Welcome!

A convoy of US Army vehicles travers south on a highway headed towards Kirkuk, Iraq. Anti-aircraft fire streams through the air, targeted not at a specific aircraft, but into the air arbitrarily. The convoy is part of a large movement with the mission to secure the city. Only a few weeks after the initial invasion in March of 2003, Coalition forces have begun the process of gaining control of the central Iraq, with armored forces moving in from the south and special operations and airborne infantry assaulting from the west and north. 

Situated within this convoy, a vehicle holding a team of USAF Special Warfare operators is a hum of activity, one driving and the other operating a massive collection of radios and networks, sometimes called a net. One net, connected to the Army unit that this team has been attached to, has a constant stream of location confirmations and details about locals and contact with the enemy. The others are either links to aircraft overhead, or networks with the higher headquarters and the Theater Air Command System.

Above, stacked every thousand feet from ten to twenty thousand, are single or pairs of aircraft, loaded with air to ground munitions.  F-16s, F-15s, A-10s, and even a B-52 are available to the Special Warfare team in the event that they and their army counterparts are engaged by an enemy. Intelligence has reported everything from single men with Ak-47s to Iraqi Republican Guard tank divisions. Both team members are on edge as they see the rounds moving skyward for the AAA piece in the distance. Dusk has come to northern Iraq and both men are prepared to fight, knowing that their knowledge of Close Air Support and ability to coordinate it over the radio could be the difference between victory and defeat.

The above is a slightly exaggerated, fictionalize account of the authors personal experience during the movement to seize the important city of Kirkuk during the War in Iraq. It demonstrates what many USAF Special Warfare Airmen face, often small pockets of blue in a sea of Army green and holding the key to what could be mission success or death.

US Air Force Special Warfare, a relatively new term, encompasses four enlisted and three officer career fields. Pararescue (PJ), Combat Control (CCT), Special Reconnaissance (SR), and Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) make up the enlisted side, while Special Tactics Officers (STO), Air Liaison Officers (ALO) and Combat Rescue Officers (CRO) are the jobs for officers.  These seven positions are all ground combat specialists that bring unique skill sets to the joint force specializing in Global Access, Precision Strike, and Personnel Recovery.

I’m a former Special Warfare dude, a TACP who was in the Air Force from 2000 to 2006.  Currently, I have begun researching a book of what I hope will be the definitive history of Special Warfare. I say hope, because who really knows how this thing will work out. I planning on using this blog to write about some of the interesting historical facts that I find out along the way. This will be a way for history nerds, Special Warfare dudes, and hopefuls can see where the past has led us. We could not have done all the things that we have accomplished without those who paved the way before us, and I hope to highlight some of the studs of the past.

Please feel free to comment and ask questions. I’m not an expert on the current state of affairs, but I can provide a direction for those who need those questions answered.  Let’s get this done. 

Hooyah, never quit!

Morgan Huston