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| A U.S. Air Force service member prepares to fire simulated ammunition to take down opposing forces during an exercise scenario at Melrose Air Force Range, N.M., Nov. 8, 2012. Special operations forces utilize the range’s rough terrain and unique layout to conduct realistic training. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Alexxis Pons Abascal) |
OK. Wake up the lions cause I'm about to poke them with a stick.
Why does USAF Special Tactics Units exist?
They're do nothing but duplicate capabilities already found in SOCOM. Why do I say that? Para-Rescue. Even before the USMC joined SOCOM, Force Recon always traveled with a Navy Corpsman that was trained to Force Recon standards. Same with the Navy SEALs. US Army Special Forces once had Medics whose skill rivaled almost that of an Emergency Room doctor. US Army Rangers also have Ranger qualified Medics. So Para-Rescue while a storied organization doesn't bring anything to SOCOM that isn't already there.
What about Combat Controllers/Tactical Air Control Party (I really have a hard time understanding the difference). In the USMC they'd be called ANGLICO or JTAC. But its even more ominous than that. Calling in fire support is taught to a wider and wider group of servicemembers. While valuable, it is no longer a unique skill (as a sidenote, I wonder if it isn't time to consider disbanding ANGLICO as a relic of the past).
That brings us to Special Operations Weather! I've never understood it, can't tell you what they do and don't know how they got to be part of SOCOM, but the idea of a Combat Meteorologists just strikes me as weird!
USAF Special Ops might bring alot to the table when it comes to aircraft but when it comes to their Special Tactics Units I just don't see the need. It might be time to disband the unit, allow personnel to transfer to another SOCOM service and streamline this organization to keep it from becoming even more bloated than it is now.
Usually used any time USAF would have to do LAPEs drops or other quick short-airfield work. Best to have weather and air traffic-like controller skills handy. Don't know if it is still, really needed today.
ReplyDeleteI can still see Pararescure (PJ) in USAF Special ops. Their the only qualified Paramedics that can go into combat and rescue anyone out of any tight situation. Not only that, some Pararescue units are Air National Guard units that help out the US Coast Guard in long distance Search and Rescue as well. You have units such as the 106th Rescue wing from the New York Air National Guard and the 129th Rescue wing from the California Air National Guard as well. These guys are very much needed when you want to go rescue someone that the US Coast Guard can't get to by distance, though I think the US Coast Guard's rescue swimmers should be trained to PJ standards.
ReplyDeleteThen you have the 193d Special Operations Wing out of Pennsylvania Air National Guard, who provide PSYOPS for the US Military with their EC-130H/J. They work closely with the US Army PSYOPS.
As far as combat Controllers, I still think their is a need for them. They can fold JTAC into the Combat Controllers job and work closely with the US Army Rangers in taking down Airports and seizing Airfeilds. The can work closely in providing JTAC to special operations. These are the guys you want when you want to establish an airfield or a combat drop zone.
As for Special ops weather, I don't see the need for them and they should be dropped from special operations or folded into combat controllers job.
but you're missing the point. a Navy Corpsman is every bit as good and i'll personally say better than any Para-Rescue bubba. sorry but that's just my opinion. so you have medical personnel covered in MARSOC and the NAVY SEALs because they roll with MARSOC or SEAL qualified docs. then you look at the Rangers. same thing. Medics are Ranger qualified. Special Forces? please! their Medics are legendary! put Para-Rescue back in the regular force but for SOCOM???? redundant and really not needed.
Deleteas far as the NG connection i could care less. i'm still trying to figure out how you can be Force Recon, ANGLICO or Special Forces if you're doing it in the reserves or NG.
JTAC is JTAC. hell i can call for fire. its nothing special the main thing is that you have to make sure your coordinates are right, talk the pilot onto your target and have some idea of the munition you want dropped and the effects it'll yield on target.
and i was nothing special. i guarantee every person from E-5 and above in SOCOM that is a trigger puller has had the basics in calling for fire and some have had extensive schooling. so no need for combat controllers.
Solo,
DeletePj's are still needed in Special ops and in the US military because there the only DoD group that can provide combat search and rescue in combat situations and in humanitarian situations. There are PJ's that can do things that Special force Medics can't do. Some of these PJ's are also FDNY Firefighters from the 106 rescue wing out of NY Air National Guard. If you ever seen that show, Inside the Combat Rescue, you can see what Combat Search and rescue is all about http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/inside-combat-rescue/ here's what PJ's do and their units http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force_Pararescue
that is pure bullshit!!!!
DeleteO'Grady rescue!!!! F-15 rescue in Libya!!!! geez. really Nicky???
The O'Grady rescue, that was by a Marine MEU(SOC) unit.
Deleteuh yeah and......
DeleteAND.. It was an 81 mm Mortar Plt who did the deed by SOP as TRAP.
DeleteJust regular Tube Grunts, No Special Operators at all.
DeleteSuffice to say that the specialized mission of "airframe recovery" is relatively unique to the Air Force STTs. The Army, Navy, and Marines don't routinely train to take back a hijacked C5, C17, or C130.
ReplyDeleteHaving worked with PJs and CCs, I would say they are definitely "value added" to the SOCOM mix. Not that they are "irreplaceable" but a lot of the SOCOM units are "interchangeabe" to some extent. MARSOC and the Rangers for example, are both elite light infantry that do the same missions more often than not.
wait one minute on that one AM! i was leaving when MARSOC was being born but i know for a fact that we trained for airframe recovery! its a huge part of the helo heavy lift community. additionally at one time the USMC trained for the Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (especially the personnel part) REAL hard. a hijacked airliner? no. but then again you wouldn't use STTs for that mission anyway! thats a DEVGRU or Delta mission if they have time...if they don't then its going to SF CIF units.
Deleteas far as interchangable? yeah, its raids raids and nothing but raids but the difference is you can never have enough elite light infantry...but qualified corpsmen/medics, CC and weathermen as the foundation of your contribution to SOCOM? doesn't make sense.
Air Frame recovery was used in Vietnam.
DeleteIt makes sense when you realize the Air Force has precious little else to contribute to SOCOM and they still want a piece of the action. All those jobs are what you need to support door kickers and trigger pullers. And in "joint" action units, a lot of the door kickers and trigger pullers are provided by the Army and USMC. Yes it is duplication of capability, but just because we have 18D's doesn't mean we don't want Corpsmen or PJs on the team too.
ReplyDeletePara rescue doesn't bring anything to SOCOM that isn't already there? Maybe, but they bring it in one package. I'll buy that a Navy corpsman is a better medic, in general, or that SEALS have better small group tactics, or whatever (I don't speak that language very well), but PJ's bring it all together... And while, doctrinally speaking, each service is responsible for recovering their own isolated personnel, PJ's are unique in that they exist in wings (under ACC, not AFSOC or SOCOM, btw) with HH-60's and HC-130's and train to a higher level re: personnel recovery or CSAR than the PR forces of other services. We've lost sight of a lot of that in the current conflicts because there really isn't a lot of CSAR going on - it's primarily CASEVAC. But if the flag went up in say - Iran, for example - and an aircrew went down several hundred miles inland under contested airspace, you would see the value added and what PJ's and AF rescue brings to SOCOM real quick.
ReplyDeleteAnd the notion that the Guard or Reserve are less capable than the AD is a fallacy in AF rescue and in flying units in general. I'm in the reserve (no bias here!) and get as many, if not more flight hours per month than my active duty brothers, and half the guys I fly with have been flying since I was in the third grade. Meanwhile in the AD by the time you hit Major it's off to a staff tour and your days of flying are pretty limited moving forward. So the depth of skill and experience you find in a guard or reserve unit in the AF blows away the active duty counterpart (usually). Same story is typically true of PJs as well.
On combat weather guys exist because there is some pretty important info one has to have before landing in an austere environment. Basic stuff like wind velocity and direction, density altitude, and the condition of the landing surface can make the difference between landing in 1,800 feet or 2,500, and if you have a 2,400 foot strip, that info matters a lot. And in austere places without automated wx info, you have to have someone on the ground to get that info. That being said, I've never heard of a combat weatherman ever being used like that for real...
Lastly CCTs vs JTACS... CCTs are certified air traffic controllers by the FAA, which is pretty intensive on its own, and they do all the same things, for the most part, that JTACS do. So they are pretty much the same construct as PJs... Super specialized skill set that exists in the conventional/non-combat world (medic, nurse, ATC controller) but applied to a SOF type. Yeah, other SOF types are medics or can call in air strikes, but PJs and CCTs skill sets go way beyond that.
Overall, I know rescue does a terrible job of telling its story and selling its capabilities... So I totally get why the notion of the ground side of AFSOC being bloated/duplicative is an easy one to bite off on... I mean you could cut them all but you'd just end up spending the same amount of resources on another group that has other primary missions to focus on.
To keep Marines from stealing their Beer, surfboards and women!
ReplyDelete