I'd always thought that Airforce special operations were confined to air transport of other SOF - such as modified C130/helicopter squadrons with the equipment and training to penetrate enemy air defences to insert and extract SOF teams in the enemy's rear echelons. In this way, Air Force Special Operations seemed to be open only to aircrew and I'd imagined that if any airman wished to serve in Special Operations 'on foot' and not as an insertion/extraction hercybird/helo crewman, he would have to apply to be released to Army SOF for a term, seeing as 'Air Forces don't have ground units'.

Doing a bit of research however, in the American model it seems there is a career field known as 'Special Tactics' comprising Combat Controllers and Pararescue Jumpers. The roles here being to sieze and operate enemy airfields, and to carry out combat search & rescue of downed aircrew or other lost personnel. Would this be an accurate description or is there something I have missed?

If we could have discussion on the nature of air force special operations and the forces that undertake them, rather than 'my special operations unit could beat up your special operations unit anyday', that'd also be appreciated... ;)

USAF "operator" types fall into three career fields, basically:

 

Para-rescue (PJs) who do combat search and rescue (and peacetime SAR as well).

 

Combat Controllers (CCTs) who function as forward air controllers.  They can call airstrikes, which is what everyone associates them with, but can also manage battlefield airspace and put into operation and operate forward air bases under austere conditions (i.e. like right after the Rangers have gotten done evicting the previous owners).

 

The last guys are even more obscure as far as the usual civilian understanding of SOF assets go -- TACPs.  This is a seperate career field from CCT (I think the AFSC codes are 1C2 for CCT, 1C4 for TACP), though kind of related, in that they're specialists at directing CAS (but can't do other aspects of the CCT job).  Not all TACPs are "operator" types -- most support conventional units, but a segment of them are direct support assets for the Rangers, SF, etc.

 

Some non-US nations have their own traditions of special troops of some sort in the Air Force.  Keep in mind that some nations originally had their airborne forces as part of the air force rather than army.  Off the top of my head, the Brazilians have PJ equivalents (Para-SARs), while Spain (and possibly some other Spanish speaking countries) have Para-Zapadores who have some resemblance to CCTs.  I think Portugal has something similar as well.  There are probably others, though nothing comes to mind at the moment.

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Woops, itchy mouse finger!

 

I suppose if you're hoping to train a SOF soldier in how to communicate with aircraft for landing/ground attack, and set up ILS beacons on a captured/improvised landing strip, that is pretty feasible - its probably not so much different from what FACs/JTACs/TACPs do.

 

But if you hope to have these SOF soldiers fully replicating the organisation that lets an airfield function, I'd say you're better off bringing in specialists in that field (i.e. the ATC career field) for a tour or two with the CC unit. Like I say, I'm no expert - is it a case of take the airfield, set up beacons and talk them down, or is it more involved than that, like with ground-based radar sets?

 

I imagine if British Forces had to seize and operate airfield you would see the initial storming being carried out by SOF or similar raiding forces, but then you would have to bring on the specialised technical staff from the Air Force with the right kit and experience in how to run an airfield - i.e. Air Traffic Control, Flight Operations Support, Engineers to clear and repair the runway, the list goes on. You can't do all that stuff with what is effectively a well-trained light infantry/SOF force, can you?

 

Same thing with the PJs, the British approach has modified helicopters, specifically trained aircrew, medical staff, and RAF Regiment for searching and securing... Yes I know that PJs receive paramedical training, and all servicemembers need a grounding in medical matters, but surely you'd be better off incorporating a medical officer and technicians into the team to do their thing, and let the 'shooters' do (predominantly) their thing?

 

 

 

I suppose if you're hoping to train a SOF soldier in how to communicate with aircraft for landing/ground attack, and set up ILS beacons on a captured/improvised landing strip, that is pretty feasible - its probably not so much different from what FACs/JTACs/TACPs do.

 

But if you hope to have these SOF soldiers fully replicating the organisation that lets an airfield function, I'd say you're better off bringing in specialists in that field (i.e. the ATC career field) for a tour or two with the CC unit. Like I say, I'm no expert - is it a case of take the airfield, set up beacons and talk them down, or is it more involved than that, like with ground-based radar sets?

 

I imagine if British Forces had to seize and operate airfield you would see the initial storming being carried out by SOF or similar raiding forces, but then you would have to bring on the specialised technical staff from the Air Force with the right kit and experience in how to run an airfield - i.e. Air Traffic Control, Flight Operations Support, Engineers to clear and repair the runway, the list goes on. You can't do all that stuff with what is effectively a well-trained light infantry/SOF force, can you?

 

Same thing with the PJs, the British approach has modified helicopters, specifically trained aircrew, medical staff, and RAF Regiment for searching and securing... Yes I know that PJs receive paramedical training, and all servicemembers need a grounding in medical matters, but surely you'd be better off incorporating a medical officer and technicians into the team to do their thing, and let the 'shooters' do (predominantly) their thing?

 

 

 

don't the NEST guys belong to the air force too?

Yeh I also remember hearing a mate of a mate say 'we're the RAF Regiment, we do for the Air Force what the Marines do for the Navy', made me slightly suspicious!

 

Like I said, I'm pretty sure they're not considered special forces (if there is an 'Air Force special forces' I imagine it'd be the insertion/extraction helo/hercybird crews who ferry around SOF) and I'm pretty sure they're not considered on a par with RM/Paras. But I don't want to turn this thread into a 'who's more elite?' contest, just to get an idea of who's out there and what they do...

 

It just seems to me pretty interesting in figuring out how these things should be run and where various units come in.

Comparing the RAF and the USAF, some of the work within the RAF Regt remit (TACPs, CSAR/JPR, airfield seizure, SFSG) is the province of USAF SOF, whereas the RAF Regts main role of Force Protection seems to be given to the USAF police!

 

Are there any other interesting Air Force or air-biased units out there from other countries?

I think the RAF must have the distinction of being the only AF to deploy armoured units before CVR(T) was withdrawn!

USAF combat weathermen seem an odd distinction though, surely you can observe the weather without having to parachute behind enemy lines and all that!

Whats the reasoning behind merging CCs and PJs into Special Tactics units; surely you can't have a squadron/company specialising in both combat control and aeromedical casevac?

And who were the Air Commandoes, believe they were disbanded during Vietnam?

 

 

Ahhh so the CC is more of a FAC bloke with additional airspace control skills, rather than an airfield-seizing-and-running bloke! But why not use FACs/JTACs/TACPs for the purpose, surely they can be taught some additional airspace control, and do all the courses such as SCUBA, parachuting etc.

 

Good point on the PJs, I suppose you need the combat-orientated blokes in such a nasty situ, but there again the RAF has employed a Chinook-carried medical Immediate Response Team in Afghanistan with success, and many RN Medical Officers and assistants do the Commando Course to serve with the RM. After all if the USAF finds it easier to train them in a trade and then in shooty stuff, surely you can take personnel from the medical fields and give them shooty training...