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Air Force Special Operations
Mission: Provides the air component of U.S. Special Operations Command, deploying specialized airpower and delivering special operations combat power.

Responsibilities: Provides direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense and counter-terrorism support to unified commands.

Organizations

16th Special Operations Wing — Hurlburt Field, Fla. (MC-130E/H, AC-130H/U, MH-53J, MC-130P, MH-60G)
352nd Special Operations Group — RAF Mildenhall, England (MH-53J, MC-130P, MC-130H)
353rd Special Operations Group — Kadena AB, Japan (MC-130H, MC-130P; MH-53J’s are located at Osan AB, South Korea)
720th Special Tactics Group — Hurlburt Field, Fla.
18th Flight Test Squadron — Hurlburt Field, Fla.
USAF Special Operations School — Hurlburt Field, Fla.

COMBAT CONTROLLER (CCT)

Combat controllers are certified air traffic controllers who are an integral part of the Air Force's ground combat team, that specializes in unconventional missions.

They can set up navigational aid equipment anywhere in the world to guide aircraft for landing on makeshift runways without the benefit of a tower or large communications system.

Their motto "First There" indicates the CCT commitment to be the first deployed into restricted environments by air, land or sea tactics to establish assault zones. The assault zone is a drop zone for parachute operations, a landing zone for fixed wing or helicopter operations, or an extraction zone for low altitude re-supply.  Combat controllers are often integrated with other special operations forces (SOF) and operate deep behind enemy lines.  Being experts in their specialty, Green Berets, Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, rely on CCT for critical resupply.

Combat controllers can also control air attacks for fixed-wing and rotary-wing operations to include aircraft from all military services. In addition, combat controllers provide vital command and control, intelligence gathering, surveying capabilities, limited weather observations and are qualified in demolition to clear obstructions and hazards from potential runways and landing zones.

With CCT support, Air Force operating locations are limitless and global reach capabilities are enhanced.

Special Operation Forces at Operation Anaconda
Afghanistan, March 2002. In the early morning darkness on a frigid mountaintop, a U.S. soldier is stranded, alone, surrounded by fanatical al Qaeda fighters. For the man's fellow Navy SEALs, and for waiting teams of Army Rangers, there was only one rule now: leave no man behind.

In the early morning hours of March 4, 2002, on a mountaintop called Takur Gharin southeastern Afghanistan, al Qaeda soldiers fired on an MH-47E helicopter carrying a Special Operations Forces (SOF) reconnaissance element. This fire resulted in a Navy SEAL, ABH1 Neal Roberts, falling out of the helicopter, and began a chain of events culminating in one of the most intense small-unit firefights of the war against terrorism; the death of all the al Qaeda terrorists defending the mountain top; and, sadly, resulting also in the death of seven U.S. servicemen. Despite these losses, the U.S. forces involved in this fight again distinguished themselves by conspicuous bravery. Their countless acts of heroism demonstrated the best of America’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) as Army, Navy and Air Force special operators fought side by side to save one of their own, and each other, and in the process secured the mountain top and inflicted serious loss on the al Qaeda.

Roberts Ridge
On March 2, 2002, U.S. intelligence launched Operation Anaconda; having noted a concentration of al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shah-i-Kot Valley, they dispatched MAKO-30, a seven-man navy SEAL reconnaissance team, attempted a helicopter landing on Takur Ghar, the highest overlooking peak. Tasked with calling in air strikes, MAKO-30 found its landing zone to be a well-concealed al-Qaeda camp; the team's Chinook helicopter was driven off by withering ground fire. When SEAL Neil Roberts fell out of the chopper, the others insisted on going back for him. With the team pinned down by enemy fire and facing annihilation, commanders dispatched a quick reaction force of army Rangers to rescue them. Thus began a harrowing 17-hour drama every bit as perilous and courageous as the Rangers' ill-fated Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia; novelist (Deadlock) and journalist (The Black Box) MacPherson eloquently captures this gripping tale, based on interviews with many of the survivors and access to the army's after-action report. And while the battle "played no part in the success of Anaconda," and was in fact a distraction for decision makers, the army after-action report cites the troops' "conspicuous bravery" and "countless acts of heroism"—all of which MacPherson captures with aplomb.

Not a Good Day to Die
Reviewers lauded Naylor’s "meticulously reported" account (Oregonian). It includes in-person observations during the operation (Naylor was imbedded with the 101st Airborne Division troops who fought in the battle), and scores of after-the-fact interviews, many with sources who wouldn’t allow themselves to be identified. His two-year undertaking to bring those 17 days to life yields an extraordinarily detailed account of the fateful mission. While a few critics felt that some aspects of the book were unbalanced, all agreed that Naylor did a good job in portraying the drama, heroism, and blunders that defined Anaconda while raising broader issues of warfare and its ultimate purpose.

PARARESCUEMEN

Air Force Special Operations Command's pararescuemen, also known as PJs, are the only Department of Defense specialty specifically trained and equipped to conduct conventional or unconventional rescue operations. PJs are the ideal force for assisted survivor recovery.

A pararescueman's primary function is as a personnel recovery specialist, with emergency medical capabilities in humanitarian and combat environments.They deploy in any available manner, to include air-land-sea tactics, into restricted environments to authenticate, extract, treat, stabilize and evacuate injured personnel, while acting in an enemy-evading, recovery role. PJs participate in search and rescue, combat search and rescue, recovery support for NASA and conduct other operations as appropriate.

Pararescuemen are among the most highly trained emergency trauma specialists in the U.S. military. They must maintain an Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic qualification throughout their careers. With this medical and rescue expertise, along with their deployment capabilities, pararescuemen are able to perform life-saving missions in the world's most remote areas.

Their motto "That Others May Live" reaffirms the pararescueman's commitment to saving lives and self-sacrifice. Without pararescuemen, thousands of service members and civilians would have been unnecessarily lost in past conflicts and natural disasters.

Special Tactics Teams
Assigned to AFSOC, pararescuemen join forces with combat controllers and combat weathermen to form a highly trained Special Tactics teams.

A Special Tactics team frequently operates with Navy SEALs, Army Rangers and Special Forces in airfield seizures and personnel recovery missions in hostile territory. Operating in all climates, day or night, special tactics operators maintain the highest standards of physical fitness and proficiency in the use of light weapons.

Pararescuemen are an integral part of an elite ground combat team that specializes in unconventional missions. They endure some of the toughest training offered in the U.S. military. Their training, as well as their unique mission, earns them the right to wear the maroon beret.

Air Force Combat Gear
Military Gear	Oakley Combat Boots	ABU Accessories

Training
Pararescuemen complete the same technical training as EMT-Paramedics. Plus the following physical and specialized training.

Indoctrination Course, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas -- This 10-week Indoctrination Course recruits, selects and trains future PJs through extensive physical conditioning. Training accomplished at this course includes physiological training, obstacle course, rucksack marches, dive physics, dive tables, metric manipulations, medical terminology, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, weapons qualifications, PJ history and leadership reaction course.

U.S. Army Airborne School, Fort Benning, Ga. -- Trainees learn the basic parachuting skills required to infiltrate an objective area by static line airdrop in a three-week course.

U.S. Army Combat Divers School, Key West, Fla. -- In Key West, trainees become combat divers, learning to use scuba to infiltrate areas undetected in the four-week school. This course provides training to depths of 130 feet, stressing development of maximum underwater mobility under various operating conditions.

U.S. Navy Underwater Egress Training, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla. -- This course teaches how to safely escape from an aircraft that has ditched in the water. The one-day instruction includes principles, procedures and techniques necessary to get out of a sinking aircraft.

U.S. Air Force Basic Survival School, Fairchild AFB, Wash. -- This two and a half-week course teaches basic survival techniques for remote areas. Instruction includes principles, procedures, equipment and techniques, which enable individuals to survive, regardless of climatic conditions or unfriendly environments and return home.

U.S. Army Military Free Fall Parachutist School, Fort Bragg, N.C., and Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz. -- This course instructs trainees in free fall parachuting procedures. The five-week course provides wind tunnel training, in-air instruction focusing on student stability, aerial maneuvers, air sense and parachute opening procedures.

Paramedic Course, Kirtland AFB, N.M. -- This 24-week course teaches how to manage trauma patients prior to evacuation and provide emergency medical treatment. Upon graduation, an EMT-Paramedic certification is awarded through the National Registry.

Pararescue Recovery Specialist Course, Kirtland AFB, N.M. -- Qualifies airmen as pararescue recovery specialists for assignment to any pararescue unit worldwide. The 20-week training includes field tactics, mountaineering, combat tactics, advanced parachuting and helicopter insertion/extraction.

History
The first medical corpsmen were airdropped in 1943 to a downed aircrew in a remote location on the China-Burma border.  Pararescemen, known at the time as para-jumpers or PJs, respond to the need for a highly trained rescue force.  PJs begin to integrate scuba techniques into their tactics, jumping with more than 170 pounds of equipment.

Pararescuemen prove to be the premier rescue force rescuing downed pilots in wartime, Gemini mission astronauts in the 1960s and San Francisco earthquake victims in 1989.  Pararescuemen continue to deploy so "That Others May Live" whenever they are called to help resolve international emergencies and humanitarian relief efforts.

For more information, check out the CCT Association official website.  CCT/Online is the online resource for past, present and future members of CCT, and as such serves as the "official" online presence for the Association. This site provides news, information, historical articles and photos on the 50-plus years of proud service by members of Combat Control.

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