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The 23rd Special Tactics Squadron (23rd STS) is an active ground unit, within the 24th Special Operations Wing (24 SOW) United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). It is garrisoned at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The 23rd STS was previously designated the 1723rd Special Tactics Squadron prior to 1992.
The Squadron is made up of Special Tactics Officers, Combat Controllers, Combat Rescue Officers, Pararescuemen, Special Reconnaissance, Tactical Air Control Party Officers, and Tactical Air Control Party Specialists. [1]
Special Tactics Squadrons are organized, trained, and equipped specifically for various special operations missions facilitating air operations on the battlefield. They conduct combat search and rescue missions, collect intelligence, as well as call in close air support or airstrikes against enemy combatants and are often partnered with other U.S. special operations forces overseas. [1]
Constituted 23rd Fighter Control Squadron (Special) on 10 January 1943. Activated on 6 February 1943. Redesignated 23rd Fighter Control Squadron on 16 Sep 1943. Inactivated on 29 Oct 1945. Disbanded on 8 Oct 1948. Reconstituted, and consolidated on 1 March 1992 with 1723rd Combat Control Squadron. Redesignated 1723rd Special tactics Squadron on 1 April 1990; 23rd Special Tactics Squadron on 31 March 1992. [2]
Staff Sgt. Richard Hunter, a combat controller with the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, received the Air Force Cross for his actions during a battle in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan on 2 November 2016. Hunter was embedded in a joint US Special Forces/Afghan unit that was engaged in a fierce firefight in a village near Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, 2 November 2016. During the eight-hour firefight, Staff Sgt.Hunter called in 31 danger-close air strikes on enemy forces. [3] [4] [5]
Members of the unit have participated in Operation Just Cause (1989), Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm (1990–1991), Operation Provide Comfort (1991), Operation Allied Force, Kosovo in 1999, and have been engaged in combat since October 2001 in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Members of the U.S. Air Force's 23rd Special Tactics Squadron took part in Haiti earthquake relief operations by providing air traffic control operations at Haiti's Toussaint Louverture International Airport. [6] In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in 2018, the 23rd came to clear and establish the runway at Tyndall Air Force Base. [7]
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command to United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), a unified combatant command located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. AFSOC provides all Air Force Special Operations Forces (SOF) for worldwide deployment and assignment to regional unified combatant commands.
England Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Louisiana, located 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Alexandria and about 170 miles (270 km) northwest of New Orleans. Originally known as Alexandria Army Air Base, on 23 June 1955 the facility was renamed England Air Force Base in honor of Lt Col John Brooke England (1923–1954).
The 321st Special Tactics Squadron is an active ground unit, within the 752d Special Operations Group, United States Air Force, United States European Command, and is based at RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, eastern England.
The 24th Special Tactics Squadron is one of the Special Tactics units of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). Garrisoned at Pope Field, North Carolina, it is the U.S. Air Force component of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit's webpage describes it as "the Air Force's special operations ground force".
The 125th Special Tactics Squadron is a special operations force unit serving as part of the 142nd Wing of the United States Air National Guard. They are based at the Portland Air National Guard Base in Portland, Oregon.
The 24th Special Operations Wing is a United States Air Force active-duty wing that was activated on 12 June 2012. Its headquarters is at Hurlburt Field, Florida and it has component groups located in North Carolina, Georgia and Washington. It is the third special operations wing in Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC).
The United States Air Force Combat Control Teams, singular Combat Controller (CCT), are an elite special operations force who specialize in all aspects of air-ground communication, including air traffic control, fire support, and command, control, and communications in covert, forward, or austere environments.
The United States Air Force Warfare Center (USAFWC) at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, reports directly to Air Combat Command. The center was founded on September 1, 1966, as the U.S. Air Force Tactical Fighter Weapons Center. It was renamed the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center in 2005.
Zachary James Rhyner is a medically retired Combat Controller (CCT) in the United States Air Force who received the Air Force Cross for his actions in the Battle of Shok Valley on 6 April 2008 in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. He was the first living, and second ever, Combat Controller to receive the Air Force Cross after TSgt John A. Chapman was posthumously awarded the medal in 2002 for his actions during the Battle of Takur Ghar. He has deployed six times, including Iraq and Afghanistan. He has assisted in humanitarian operations and was a part of Operation Unified Response in Haiti during the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
The United States Air Force's 25th Air Support Operations Squadron is an Air Force Special Warfare unit located at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. The squadron provides tactical command and control of air and space assets to the Joint Forces Air Component Commander and Joint Forces Land Component Commander for combat operations.
The 325th Air Control Squadron was a part of the 325th Fighter Wing, based at the United States Air Force's Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Originally constituted the 325th Fighter Control Squadron in March 1943, the 325th served in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations during WWII. During the past decades, radar operations and maintenance has been taught to tens of thousands of personnel of all ranks. Following the transfer of the 325th Fighter Wing to Air Combat Command, on 12 October 2012 the 325th Air Control Squadron was replaced by the 337th Air Control Squadron under the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base.
A United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party, commonly abbreviated TACP, is an individual or team of United States Air Force Special Warfare Airmen with AFSC 1Z3X1, who are aligned with conventional, Special Operation Forces, and Tier 1 combat maneuver units. They provide precision terminal attack control and terminal attack guidance of U.S. and coalition fixed- and rotary-wing close air support aircraft, artillery, and naval gunfire; establish and maintain command and control (C2) communications; and advise ground commanders on the best use of air power.
The 720th Special Tactics Group is one of the special operations ground components of the 24th Special Operations Wing, assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) of the United States Air Force. The group is headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The group is composed of geographically separated squadrons in four separate states; Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina and Washington.
The 21st Special Tactics Squadron is one of the special tactics units of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command. It is garrisoned at Pope Field, North Carolina.
The 724th Special Tactics Group is one of the special operations ground components of the 24th Special Operations Wing, assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The Group is headquartered at Pope Field, North Carolina. The Group is composed of four squadrons, also located on Pope Field.
The 17th Special Tactics Squadron is one of the ten Special Tactics Squadrons of United States Air Force Special Operations Command. It is garrisoned at Fort Moore, Georgia.
The 22nd Special Tactics Squadron is a Special Tactics unit of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command, based at the McChord Air Force Base facility of Joint Base Lewis–McChord.
The 320th Special Tactics Squadron is a Special Tactics unit of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command, based at Kadena Air Base.
The 23rd Special Operations Weather Squadron is a weather squadron of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command, based at Hurlburt Field with the 1st Special Operations Group of the 1st Special Operations Wing.
The 123rd Special Tactics Squadron is a special operations unit of the Kentucky Air National Guard 123d Airlift Wing stationed at Louisville International Airport, Kentucky. The 123rd STS is one of only two Special Tactics Units in the Air National Guard.
| Bases |  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings | |||||||
| Groups | |||||||
| Squadrons |
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 United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) | ||
|---|---|---|
| United States Army USASOC |  | |
| United States Marine Corps MARSOC | ||
| United States Navy NAVSPECWARCOM | ||
| United States Air Force AFSOC |
| |
| Special mission units JSOC |
| |
| Theater Special Operations Commands | ||
Source: SOCOM 2013 Fact Book | ||
