Air Force Special Operations Command

United States Air Force Special Operations Command
Air Force Special Operations Command Emblem
Active	22 May 1990 – present
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Special Operations
Role	Conduct global special operations missions ranging from precision application of firepower to infiltration, aviation foreign internal defense, exfiltration, resupply and refueling of SOF operational elements
Size	18,000
Part of	20px United States Special Operations Command
Garrison/HQ	Hurlburt Field, Florida
Motto	"Any Time, Any Place"
Engagements	Invasion of Panama Gulf War Unified Task Force Operation Gothic Serpent Battle of Mogadishu Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Enduring Freedom War in Afghanistan Iraq War
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant General Bradley Heithold

United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is the special operations component of the United States Air Force and the U.S. Air Force component command to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), a unified combatant command located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. AFSOC provides Air Force Special Operations Forces (SOF) for worldwide deployment and assignment to regional unified combatant commands.

AFSOC was initially established on 10 February 1983 as Twenty-Third Air Force (23 AF), a subordinate numbered air force of the Military Airlift Command (MAC), with 23 AF headquarters established at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

On 22 May 1990, 23 AF was redesignated as AFSOC and became a separate major command (MAJCOM) responsible for all USAF special operations forces (SOF), aircraft and personnel in the Regular Air Force, and the operational "gaining command" for all USAF SOF, aircraft and personnel in the Air Force Reserve (AFRES)...AFRES subsequently being redesignated the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) in 1997...and the Air National Guard (ANG).

Predecessor special operations

World War II

• 1st Air Commando Group: Late 1943 – November 1945

• Operation Carpetbagger: Early 1944 – July 1945

Korean War

• Air Resupply and Communications Service: 23 February 1951 – 12 October 1956

• Combined Command Reconnaissance Activities, Korea: December 1951 – December 1953

• B Flight, 6167th Operations Squadron: 1 April 1952 – 31 December 1953

• 6004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron: c. March 1951 – 1955

• 6006th Air Intelligence Service Squadron: c. 1953 – 1955

• 22nd Crash Rescue Boat Squadron: c. July 1952 – 1954

• 581st Air Supply and Communications Wing: July 1951 – September 1955

• 582nd Air Supply and Communications Wing

• 580th Air Supply and Communications Wing

Early Cold War era

• 129th Air Resupply Group: April 1955 – c. 1975

• 130th Air Resupply Group: October 1955 – c. 1960

• 135th Air Resupply Group: August 1955 – c. 1971

• 143rd Special Operations Group: November 1955 – 1975

• 1045th Observation, Evaluation, and Training Group: 23 February 1951 – 1 January 1954

Vietnam War era

• Jungle Jim

• Farm Gate

• Operation Waterpump

• Raven Forward Air Controllers

• Project 404

• Palace Dog

• 56th Air Commando Wing

Late Cold War era

• 4400th Combat Crew Training Group

• 1st Special Operations Wing

• 23rd Air Force

Lineage

• Established as Twenty-Third Air Force on 10 February 1983

Activated on 1 March 1983

• Redesignated Air Force Special Operations Command, with the status of a major command, on 22 May 1990

Assignments

• Tactical Air Command, April 1961 – 9 February 1983
• Military Airlift Command, 10 February 1983 – 22 May 1990

Stations

• Scott AFB, Illinois, 1 March 1983
• Hurlburt Field, Florida, 1 August 1987 – present

Components

• Air Forces Special Operations (later, 623d Air and Space Operations Center): 13 Dec 2005 – 1 Jan 2008
• Twenty-Third Air Force (Air Forces Special Operations Forces): 1 Jan 2008 – 4 April 2013
• AFSOC Operations Center: 4 April 2013 – present
• 2d Air Division, 1 March 1983 – 1 February 1987
• Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service, 1 March 1983 – 1 August 1989
• 1st Special Operations Wing (later, 16th Special Operations Wing; 1st Special Operations Wing), 1 February 1987 – present
• 24th Special Operations Wing, 12 June 2012 – present
• 27th Special Operations Wing, 1 Oct 2007 – present
• 41st Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance Wing, 1 October 1983 – 1 August 1989
• 352d Special Operations Wing, lineage from 39th Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Wing (later, 39th Special Operations Wing; 352d Special Operations Group), 1 October 1983 – present
• 353d Special Operations Group, lineage from 353d Special Operations Wing (later, 353d Special Operations Group), 6 April 1989 – present
• 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing: 1 January 1984 – 1 February 1990
• 720th Special Tactics Group: 1 October 1987 – 12 June 2012
• 724th Special Tactics Group: 29 Apr 2011 – 12 June 2012
• 1550th Aircrew Training and Test Wing (later, 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing): 1 October 1983 – 21 May 1990
• USAF Special Operations School, 1 February 1987 – 22 May 1990
• Air Force Special Operations Training Center, 8 October 2008 – 11 February 2013
• Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center, 11 February 2013 – present

Units

Air Force Special Operations Command OrBat

Several aircraft of the 1st Special Operations Wing belonging to the 6th Special Operations Squadron

AC-130U over Hurlburt Field

• AFSOC Operations Center, Hurlburt Field, Florida

23d Weather Squadron

• 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida

1st Special Operations Support Squadron

4th Special Operations Squadron, AC-130U Spooky

8th Special Operations Squadron, CV-22B Osprey

9th Special Operations Squadron (GSU at Eglin AFB, Florida, MC-130P Combat Shadow

11th Intelligence Squadron

Det 1, 11th Intelligence Squadron, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

15th Special Operations Squadron, MC-130H Combat Talon II

23d Special Operations Weather Squadron

34th Special Operations Squadron, U-28A

319th Special Operations Squadron, U-28A

• 24th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida

• 720th Special Tactics Group, Hurlburt Field, Florida

17th Special Tactics Squadron, Fort Benning, Georgia

21st Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina

22d Special Tactics Squadron, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

23d Special Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida

26th Special Tactics Squadron, Cannon AFB, New Mexico

720th Operations Support Squadron

• 724th Special Tactics Group, Pope Field (former Pope AFB), North Carolina

24th Special Tactics Squadron

724th Operations Support Squadron

724th Intelligence Squadron

724th Special Tactics Training Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida

• 27th Special Operations Wing, Cannon AFB, New Mexico

3d Special Operations Squadron, MQ-1 Predator

16th Special Operations Squadron, AC-130H Spectre

20th Special Operations Squadron, CV-22B Osprey

27th Special Operations Support Squadron

33d Special Operations Squadron, MQ-9 Reaper

43d Intelligence Squadron

56th Special Operations Intelligence Squadron

73d Special Operations Squadron, AC-130W Stinger II

318th Special Operations Squadron, U-28A, C-145A Skytruck

522d Special Operations Squadron, MC-130J Commando II

524th Special Operations Squadron C-146A

• 352d Special Operations Wing, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom (AFSOC support to USEUCOM, SOCEUR and USAFE)

7th Special Operations Squadron, CV-22B Osprey

67th Special Operations Squadron, MC-130J Commando II

321st Special Tactics Squadron

• 353d Special Operations Group, Kadena Air Base, Japan (AFSOC support to USPACOM, SOCPAC and PACAF)

1st Special Operations Squadron MC-130H Combat Talon II

17th Special Operations Squadron MC-130N/P Combat Shadow

320th Special Tactics Squadron

• Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center, Hurlburt Field, Florida

6th Special Operations Squadron, UH-1N Iroquois, Mi-8, C-130E Hercules, An-26, C-47T

18th Flight Test Squadron

Det 1, 18th Flight Test Squadron – GSU at Edwards AFB, California

19th Special Operations Squadron, AC-130, MC-130

371st Special Operations Combat Training Squadron

551st Special Operations Squadron, Cannon AFB, New Mexico

United States Air Force Special Operations School, Hurlburt Field, Florida

Air National Guard units

• 193d Special Operations Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, Harrisburg Air National Guard Base, Pennsylvania

193d Special Operations Squadron, EC-130J Commando Solo

150th Special Operations Flight, New Jersey Air National Guard, McGuire AFB, New Jersey; C-32B

• AFSOC-gained ANG units aligned under AMC-gained or ACC-gained ANG wings

123d Special Tactics Squadron, Kentucky Air National Guard, Louisville ANGB, Kentucky

125th Special Tactics Squadron, Oregon Air National Guard, Portland ANGB, Oregon

137th Special Operations Security Forces Squadron, Michigan Air National Guard, Selfridge ANGB, Michigan

280th Combat Communications Squadron, Alabama Air National Guard, Dothan Regional Airport ANGS, Alabama

209th Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron, Mississippi Air National Guard, Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, Mississippi

107th Weather Flight, Michigan Air National Guard, Selfridge ANGB, Michigan

146th Weather Flight, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania

181st Weather Flight, Texas Air National Guard, NAS Fort Worth JRB/Carswell Field, Texas

Air Force Reserve Command units

• 919th Special Operations Wing, Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3 / Duke Field, Florida

2d Special Operations Squadron (GSU at Hurlburt Field, Florida), MQ-9 Reaper

5th Special Operations Squadron, U-28

711th Special Operations Squadron, C-145A Skytruck

Personnel and resources

AFSOC has approximately 15,000 active-duty, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and civilian personnel.

The commander of AFSOC is Lieutenant General Bradley A. Heithold. Major General O.G. Mannon is Vice Commander, and Chief Master Sergeant Bill Turner is the Command Chief Master Sergeant, Air Force Special Operations Command.

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 refueling of SOF operational elements. The command's Special Tactics Squadrons are led by Special Tactics Officers (STOs). Special Tactics Squadrons combine Combat Controllers, TACP, Special Operations Weather Technicians, Pararescuemen and combat rescue officers to form versatile SOF teams. AFSOC's unique capabilities include airborne radio and television broadcast for psychological operations, as well as combat aviation advisors to provide other governments military expertise for their internal development.

Special Tactics is the US Air Force special operations ground force. Similar in ability and employment to Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC), Army Special Forces and 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 to 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, approximately 8 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 2 to 4 applicants are selected to begin the year-plus Special Tactics training pipeline.

Aircraft

Current

AFSOC operates the following aircraft as part of its regular inventory:

• AC-130H/U/W Spectre/Spooky/Stinger II
• CV-22B Osprey
• C-32 (Boeing 757)
• EC-130J Commando Solo
• MC-130H Combat Talon II / MC-130J Commando II / MC-130P Combat Shadow
• C-145A Skytruck
• C-146A Wolfhound
• U-28A
• MQ-1 Predator
• MQ-9 Reaper
• RQ-11 Raven
• Scan Eagle
• Wasp III

Additionally, AFSOC units possess and operate a small number of the following aircraft for special training mission and Aviation Foreign Internal Defense missions:

• An-26 Curl
• C-47T Sky Train
• C-212 Aviocar
• CN-235-100
• Mi-17 Hip
• UH-1H and UH-1N Huey

Future

New MC-130J aircraft based on the Lockheed Martin KC-130J Super Hercules tanker variant will be acquired.

History

Twenty-Third Air Force

In December 1982, the Air Force transferred responsibility for Air Force special operations from Tactical Air Command (TAC) to Military Airlift Command (MAC). Consequently, in March 1983, MAC activated Twenty-Third Air Force (23 AF) at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. This new numbered air force's responsibilities included worldwide missions of special operations, combat rescue, weather reconnaissance and aerial sampling, security support for intercontinental ballistic missile sites, training of USAF helicopter and HC-130 crewmen, pararescue training, and medical evacuation.

Operation Urgent Fury

In October 1983, 23 AF participated in the successful rescue of Americans from the island nation of Grenada. During the seven day operation, centered at Point Salines Airport, 23 AF furnished MC-130s, AC-130s, aircrews, maintenance, and support personnel. An EC-130 from the 193rd Special Operations Wing of the Air National Guard (ANG), played a significant psy-war role. An MC-130 pilot from the 8th Special Operations Squadron won the MacKay Trophy for his actions in leading the air drop on the Point Salines Airport.

US Special Operations Command

In May 1986, the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act led to the formation of the United States Special Operations Command. Senators William Cohen and Sam Nunn introduced the Senate bill, and the following month Congressman Dan Daniel introduced a like measure in the House of Representatives. The key provisions of the legislation formed the basis to amend the 1986 Defense Authorizations Bill. This bill, signed into law in October 1986, in part directed the formation of a unified command responsible for special operations. In April 1987 the DoD established the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, and Army GEN James J. Lindsay assumed command. Four months later, 23 AF moved to Hurlburt Field, Florida.

In August 1989, Gen Duane H. Cassidy, MAC Commander in Chief, divested 23rd AF of its non-special operations units. Thus, 23 AF served a dual role—still reporting to MAC, but also functioning as the air component to USSOCOM.

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 and reserve AC-130 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 during this operation.

Spectre gunship crews of the 1st SOW earned the Mackay Trophy and Tunner Award for their efforts, a 919th SOG Spectre crew earned the President's Award, and a 1st SOW Combat Talon crew ferried the captured Panamanian President, Manuel Noriega, to prison in the United States. Likewise, the efforts of the 1st SOW maintenance people earned them the Daedalian Award.

On 22 May 1990, General Larry D. Welch, Air Force Chief of Staff, 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 (STG), the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School, and the Special Missions Operational Test and Evaluation Center.

Currently, after major redesignations and reorganizations, AFSOC direct reporting units include the 16th SOW, the 352nd Special Operations Group, the 353rd Special Operations Group, the 720th Special Tactics Group (STG), the USAF Special Operations School and the 18th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS). During the early 1990s a major reorganization occurred within AFSOC. The 1720th STG became the 720th 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 (ABW) into the 1st SOW which assumed host unit responsibilities. A year later the 1st SOW became the 16th SOW in a move to preserve Air Force heritage.

Meanwhile, the Special Missions Operational Test and Evaluation Center (SMOTEC), which explored heavy lift frontiers 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.

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.

Combat Talons dropped the largest conventional bombs of the war and, along with Combat Shadows, dropped the most psy-war leaflets. The AC-130s provided valuable fire support and armed reconnaissance, but they also suffered the single greatest combat loss of coalition air forces with the shooting down of Spirit 03. All fourteen crew members aboard were lost.

AFSOC

Post-Gulf War

In December 1992, AFSOC special tactics and intelligence personnel supported Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. In late 1994, AFSOC units spearheaded Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, and in 1995 Operation Deliberate Force in the Balkans.

Operation Enduring Freedom

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 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.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

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 have continued to conduct operations since then, in support of the new Iraqi government against insurgents and terrorists.

Commanders

AFSOC has had nine commanders since its inception in 1990.

List of AFSOC Commanders
Name	Tenure start	Tenure End
Maj Gen Thomas E. Eggers	22 May 1990	20 Jun 1991
Maj Gen Bruce L. Fister	21 Jun 1991	21 Jul 1994
Maj Gen James L. Hobson, Jr.	22 Jul 1994	8 Jul 1997
Maj Gen Charles R. Holland	9 Jul 1997	4 Aug 1999
Lt Gen Maxwell C. Bailey	5 Aug 1999	15 Jan 2002
Lt Gen Paul V. Hester	16 Jan 2002	30 Jun 2004
Lt Gen Michael W. Wooley	1 Jul 2004	26 Nov 2007
Lt Gen Donald C. Wurster	27 Nov 2007	24 Jun 2011
Lt Gen Eric E. Fiel	24 Jun 2011	1 Jul 2014
Lt Gen Bradley A. Heithold	1 Jul 2014	Incumbent

Contingency operations

A PJ from the 23rd STS searching for survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake in Port-au-Prince

Operation Unified Response, earthquake relief, Haiti

Operations supported by AFSOF since the Vietnam War.

Date(s)	Operation
1975	Mayaguez incident, Cambodia
1975	Operation Eagle Pull, Cambodia
1975	Operation Frequent Wind, Vietnam
1976	Operation Fluid Drive, Lebanon
1978	Zaire Airlift
1980	Operation Eagle Claw, Iran
1981	Army General Dozier kidnapping, Italy
1981	Gulf of Sidra incident, Libya
1983	Operation Urgent Fury, Grenada
1983	Operation Big Pine, Honduras
1983–1985	Operation Bat, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos
1983–1988	Operation Bield Kirk, Operation Blue Flame, Operation Blinking Light, El Salvador
1984	Salvadorean President José Napoleón Duarte's daughter kidnapping, El Salvador
1985	TWA Flight 847 plane hijacking, Algeria/Lebanon
1985	Achille Lauro hijacking, Mediterranean Sea
1986	Operation El Dorado Canyon, Libya
1986	Pan Am Flight 73 plane hijacking, Pakistan
1987–1988	Operation Earnest Will, Operation Prime Chance, Persian Gulf
1988	Operation Golden Pheasant, Honduras
1989	Operation Safe Passage, Afghanistan
1989	Operation Poplar Tree, El Salvador
1989	1989 Philippine coup attempt, Philippines
1989	Operation Just Cause, Panama
1990	Operation Promote Liberty, Panama
1990	Civilian evacuation, Liberia
1990–1991	Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq
1991	Operation Eastern Exit, Somalia
1991–2003	Operation Provide Comfort I–III, Operation Northern Watch, Turkey, Iraq
1991	Operation Sea Angel, 1991 Bangladesh cyclone relief, Bangladesh
1991	Operation Fiery Vigil, Philippines
1991	Operation Desert Calm, Saudi Arabia
1991–2003	Operation Southern Watch, Kuwait
1992	Operation Silver Anvil, Sierra Leone
1992–1994	Operation Provide Promise I–II, Italy, Yugoslavia
1992–1993	Operation Restore Hope, Somalia
1993–1995	Operation Continue Hope I–III, Somalia
1993	Operation Deny Flight, Yugoslavia
1993	Operation Silver Hope, Ukraine
1994	Operation Restore Democracy, Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti
1994	Operation Support Hope, Rwanda
1995	Operation United Shield, Somalia
1995–1996	Operation Deliberate Force, Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Joint Guard, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bosnia
1996	Search and Rescue support for U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown CT-43 crash, Croatia
1996	Operation Assured Response, evacuation, Liberia
1996	Operation Guardian Retrieval, Uganda
1996	Operation Pacific Bridge, Palau
1996	Operation Guardian Assistance, Rwanda
1997	Operation Silver Wake, evacuation, Albania
1997	Operation Guardian Angel, Yugoslavia
1997	Operation Firm Response, evacuation, Republic of Congo
1997	Operation High Flight, Namibia
1998	Operation Desert Thunder, Persian Gulf
1998	Operation Desert Fox, Iraq
1999	Operation Allied Force, Serbia, Kosovo
2000	Operation Atlas Response, flood relief, Mozambique
2000	Operation Fiery Relief, volcano relief, Philippines
2001	Operation Valiant Return, China
2001–present	Operation Enduring Freedom, Global War on Terror
2002	Operation Autumn Return, evacuation, Côte d'Ivoire
2003	Operation Shining Express, evacuation, Liberia
2003–2011	Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq
2003–2008	Operation Willing Spirit, Columbia
2004	Operation Atlas Shield, Greece
2004	Operation Secure Tomorrow, Haiti
2005–2005	Operation Unified Assistance, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia
2005	Task Force Katrina, hurricane relief, United States
2006	evacuation, Lebanon
2008	Operation Aster Silver, evacuation, Chad
2008	Operation Assured Delivery, Georgia
2008	Operation Olympic Titan, Pacific Ocean
2010	Operation Unified Response, earthquake relief, Haiti
2011	Operation Tomodachi, earthquake and tsunami relief, Japan
2011	Operation Odyssey Dawn, Libya
2013	Operation Damayan, typhoon relief, Philippines

Gallery

• 

  AFSOC's first CV-22—Sunset, Hurlburt Field, Florida

• 

  Combat Controllers practice seizing an airfield

• 

  AFSOC Special Operations Weathermen

• 

  MC-130Ps punching flares

See also

• V-22 Osprey
• Air Resupply And Communications Service

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. ISBN 1557500371
• Haas, Michael E. Apollo's Warriors: U.S. Air Force Special Operations During the Cold War. 2002, University Press of the Pacific, Honolulu. ISBN 9781410200099.
• Hebert, Adam J. "The Air Commandos". Air Force Magazine, March 2005 (vol. 88, no. 3).
• Marquis, Susan L. Unconventional Warfare: Rebuilding U.S. Special Operations Forces. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1997. ISBN 0815754760
• Pushies, Fred J. Deadly Blue Battle Stories of the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. New York: American Management Assoc, 2009. <http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=32471>. ISBN 9780814413616
• Sine, William F. Guardian Angel: Life and Death Adventures with Pararescue, the World's Most Powerful Commando Rescue Force. Havertown, Pa: Casemate, 2012. ISBN 9781612001227

External links

• Air Force Special Operations Command Home Page—Official AFSOC public site
• AFSOC Factsheet, public site
• United States Air Force—Official website
• ShadowSpear Special Operations: AFSOC