A now-perennial mission for AFSOC is responding to natural disasters. In 2013, that meant the horrendous flooding in the Philippine Islands. Col. Ben Maitre, commander of the 353rd Special Operations Group in Okinawa, provided the following statistics:

• 36 missions flown

• 179 flight hours flown

• 152 sorties flown

• 653,130 pounds of cargo transported

• 3,009 internally displaced persons evacuated

• 20 American citizens evacuated

• 3 airfields opened, plus night ops at a fourth

• 656 aircraft controlled

• 1,859,460 pounds of cargo marshalled

• 126,000 pounds of forward air refueling point 
fuel supervised

• 30 critical patients treated

• 40 pediatric patients treated

• 3 hospitals surveyed

• 1 public health assessment

Hicks said that according to the commander of the disaster relief joint task force (JTF), it was the night capability of the 353rd Special Operations Group that enabled 24-hour relief operations, allowing the JTF to “catch up” with the disaster instead of falling behind during the hours of darkness, as is typically the case. The 353rd Group teamed with its night vision goggle-qualified host unit, the 374th Airlift Wing, to provide all the nighttime capability of the disaster reaction force. Hicks also said that the night crew gets to work, spared of handling VIP visits by local politicians or visiting dignitaries. He noted that by the end of 2014, the Okinawa group will also have CV-22s, and such relief operations will also no longer be limited to airfields.

 

Re-modernizing the AFSOC Recapitalization 
and Modernization Plan

Fiel, who, in 2012, had his modernization plan approved to replace all the MC/AC-130s in AFSOC with newer C-130Js, had to revise it in 2013. The previous plan did not survive first contact with dedicated budget cutters. AFSOC will not get 94 new aircraft to replace all the older models; it will get only 79. Whereas the USSOCOM budget has not been greatly reduced due to budget cuts and sequestration, the U.S. Air Force has suffered serious reductions, and it’s the Air Force budget that was to pay for the service-common C-130J airframes. Fifteen C-130Js is AFSOC’s share of the Air Force cuts.

Fiel explained how his command will cope with the reduction. “We’ll now have 32 gunships where we only ever had 25 in the past. We’ll have 55 MC-130s dedicated for lift as Commando IIs with new Silent Knight (LPI/LPD) radars and capability to fly higher with heavier loads.” He explained further that AFSOC will have multiple uses of the eight EC-130Js in the AFSOC-affiliated National Guard Wing in Harrisburg, Pa. The TV and radio broadcasting aircraft will get updated, roll-on/roll-off mission equipment. When the aircraft are available, the mission package will be offloaded, making the aircraft available to augment the lift/mobility assets. “With those eight aircraft added to our mix of MC aircraft, we don’t lose too much from the reductions,” said the general.

Additionally, AFSOC will give up its 11 C-145s, formerly known as M28 Skytrucks. To make up for them, six C-146s were added to AFSOC’s acquisition of those aircraft, now totaling 23. Fiel said that the C-146 has become the favorite AFSOC aircraft of the TSOCs, because they have been assigned to provide continuous support in the theaters, taking on whatever comes up in need of transport instead of staying at CONUS bases and deploying only for specific requirements.

Although AFSOC has taken some losses in the budget battles, its coping skills have been a strong point. The airmen of AFSOC are better prepared for their missions than at any point in its history as well. They are almost all combat experienced, and any who lack such experience will get it very soon. It’s a great place to be starting and living a career of service and genuine utility to our country.

AFSOC will inherit 35 manned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft from Air Combat Command (ACC). The larger Air Force command built 43 Hawker-Beechcraft 350 ER (Extended Range) aircraft for manned ISR during the height of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. ACC decided to retire those fairly new aircraft as part of their reductions. AFSOC provides manpower for the aircraft by retiring its U-28 manned ISR aircraft (based on the Pilatus PC-12 aircraft). In the trade, AFSOC gets twin-engined aircraft with almost twice the flight time per sortie over the smaller, single-engined, and very overloaded U-28s – a good trade once the sensor loads are upgraded to SOF standards. In longer distance areas of operations such as the Pacific or Africa, the exchange of aircraft will add needed persistence and range, as well as safer flying.

Although AFSOC has taken some losses in the budget battles, its coping skills have been a strong point. The airmen of AFSOC are better prepared for their missions than at any point in its history as well. They are almost all combat experienced, and any who lack such experience will get it very soon. It’s a great place to be starting and living a career of service and genuine utility to our country.

This article first appeared in The Year in Special Operations: 2014-2015 Edition.