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 to United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), a unified combatant command located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. AFSOC provides all Air Force Special Operations Forces (SOF) for worldwide deployment and assignment to regional unified combatant commands.
Several U.S. and Russian-built aircraft of the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center belonging to the 6th Special Operations Squadron
MH-53J Pave Low III helicopters near Hurlburt Field, circa 2001; upgraded to MH-53M Pave Low IV configuration, the last examples were retired from AFSOC service in late 2008 and replaced by the CV-22B Osprey
AC-130U Spooky gunship over Hurlburt Field
MC-130H Combat Talon II infiltration/exfiltration and aerial refueling aircraft
A United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party, commonly abbreviated TACP, is an individual or team of United States Air Force Special Warfare Airmen with AFSC 1Z3X1, who are aligned with conventional, Special Operation Forces, and Tier 1 combat maneuver units. They provide precision terminal attack control and terminal attack guidance of U.S. and coalition fixed- and rotary-wing close air support aircraft, artillery, and naval gunfire; establish and maintain command and control (C2) communications; and advise ground commanders on the best use of air power.
An Air Liaison Officer with the 14th Air Support Operations Squadron, parachutes to the ground during a joint forcible entry exercise 31 May 2013, at the Nevada Test and Training Range at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
USAF TACPs in the Battle of Do Ab. In the battle, a scout platoon from the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, United States Army, 20 Afghan soldiers, and two United States Air Force TACPs were ambushed by over 300 Taliban near the village of Do Ab. With assistance from close air support, the coalition forces repulsed the ambush, killing approximately 270 Taliban.
Six GBU-38 munitions are dropped by a B-1B Lancer aircraft onto an insurgent torture house and prison in Northern Zambraniyah, Iraq, 10 March 2008. The munitions drop was cleared by a USAF TACP from Fort Cavazos, Texas, and deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.