This guide will cover Air Force Special Operations Command / Air Special Warfare and who is/can be qualified as a JTAC.
Air Force Special Operations Command
Outdated
AFSOC has several "Wings" under its Operational Control (OPC) and the 492nd Special Operations Wing (Warfare training center).
These "Wings" are very much like Special Forces Groups (SFG) in that they are a combination of specialized combat and combat support assets
Each "Wing" has at least one "Group"' under its OPC
These "Group"s have mostly:
• Special Tactics Squadrons
• Special Operation Squadrons • Operations Support Squadrons
Only Special Tactics Squadron (STS) are considered "Special Forces" Units.
ALL AFSOC units are considered Special Operation Forces (SOF), while only STS and its Operators are the only "Special Forces" in the AFSOC.
1st Special Operations Wing
The 1st Special Ops Wing provides Combat Service and Support by way of:
• Infiltrate/exfiltrate platforms
• Resupply/refuel logistics
• Other SOF elements on the ground/air
Combat Service by way of: • CAS
• Intelligence
• Surveillance and reconnaissance
• Analysis/situational/targeting projection
• CSAR (Combat Search & Rescue) platforms
24th Special Operations Wing
24th Special Ops Wing provides:
• 720th Special Tactics Group • Combat Controllers
• Tactical Air Party Control Airmen
• Pararescuemen
• Special Reconnaissance
• 724th Special Tactics Group • ***24th STS***
• Combat Controllers
• Tactical Air Party Control Airmen
• Pararescuemen
• Special Reconnaissance
• Special Tactics Training Squadron
27th Special Operations Wing
The 27st Special Ops Wing provides Combat Service and Support by way of:
• Infiltrate/exfiltrate platforms
• Resupply/refuel logistics
• Other SOF elements on the ground/air
Combat Service by way of: • CAS
• Intelligence
• Surveillance and reconnaissance
• Analysis/situational/targeting projection
• CSAR (Combat Search & Rescue) platforms
352nd and 353rd Special Ops Wing
Both the 352nd and 353rd Special Ops Wing provides:
• 352nd - USEUCOM and USAFRICOM (Europe/Africa regions)
• 353rd - USPACOM (Pacific region)
with aircraft and combat support/services as well as Special Tactics Squadron Operators
They are a hybrid version of the other SOWs which are mostly either Combat Support/Service or STS Operators.
492nd Special Operations Wing
This SOW contains the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School and is: AFSOC's formal school conducting SOFs education/professional development
429nd SOW also contains several Squadrons that:
• Have a AF Reserve command
• Trains/assits foreign aviation units
• The operational effectiveness and suitability of aircraft, equipment and tactics
• Are responsible for the training of combat-ready SOFs
• Small unmanned aircraft systems and irregular warfare integrated skills training
• Provide civil engineer and communication services
AF Reserve SOWs
Air Force Reserve Special Operation Wings include: • 137th
• 193th
• 919th
Tactical Air Control Party (TACP)
***Not all TACP were created equal***
2 types of TACP exist: • TACP for 'big" Army (is not SOF TACP)
• Special Tactics for SOFs (is SOF TACP)
Special Tactics TACP primary mission is to provide: • Terminal attack control
• Fire support
• Integrating air combat power
• Surface fires into the ground scheme of maneuver
Their services are rendered to: • All three Ranger Battalions (75th Ranger RTG)
• Ranger Regiment's Reconnaissance Company (75th Ranger Special Troops BN)
• SF ODA teams
• Navy SEAL Team platoons
• other Special Mission Units (SAD) As a pre-requisite to become a TACP, they MUST be JTAC qualified
Combat Control Team (CCT)
CCTs are civilian-certified FAA air traffic controllers. On the battlefield they are similar to Pathfinders.
Their primary mission is to: • Establish Landing Zones (rotary winged)
• Establish Drop Zones (fixed winged)
• Establish airfields
• Conduct air traffic control (ATC)
Their secondary mission is to: • Fire support by CAS/artillery
• Command and Control (C2)
• Foreign internal defense (FID)
They execute this mission by: • Covertly deploy into hostile and non-pervasive environments • Use several SOF infiltration/exfiltration techniques
Pararescue (PJ)
Pararescue (PJ) primary function is to: • Perform personnel recovery operations
• Provide battlefield emergency medical care
• Authenticate, extract, treat, stabilize and evacuate injured or isolated personnel.
• CSAR (Combat Search & Rescue)
They deploy: • Anywhere/anytime
• Via air-land-sea tactics
• Into restricted/non-pervasive environments
Special Operations Weather Technicians (SOWT) (Defunct)
SOWTs were the Air Force's equivalent to a meteorologists but with advanced tactical training to operate anywhere in the world, under any circumstance and at any time. They were instrumental to ensure rotary/fixed winged have correct and up-to-date weather information to include future projected patterns. They were also key to informing other units as to the meteorogistic reality in any theater.
They gathered, assessed, and interpreted weather and environmental intelligence from forward deployed locations, working primarily with Air Force and Army Special Operations Forces. SOWTs could also have been attached to Marine MARSOC and Navy SEAL teams, to collect weather, ocean, river, snow and terrain intelligence, assist mission planning, generate accurate mission-tailored target and route forecasts in support of global special operations and train joint force members and coalition partners to take and communicate limited weather observations. They operated on 2-3-man Environmental Reconnaissance Teams (ERT). ERT's which were attached to 8-9-man Special Tactics Teams (STT) alongside Combat Control (CCT) and Pararescue (PJ) personnel. Together they provide SOCOM a unique capability to establish and control austere airfields in permissive and non-permissive environments. Additionally, Special Operations Weathermen conducted special reconnaissance, fly small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS), collected upper air data, organized, established and maintained weather data reporting networks, determined host nation meteorological capabilities and trained foreign national forces.
Since 2019, SOWT has transitioned to Special Reconnaissance.
Their primary mission was to: • Collect and interpret weather data
• Collect intelligence on the battlefield
They too infiltrated/exfiltrated using various SOF techniques
Special Reconnaissance
In the Spring of 2019, SOWT changed its title and main job description from weather analysis to SR (Special Reconnaissance).
Many AFSW specialties allow friendly forces to operate in non-pervasive areas in what are known as "access packages". These assets traditionally allow for AFSW to prepare DZ/LZ for follow-on friendly forces, supplies and equipment.
Examples of these core mission profiles include: • DZ/LZ reconnaissance (now a SR capability)
• DZ/LZ set-up
• DZ/LZ management and aircraft deconfliction
• Terminal munition control
• SR (SOWT capability) to analyze current and future weather patterns to better advise pilots and CAS operations
SR personnel focus less on weather analysis training and much more on reconnaissance abilities.
Since AFSOF does not have a culture or tradition of SR tasking, their training, employment and intelligence analysis will certainly be a challenge to manage. Until AFSOF training courses with qualified SR cadre, ISR support and intelligence analysis units are fielded, AFSOF will need to rely heavily on sister SOF units to fill the gap.
Reconnaissance roles and abilities for the U.S. Military have drastically changed over the years. Because of the reorganization of recon units and the introduction of always improving technologies, a guide on Reconnaissance: Units, Equipment and Employment will be created in the near future.
Special Operations Surgical Teams (SOST)
These teams are: • Mobile surgical specialists with advanced medical/tactical training
When a SOF Airman is injured, SOST is there to provide critical care to their patients.
SOST provide 4 specific medical services: • Advanced trauma resuscitation
• Tactical damage control surgery
• Post-op critical care
• Critical care evacuation
SOST work in austere/non-pervasive environments. Special "man-pack mobile" units are their possession so that they can quickly respond/support as the need arises,
Operations can occur in: • Fixed land or sea platforms
• Aboard any SOF aircraft/vehicle
• In field expedient structures
SOSTs deploy in 6-member teams: • 1) Emergency physician
• 2) General surgeon
• 3) Nurse anesthetist
• 4) Critical care nurse
• 5) Surgical technician
• 6) Respiratory therapist
Conclusion
If you are to take one thing away from this guide be it this:
JTAC is 'just' a qualifier...it is NOT a job description.
On a similar note, TACPs are JTAC qualified and most CCTs are too.
For most Arma III scenarios, a TACP is much more useful than a CCT BUT can/should be used as Pathfinders.