Apparently, there’s been no drawdown in people who need to be shot. There has also been no noticed decrease in AFSOC’s warriors deserving decoration. The Special Tactics career field of Combat Controllers, Pararescuemen, Tactical Air Control Party, and Special Operations Weathermen continue to be the most decorated in AFSOC and in the USAF as a whole. In 2014, they amassed an impressive set of statistics in combat.

 

Mission Data from 2014

Special Tactics airmen were involved in:

• More than 3,000 combat missions
• More than 450 troops in contact (skirmishes/fights)
• More than 7,000 drop zone/landing zone (LZ)/helicopter LZ controls (coordinating aircraft to land or drop supplies)
• More than 10,900 close air support controls (calling in close air support)
• More than 100,000 pounds of precision ordnance dropped

They also merited a visit to Hurlburt Field by Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James in December to award the Air Force Cross to Pararescueman Master Sgt. Ivan Ruiz.

When requested to provide some representative mission narratives from AFSOC units, Hicks remarked that few could be provided due to classification. Still, he provided a couple of things outside the usual and expected missions of gunships shooting, CV-22 and MC-130 combat mobility, or ISR – manned and unmanned – tracking targets for capture or destruction.

Two mission areas of training were spotlighted. One involves improving the knowledge and skills of AFSOC airmen and their abilities to integrate air capabilities from the larger Theater Air Component with the smaller Special Operations Air Component. The second is one in which AFSOC airmen provide training to allies who are often growing and developing initial and embryonic air capabilities for their own nations.

A part of the USAF Weapons School, the 14th Weapons Squadron’s mission is to teach graduate-level instructor courses, which provide advanced training in weapons and tactics employment.

Since just before 9/11, AFSOC joined the regular Air Force in training “patch wearers,” or U.S. Air Force Weapons School graduates – experts in air combat and integrating all air capabilities on the battlefield. Known throughout the Air Force as the authorities on all things about air and space capabilities, the patch wearers from the USAF Weapons School take the lead in planning of the use of air capabilities in campaign planning. AFSOC needed its own patch wearers badly in order to be fully capable of integrating theater air capabilities in support of SOF missions. The 14th Weapons Squadron provided the following summary of its very eventful year in 2014:

A part of the USAF Weapons School, the 14th Weapons Squadron’s mission is to teach graduate-level instructor courses, which provide advanced training in weapons and tactics employment. The 14th graduated the largest number of Weapons Officers in squadron history (14) in 2014. These graduates are taking their expertise in SOF tactics and integration with the CAF (Combat Air Forces) and MAF (Mobility Air Forces) and providing their commanders with leaders and decision-makers who will better the command in the short term and long term.

To ensure AFSOC Weapons Officers are tactical and integration experts, the 14th Weapons Squadron secured nearly $1 million in funds to renovate their building at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Coinciding with this, the 14th Weapons Squadron has moved its capstone training exercise, SOFEX, to Nellis. This exercise integrates SOF from all services as well as the CAF and MAF, giving students opportunities to integrate with other platforms and weapons systems while providing unparalleled leadership opportunities. In 2014, this exercise integrated 14 Weapons Instructor Courses, 50 aircraft, and 500 personnel.