Air Force Special Operations Command

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) was established May 22, 1990, with headquarters at Hurlburt Field, Fla. AFSOC is a United States Air Force (USAF) major command and is the air component to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), a unified command located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

Mission

AFSOC provides AF Special Operations Forces (SOF) for worldwide deployment and assignment to regional unified commands.

The command's SOF 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.

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. The command's special tactics squadrons combine combat controllers, special operations weathermen and pararescuemen to form versatile SOF teams.

AFSOC core tasks are grouped into seven mission areas: shaping the battlefield; information operations; precision engagement; SOF mobility; agile combat support; aerospace interface.

AFSOC official mission statement: "America's specialized air power…a step ahead in a changing world, delivering Special Operations power anytime, anywhere."

Personnel and Resources

AFSOC has approximately 12,900 active-duty, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and civilian personnel. The command's active duty and reserve component flying units operate fixed-wing, rotary-wing, unmanned, and tiltrotor aircraft, including the CV-22, AC-130H/U, C-130, EC-130, MC-130E/H/W, MH-53J/M, UH-1N/H, CN-235-100, An-26, U-28A, CASA 212,MQ-1A/B Predator, and Mi-8.

Lineage

From the establishment of USSOCOM in June of 1987 until the creation of AFSOC in May 1990, Military Airlift Command's Twenty-Third Air Force (23AF) - minus its aerospace rescue and aeromedical evacuation units - served as the air component of USSOCOM, and the commander, Twenty-Third Air Force, served as the air component commander of USSOCOM.

Units

• 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, FL
• 352d Special Operations Group
• 353d Special Operations Group
• 720th Special Tactics Group
• USAF Special Operations School
• 18th Flight Test Squadron
• Electronic Combat Support Flight

Air National Guard units

• 193d Special Operations Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard
• 123d Special Tactics Squadron, Kentucky Air National Guard
• 125th Special Tactics Squadron, Oregon Air National Guard
• 209th Civil Engineer Squadron, Mississippi
• 280th Combat Communications Squadron, Alabama
• 107th Weather Flight
• 146th Weather Flight
• 181st Weather Flight

Air Force Reserve units

• 919th Special Operations Wing

Wikipedia information about Air Force Special Operations Command This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Air Force Special Operations Command". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.