Twenty-Third Air Force (Air Forces Special Operations Forces) was a
Numbered Air Force
A Numbered Air Force (NAF) is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, major command (MAJCOM) and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squ ...
that was assigned to
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 ...
. It was stationed 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 and was active from 1 January 2008 until 4 April 2013. It served as the operational headquarters for Air Force
special operations
Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
forces assigned to joint and combined commands. Starting in 2012, it transferred operational control of some of its units to other headquarters; its remaining functions were assumed by the Air Force Special Operations Command Air Operations Center when it was inactivated the following year.
History
Before 1983, USAF special operations forces (SOF) were primarily assigned to
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...
(TAC) and were generally deployed under the control of
U.S. Air Forces in Europe
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(USAFE) or, as had been the case during the Vietnam War,
Pacific Air Forces
Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (fo ...
(PACAF). Just as it had relinquished control of the C-130 theater airlift fleet to
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of the ...
(MAC) in 1975, TAC relinquished control of Air Force SOF to MAC in December 1982.
Twenty-Third Air Force was established on 1 March 1983 at
Scott AFB
Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the U ...
, Illinois, as an additional Numbered Air Force in MAC with responsibility for all Air Force SOF units, personnel, aircraft and installations as well as Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service (ARRS) and weather reconnaissance units, personnel and aircraft that were already extant in MAC. On 1 August 1987, Twenty-Third Air Force moved to
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. Twenty-Third Air Force later served as the core organization for the formation of
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). Twenty-Third Air Force was inactivated on 22 May 1990 when AFSOC was established as an Air Force major command (MAJCOM).
On 1 January 2008, Twenty-Third Air Force was reestablished at Hurlburt Field as
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 ...
's only Numbered Air Force with responsibility for Air Force Special Operations Forces.
[ It was established as the headquarters to execute Air Force Special Operations Command missions supporting ]United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...
.
The mission of Twenty-Third Air Force was to provide special operations forces to deployed air commanders. Its mission was to monitor and control global special operations
Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
activity to senior leaders; providing trained special operations command and control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
, intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
, and weather support elements to theater special operations commanders and executing command and control for air, space and cyberspace operations supporting United States Special Operations Command.[
Its 623rd Air and Space Operations Center included personnel and equipment to form joint special operations air components, responsible for planning and executing joint special operations air activities. and integrating special operations with conventional air operations. The 23rd Weather Squadron provided global weather coverage for Joint, Army, and Air Force special operations missions. The 11th Intelligence Squadron created intelligence products tailored for special operations missions. Finally, the 18th Flight Test Squadron evaluated aircraft, equipment, and tactics to assess their mission capability.][
Upon its inactivation its mission was transferred to its subordinate 623rd Air Operations Center, which was reassigned to Air Force Special Operations Command and renamed the Air Force Special Operations Command Operations Center.]
Lineage
* Established as Twenty-Third Air Force
: Activated on 1 March 1983
: Inactivated on 22 May 1990
* Reestablished as Twenty-Third Air Force (Air Force Special Operations Forces) on 30 November 2007[
: Activated on 1 January 2008][
: Inactivated on 4 April 2013][
]
Assignments
* Air Force Special Operations Command, 1 January 2008 – 4 April 2013[
]
Components
* 623rd Air and Space Operations Center (later 623rd Air Operations Center), 1 January 2008 – 4 April 2013[
* 23rd Weather Squadron, 1 January 2008 – 28 March 2013 (attached to 1st Special Operations Group after 31 July 2012)
* 11th Intelligence Squadron, 1 January 2008 – 31 July 2012
* 18th Flight Test Squadron, 1 January 2008 – 12 February 2013]
Stations
* Hurlburt Field, Florida, 1 January 2008 – 4 April 2013[
]
List of commanders
* Brig Gen Michael W. Callan, 1 January 2008
* Brig Gen Thomas J. Trask
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
, 14 July 2008
* Brig Gen Richard S. Haddad, 7 January 2009
* Col Marshall B. Webb
Marshall Bradley "Brad" Webb (born November 27, 1961) is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general who last served as commander of the Air Education and Training Command. He previously served as Commander, United States Air Force Speci ...
, 3 April 2009
* Col Thomas Trask, 3 April 2009
References
Bibliography
External links
Heritage of the Special Operations Professionals
{{USAF Special Operations Command
23
Military units and formations in Florida
Military units and formations established in 2007