performance, about eight to 10 applicants are invited to the next phase. Phase Two is a weeklong battery of evaluations, ranging from physical fitness and leadership to emotional intelligence and personality indicators. At the end of Phase Two, typically two to four applicants are selected to begin the year-plus Special Tactics training pipeline.
Aircraft
Current
AFSOC regularly operates the following aircraft:[33]
Additionally, AFSOC, through the 492nd Special Operations Wing (as of 2017, and the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center previously), possess and operates a small number of the following aircraft for its special training mission and Aviation Foreign Internal Defense (FID) missions:
New AC-130J and MC-130J aircraft based on the Lockheed Martin KC-130J Super Hercules tanker variant are being acquired and sent to certain AFSOC units. MC-130J aircraft have already entered service while the AC-130J continues developmental testing in preparation for an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) with AFSOC projected for FY 2017[35][36][37]
In August 1989, Gen Duane H. Cassidy, USAF, CINCMAC, divested 23 AF of its non-special operations units, e.g., search and rescue, weather reconnaissance, etc. Thus, 23 AF served a dual role: still reporting to MAC, but also functioning as the air component to USSOCOM.[12]
Operation Just Cause
From late December 1989 to early January 1990, 23 AF participated in the invasion of the Republic of Panama during Operation Just Cause. Special operations aircraft included both active duty AC-130H and Air Force Reserve AC-130A Spectre gunships, EC-130 Volant Solo psychological operations aircraft from the Air National Guard, HC-130P/N Combat Shadow tankers, MC-130E Combat Talons, and MH-53J Pave Low and MH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. Special tactics Combat Controllers and Pararescuemen provided important support to combat units.[12]
Spectre gunship crews of the 1 SOW earned the Mackay Trophy and Tunner Award for their efforts, with an Air Force Reserve AC-130A Spectre crew from the 919th Special Operations Group (919 SOG) earning the President's Award. An active duty 1st SOW MC-130 Combat Talon crew ferried the captured Panamanian President, Manuel Noriega, to prison in the United States. Likewise, the efforts of the 1 SOW maintenance people earned them the Daedalian Award.[12]
On 22 May 1990, General Larry D. Welch, USAF, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, redesignated Twenty-Third Air Force as Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). This new major command consisted of three wings: the 1st, 39th and 353rd Special Operations Wings as well as the 1720th Special Tactics Group (1720 STG), the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School, and the Special Missions Operational Test and Evaluation Center.[12]
Currently, after major redesignations and reorganizations, AFSOC direct reporting units include the 16th Special Operations Wing, the 352nd Special Operations Group, the 353rd Special Operations Group, the 720th Special Tactics Group (720 STG), the USAF Special Operations School and the 18th Flight Test Squadron (18 FLTS). During the early 1990s a major reorganization occurred within AFSOC. The 1720 STG became the 720 STG in March 1992; the transfer of ownership of Hurlburt Field from Air Mobility Command (AMC, and formerly MAC) to AFSOC in October 1992, followed by the merger of the 834th Air Base Wing (834 ABW) into the 1 SOW, which assumed host unit responsibilities. A year later the 1 SOW became the 16 SOW in a move to preserve Air Force heritage.[39]
Meanwhile, the Special Missions Operational Test and Evaluation Center (SMOTEC), which explored heavy liftfrontiers in special operations capabilities, while pursuing better equipment and tactics development, was also reorganized. In April 1994, the Air Force, in an effort to standardize these types of organizations, redesignated SMOTEC as the 18th Flight Test Squadron (18 FLTS).[citation needed]
Gulf War
From early August 1990 to late February 1991, AFSOC participated in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, the protection of Saudi Arabia and liberation of Kuwait. Special tactics personnel operated throughout the theater on multiple combat control and combat rescue missions.
Special operations forces performed direct action missions, combat search and rescue, infiltration, exfiltration, air base ground defense, air interdiction, special reconnaissance, close air support, psychological operations, and helicopter air refuelings. Pave Low crews led the helicopter assault on radars to blind Iraq at the onset of hostilities, and they also accomplished the deepest rescue for which they received the Mackay Trophy.[40]
MC-130E/H Combat Talons dropped the BLU-82, the largest conventional bombs of the war and, along with MC-130P Combat Shadows, dropped the most psychological warfare leaflets, while AC-130A and AC-130H Spectre gunships provided valuable fire support and armed reconnaissance. However, the AC-130 community also suffered the single greatest combat loss of coalition air forces with the shoot down of an AC-130H, call sign Spirit 03, by an Iraqi SA-7 Grail surface-to-air missile. All fourteen crew members aboard Spirit 03 were killed.[41][42]
Then-MSgt Bart Decker from the 23rd STS, on horseback in the Balkh valley, during the initial days of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon, Washington D.C., on 11 September 2001 pushed the United States special operations forces to the forefront of the war against terrorism. By the end of September 2001, AFSOC deployed forces to southwest Asia for Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan to help destroy the al Qaeda terrorist organization and remove the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. AFSOC airpower delivered special tactics forces to the battle ground and they in turn focused U.S. airpower and allowed Afghanistan's Northern Alliance ground forces to dispatch the Taliban and al Qaeda from Afghanistan. AFSOC personnel also deployed to the Philippines to help aid that country's efforts against terrorism.[43]
In March 2003, AFSOC again deployed forces to southwest Asia this time in support of what would become Operation Iraqi Freedom – the removal of Saddam Hussein and his Baathist government. The command's personnel and aircraft teamed with SOF and conventional forces to quickly bring down Saddam Hussein's government by May 2003. AFSOC forces continued to conduct operations in support of the new Iraqi government against insurgents and terrorists.[43]
Interoperability and Multinational trainings
The USAFSOC takes part in the multinational trainings at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre in which it trains in multiple scenarios with partner nations in order to increase interoperability between partner forces.[45]
Commanders
AFSOC has had eleven commanders since its inception in 1990.
^Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Naval Imaging Command. 1988-ca. 1993 (Predecessor); Department of Defense. Defense Audiovisual Agency (Predecessor); Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994– (12 May 1983). Approved insignia for: 23rd Air Force. Series: Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files, 1921–2008. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018 – via US National Archives Research Catalog.((cite book)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Haas, Michael E., "Apollo’s Warriors: US Air Force Special Operations during the Cold War", Air University Press, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, 1997, page 36.
^Haas, Apollo's Warriors: U.S. Special Operations During the Cold War
^"24th SOW units". 24th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs. 20 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
^ abc"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN978-1472807908, pp. 184–185
^Trest, Warren A., "Air Commando One: Heinie Aderholt And America's Secret Air Wars", Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., London, 2000, LCCN99--5364, ISBN978-1560988076
Further reading
Chinnery, Philip D. Any Time, Any Place: Fifty Years of the USAF Air Commando and Special Operations Forces, 1944–1994. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, 1994. ISBN1557500371
Haas, Michael E. Apollo's Warriors: U.S. Air Force Special Operations During the Cold War. 2002, University Press of the Pacific, Honolulu. ISBN978-1410200099.
Marquis, Susan L. Unconventional Warfare: Rebuilding U.S. Special Operations Forces. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1997. ISBN0815754760
Pushies, Fred J. Deadly Blue Battle Stories of the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. New York: American Management Assoc, 2009. Books24x7. ISBN978-0814413616
Sine, William F. Guardian Angel: Life and Death Adventures with Pararescue, the World's Most Powerful Commando Rescue Force. Havertown, Pa: Casemate, 2012. ISBN978-1612001227
United States of America
United States Air Force
United States Special Operations Command
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