AIR MOBILITY
USSOCOM AIR MOBILITY BY DAVID C. ISBY
we should all know has been evident ever since we q “What had airplanes: mobility is power. Mobility is something you do not want to be without,” said Maj. Gen. John Alison, who in 1943 was one of the creators of the Air Commandos and in 1944 led them on their first combat mission. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) requires its own air mobility, provided by Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOAC). For years these commands have been in intensive combat. Along with training and exercises, both in the United States and worldwide, they have also been extensively used in situations such as humanitarian relief and evacuations. It requires expertise to plan, sustain, and execute SOCOM air mobility missions, and a critical mass of such personnel ensure that this is reflected both in high-level planning and in the research and development that will lead to next-generation capabilities. The aircraft and personnel of AFSOC and USASOAC are an example of SOCOM cooperation with the services. They fly modified versions of aircraft used by other services or commercial operators. The services develop and acquire the aircraft and train personnel. SOCOM pays for mission-specific training, equipment, and modifications to aircraft. SOCOM is also supported by other U.S. air mobility assets. The transport aircraft of U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) enable inter-theater SOCOM deployments and combat missions; for example, AMC provides crews trained for special operations low-level missions and Boeing C-17 transports modified to deploy Naval Special Warfare craft, dropping them by parachute.
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) Air mobility is AFSOC’s single largest mission area, with operational squadrons in the 1st Special Operations Wing (SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida, the 27th SOW at Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico, the 352nd SOW at RAF Mildenhall in England, and the 353rd Special Operations Group at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units include both associate units that share aircraft with the active force and those that operate their own aircraft. SOCOM air mobility assets are also involved in its aviation foreign internal defense and advisory missions, enabling coalition air arms
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Special Operations Outlook
to create their own capabilities. The worldwide network that links SOCOM with friendly and allied forces is literally given wings by AFSOC. Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II and MC-130H Combat Talon II. The 36 big four-turboprop MC-130J Commando IIs, along with 15 older MC-130H Combat Talon II versions they are replacing, equip five operational and one training squadrons. Their specialty is penetrating hostile airspace at night, under 300 feet altitude and at high speed, loaded full of personnel and equipment, relying on their terrain-following/terrain avoidance radar (TF/TAR) and pilots with night vision goggles (NVGs). They usually go into combat alone, enabled by detailed mission planning and as much situational awareness as can be provided. The MC-130J uses the C-130J Hercules transport airframe, which, compared with its MC-130H predecessor, has more powerful and efficient engines, modern avionics and navigation systems, and a high-technology “glass” cockpit. Its fuselage is stretched by an additional 15 feet, increasing usable volume by a third. The MC-130’s
