USAF - Special Operations Training Center

The United States Air Force Special Operations Training Center (AFSOTC) was located at

Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Sp ...

, Florida. It worked under the supervision of the

Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...

(AFSOC); Its primary function was to train the Air Force's Special Operations Personnel before being assigned to their respective units. The Mission Statement/Vision was, "Transforming Airmen into Air Commandos who possess the specialized skills and warrior ethos to fight and win anytime, anywhere." The AFSOTC was replaced February 11, 2013 by the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center.

History/Overview

The Training Center was set up on October 6, 2008. It was designed to consolidate the strengths of active duty, reserve, and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

units to form an integrated team dedicated to training Airmen and turning them into Air Commandos. Many units and squadrons make up the Training Center. These include The

United States Air Force Special Operations School {{Use dmy dates, date=January 2022 The United States Air Force Special Operations School (USAFSOS) is a school under th492D Special Operations Wing which falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). AFSOC is the Air Force component ...

(USAFSOS),

5th Special Operations Squadron The 5th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 919th Special Operations Wing. The 5th is based at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It operates U-28 aircraft providing special operations capability. Mission The 5th Special Operations Squadron provi ...

19th Special Operations Squadron The 19th Special Operations Squadron is an Air Force Special Operations Command unit, part of the 492nd Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It conducts crew training for AC-130 and Lockheed MC-130 aircraft. History World War ...

, 371st Special Operations Combat Training Squadron, 551st Special Operations Squadron, 745th Special Operations Squadron, and an 18th Flight Test Squadron. In its short history, the Training Center has already forever changed the way the Air Force educates and trains Special Forces personnel. With its 53 million dollar annual budget, the training center utilizes simulators, curriculum, and instructors to meet the Air Force's training needs. The Special Operations personnel trained at the center include Pararescuemen, Combat Controllers, and Special Operations Weathermen. The center also provides mission qualification for the

U-28A The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...

, C-145A, C-146A, MQ-1,

MQ-9 The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...

, CV-22, MC-130E/H, AC-130H/U,

AC-130W The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, naviga ...

, RC-26 aircrews. One officer states, "There's an excellent team assembled here. So when a student graduates out of the training center, they will be an Air Commando and there will be no doubt that they're ready to join their respective combat units." AFSOTC was inactivated on February 11, 2013, with the standup of the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center (AFSOAWC). Units and Squadrons were realigned under the command of the AFSOAWC.

Leadership

Outgoing AFSOTC Commander was Colonel William D. Andersen at the time of inactivation."Air Force Special Operations Command." Air Force Special Operations Command - Home - News. Web. 12 February 2013. .

References

{{coord missing, Florida Centers of the United States Air Force Military installations in Florida