United States Air Force Special Operations Command | |
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Air Force Special Operations Command Emblem
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Active | 22 May 1990 – present |
Country | United States of America |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Type |
Major Command Special Operations |
Role | Provide specialized airpower and capabilities; serve as the air component for U.S. Special Operations Command |
Size |
17,967 personnel authorized:
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Part of | United States Special Operations Command |
Garrison/HQ | Hurlburt Field, Florida |
Motto(s) | "Any Time, Any Place" |
Engagements |
Invasion of Panama |
Commanders | |
Current commander |
Lieutenant General Marshall B. Webb |
17,967 personnel authorized:
Invasion of Panama
Gulf War
Unified Task Force
Operation Gothic Serpent
Operation Uphold Democracy
War on Terror
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.
Before 1983, Air Force special operations forces were primarily assigned to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and were generally deployed under the control of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) or, as had been the case during the Vietnam War, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). Just as it had relinquished control of the C-130 theater airlift fleet to Military Airlift Command (MAC) in 1975, TAC relinquished control of Air Force SOF to MAC in December 1982.
AFSOC was initially established on 10 February 1983 as Twenty-Third Air Force (23 AF), a subordinate numbered air force of MAC, with 23 AF headquarters initially established at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. On 1 August 1987, 23 AF headquarters moved to Hurlburt Field, Florida.