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= Air Force Special Tactics =

Special Tactics Airmen are the United States Air Force’s ground special operations component. With more than 800 Special Tactics operators in 29 locations, and 650 combat mission support Airmen, Air Force Special Tactics operators lead global access, precision strike, personnel recovery and battlefield surgery operations.[1]

Air Force Special Tactics is United States Special Operations Command's tactical air and ground integration force, and the Air Force’s special operations ground force. Special Tactics is a special operations ground force conducting global air, space, and cyber-enabled special operations across the spectrum of conflict to prepare for, fight, and win our nation’s wars. Special Tactics combines the core skills of Special Operation Forces with the tactical integration of air power to find unique solutions for ground problems.[1]

Since Sept. 11, 2001, Air Force Special Tactics has been involved in almost every major operation and has seen a significant amount of combat. They are the most highly decorated community in the Air Force since the end of the Vietnam War. [1]

Their motto, “First there, that others may live,” defines the Special Tactics Airmen’s ability to deploy whenever they are needed into restricted, austere environments by air, land or sea to enable air power on the frontlines, to save lives and ensure mission success. [1]

Global Access
Special Tactics teams can assess, open, and control major airfields to clandestine dirt strips in either permissive or hostile locations, providing strategic access for the U.S. military and our allies. Special Tactics ensures the access to man-made and naturally contested, degraded and operationally-challenged environments, enabling options for assault and power projection of follow-on forces. [2]

Battlefield Surgery
Special Operations Surgical Teams’ proximity to the fight and ability to conduct high-level surgical operations in austere environments saves lives, builds relationships with the local populace and provides psychological stability for joint and allied forces combating the enemy. [2]

Personnel Recovery
Special Tactics teams conduct personnel recovery missions, from rapid mission planning to technical rescue, treatment and exfiltration. With in-depth medical and rescue expertise, along with their deployment capabilities, ST Airmen are able to perform rescue missions in the world's most remote areas. [2]

Precision Strike
Special Tactics Airmen are highly-trained in kinetic and non-kinetic precision strike—from coordinating with aircraft to direct accurate munitions to humanitarian aid drops from the ground. Many ST Airmen are qualified Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. Special Tactics Airmen are a ground force that maximize the impacts of air power by controlling and directing precise strikes to destroy enemy terrain, positions and resources. [2]

Organization
The 24th Special Operations Wing, home of Air Force Special Tactics, is composed of two active-duty Special Tactics Groups and the Special Tactics Training Squadron. The 24 SOW headquarters is located at Hurlburt Field, Florida. [1]

The 720th Special Tactics Group is also located at Hurlburt Field, Florida and is composed of four line squadrons: 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Army Airfield, NC; 22nd Special Tactics Squadron at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA; 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field, FL; and the 26th Special Tactics Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, NM. [1]

The 724th Special Tactics Group is located at Pope Army Air Field, NC and has several subordinate units. [1]

Additionally, there are four other units made up of Air Force Special Tactics: 123rd Special Tactics Squadron in Louisville, KY; 125th Special Tactics Squadron in Portland, OR; the 321st Special Tactics Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, UK; and the 320th Special Tactics Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan. [1]

History
After the large scale combat and major offensives of the Vietnam War were over, a new threat began to arise that would require a change in military tactics. By the late 1970’s, small skirmishes, terrorist organizations, and hostage scenarios emerged world-wide, creating the need for small, specially trained units capable of conducting clandestine and quick reaction missions. In 1977, the Army had created the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, to act as a full-time counter terrorism unit. Shortly after its inception, a small team of Combat Controllers had been assembled to work in conjunction with the newly formed Delta Force. Since this team of Combat Controllers had no official designation, they were known as “Brand-X”, and were the beginning of what would later become Air Force Special Tactics. [3]

In April 1980, President Jimmy Carter tasked Delta, Brand-X, and various other units, to rescue fifty-three American citizens held hostage in Iran. Operation Eagle Claw, as it was called, encountered many obstacles and was eventually aborted. As the U.S. force prepared to leave the staging area known as Desert One, a helicopter crashed into a transport aircraft resulting in the death of eight servicemen. The failed rescue attempt had prompted the formation of a new command to oversee these specially trained units called the Joint Special Operations Command. [3]

The JSOC mission grew rapidly with the invasion of Grenada, and in 1984, Pararescue began to integrate with the Combat Controllers of Brand-X. By 1987, several Pararescuemen had been assigned to Combat Control Squadrons, and on October 1st of that year, the combined teams of Combat Control and Pararescue were officially designated as Air Force Special Tactics. One Special Tactics Squadron remained under the JSOC umbrella while five other Squadrons were under control of what would become Air Force Special Operations Command. [3]

Just two years later, the newly integrated Special Tactics Squadrons would receive their first test when President George H. W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama and the removal of it’s leader Manuel Noriega. Combat Controllers and Pararescue were among the first forces to parachute into Panama, seizing the airfield at Rio Hato and working air traffic control to infiltrate the rest of the joint task force. Combat Controllers also conducted direct action missions with several of the assault force elements, while teams of Pararescuemen moved through hostile areas recovering and treating casualties. [3]

Special Tactics, and the melding of Combat Control and Pararescue, had proven to be a brilliant combination of capabilities, and would soon be tested again in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Special Tactics were among the first to arrive, taking control of the King Fahd airfield in Saudi Arabia and paving the way for additional forces. Working with other U.S. and British special operations teams, Combat Controllers destroyed numerous communication and satellite cells, as well as SCUD missile sites. Combat Controllers and Pararescuemen also conducted combat search-and-rescue missions throughout the entirety of both operations. [3]

In October of 1993, a joint task force comprised of Special Tactics and other special operations forces in Somalia were involved in, what was then, the deadliest U.S. firefight since the Vietnam War. Although the operation resulted in the death of eighteen American servicemen, Combat Control and Pararescue were integral to the mission, as well as the rescue and evacuation of numerous U.S. casualties. [3]

After the attacks on 9/11, Special Tactics was once again among the first units to be called upon. Combat Control and Pararescue were some of the first on the ground in both Afghanistan and Iraq, being involved in nearly every aspect of ground and air combat since the onset of both operations. Special Tactics operators have conducted thousands of missions as a team and in conjunction with other U.S. and coalition forces, and continue to operate in this capacity in theatres around the world. [3]

Since September 11, 2001, Air Force Special Tactics have been involved in nearly every major operation, and have seen 20 Special Tactics Airmen killed in action. Special Tactics airmen have been awarded 1 Medal of Honor, 10 Air Force Crosses, 44 Silver Stars, over 600 Bronze Stars, along with hundreds of Bronze Stars with Valor and Purple Hearts. Special Tactics is among the most highly decorated units in the United States Armed Forces, and is the most decorated organization in the Air Force. [3]

In August 2018, Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman was the first Special Tactics Airman to be awarded a Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism as an Air Force Special Tactics Combat Controller, attached to a joint special operations team conducting reconnaissance operations in the Battle of Takur Ghar, Afghanistan, on March 4, 2002. During insertion, the team’s helicopter was ambushed causing a teammate to fall into an entrenched group of enemy combatants below. Sergeant Chapman and the team voluntarily reinserted onto the snow-capped mountain, into the heart of a known enemy stronghold to rescue one of their own. Without regard for his own safety, Sergeant Chapman immediately engaged, moving in the direction of the closest enemy position despite coming under heavy fire from multiple directions. He fearlessly charged an enemy bunker, up a steep incline in thigh-deep snow and into hostile fire, directly engaging the enemy. Upon reaching the bunker, Sergeant Chapman assaulted and cleared the position, killing all enemy occupants. With complete disregard for his own life, Sergeant Chapman deliberately moved from cover only 12 meters from the enemy, and exposed himself once again to attack a second bunker, from which an emplaced machine gun was firing on his team. During this assault from an exposed position directly in the line of intense fire, Sergeant Chapman was struck and injured by enemy fire. Despite severe, mortal wounds, he continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice. By his heroic actions and extraordinary valor, sacrificing his life for the lives of his teammates, Technical Sergeant Chapman upheld the highest traditions of military service and reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force. [4]