Taking their experience to the classroom: under a unique new association with the Air Force Special Operations Training Center, Reservists from the 5th Special Operations Squadron are ...

Air Force Special Operations Command has been a champion in the field of Total Force Integration in recent years, streamlining operations and developing ground-breaking associations between the regular Air Force and the Air Force Reserve.

Building on that tradition, AFSOC recently began a unique association between the command's Special Operations Training Center and the Reserve's 5th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Under the new arrangement, the 5th SOS is an associate unit assigned operationally to the training center. Administratively, it still falls under the Reserve's 919th Special Operations Wing, located at Duke Field, Fla. The seasoned professionals from the 5th serve as AFSOTC instructors, bringing a wealth of invaluable real-world experience to the training center's classrooms and cockpits.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In May, Reservists from the 5th flew the squadron's final MC-130P Combat Shadow mission, carrying the unit's flag on the short flight from the 5th's previous home at Eglin AFB, Fla., to its new home at Hurlburt.

"I get the distinct honor of being the first to welcome the 5th SOS to Hurlburt," said Col. Marshall Webb, commander of the active-duty 1st Special Operations Wing at the welcoming ceremony. "You are true warriors. You had a great history with the P model. You're going to have a greater history at Hurlburt Field."

One of the distinct features of the association between the 5th and the training center is the fact that the 5th remains an operational squadron while taking on its new training mission. Its members will still deploy periodically and continue to fly missions in combat. That way, they will be able to share the most up-to-date information and conditions from the theaters of operation with their AFSOC students.

"The 5th is a combat squadron that does training, not vice versa," said Lt. Col. Randy Nicholson, 5th SOS U-28 section supervisor. "That said, we're extremely excited about taking on this new role and sharing our experience with students at the training center."

"The strength that we bring to this new mission is indeed experience," said Lt. Col. Reid Henley, 5th SOS commander. "Most of our members have extensive combat time and have deployed multiple times. The great thing about our new mission with the training center is that we get to pass on our combat experience gained from our 20-plus years service in AFSOC, experience that we'll be renewing at regular intervals.

"I've served in special operations for more than 18 years, but I'm not unique in the 5th SOS. Many of our aircrews have even more experience than I do, and now we're going to focus on bringing that experience and all of our hard-won associate lessons learned to our new mission with AFSOTC."

Initially, the 5th will provide aircrew training for the U-28 utility aircraft (the Air Force variant of the Pilatus PC-12) and train students in AFSOC's aviation foreign internal defense mission. "We hope to add AC-130U Gunship aircrew training by 2012 and participate in all of the AFSOC emerging missions requiring aircrew training in new weapon systems," Colonel Henley said.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The U-28 provides intra-theater support for special operations forces, allowing pilots to move small amounts of cargo or a small number of troops within an area of responsibility. The single-engine aircraft can carry a payload of nearly 3,000 pounds and can be flown by one or two pilots. It can operate from shorter runways than a C-130 and can land on dirt and grass strips.

The 319th SOS at Hurlburt operates six U-28As, and its 45 members deploy frequently to fly and maintain the planes, allowing air commandos to deliver their specialized airpower any time, any place.

The principal mission objective of aviation foreign internal defense is facilitating the availability, safety and interoperability of participating foreign aviation resources supporting combined operations. The AFID role is to advise foreign aviation forces on the use of airpower to deal with the internal threats of subversion, lawlessness and insurgency. In this role, combat aviation advisers primarily focus on hands-on, adaptive training and advisory support geared to practical airpower applications. The 6th SOS, based at Hurlburt, is the AFSOC unit charged with carrying out the command's AFID mission.

The AFSOTC, which officially stood up Oct. 1, is the new home for nearly all Air Force special operations training, consolidating training that had been conducted both inside operational squadrons and at special operations locations around the country. As the training center matures, the 5th SOS may be asked to expand its instructor role to include more commando air frames, support and tactics.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"The 5th is definitely one of the key components of the AFSOTC," said Col. Paul Harmon, AFSOTC commander. "There's no way I could do this job without them."

Before taking on his new assignment, Colonel Harmon served as commandant of the smaller Air Force Special Operations School at Hurlburt.

The association between the 5th SOS and the AFSOTC is the latest in a long line of TFI success stories within AFSOC.

"This is graduate-level TFI," Colonel Henley said. "We're taking eight years flying as an associate special operations squadron and bringing those lessons to the training center."

"We've had awesome results with associate units dating back to the mid-1990s," added Lt. Col. Joe Arthur, 5th SOS chief pilot.

Colonel Arthur was assigned to the Reserve's 919th SOW at Duke Field in 1994 when it traded in its final five AC-130A Spectre gunships for MC-130E Combat Talon I and MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft. The 919th's 711th SOS assumed the Talon mission, while the 5th SOS was reactivated to fly Combat Shadows.

In the years that followed, the 5th entered into a traditional associate unit relationship with AFSOC's 9th SOS at Eglin AFB, Fla. The 9th assumed ownership of the 5th's Combat Shadow aircraft, while crews and maintainers from the 5th worked with the 9th to meet mission requirements.

Conversely, the 711th SOS and 8th SOS established an active-associate relationship, with the Reserve owning the aircraft and regular AFRC and AFSOC crews and maintainers sharing flying and maintenance responsibilities.

"We've shown that Reserve associate units work well in the special operations world, and I'm sure that the 5th's association with the AFSOTC will continue that tradition," Colonel Arthur said. "This is really a good fit for US."

5th SOS officials hope that serving in the Reserve as an instructor at the AFSOTC will appeal to air commandos considering leaving active duty.

"We're definitely hiring right now," Colonel Nicholson said. "We're hoping to attract people coming off active duty so we can capture that special ops experience and pass it on at the training center. But, we are also looking for instructor pilots from other airframes who would be interested in this exciting new mission."

Current instructor pilots or instructor navigators already living near Hurlburt or who would be willing to relocate to the area and who might be interested in joining the 5th can contact Colonel Nicholson by e-mail at [e-mail] or by phone at DSN 641-4066 (commercial 850-881-4066).

The 5th SOS through the years

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The 5th SOS's history dates back to World War II, flying C-46 and C-47 combat missions in the Pacific theater. The squadron was disbanded shortly after the war ended. It returned to service from 1965 to 1969 to conduct psychological operations, humanitarian programs and other special operations forces activities in South Vietnam.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In 1995, the 5th SOS was reactivated at Duke Field, Fla., as an Air Force Reserve unit under the 919th Special Operations Wing, where it was assigned the MC-130P Combat Shadow mission. In 1999, the squadron moved to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to form a classic associate unit with Air Force Special Operations Command's 9th SOS, becoming the first associate unit gained by AFSOC.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Today, the 5th SOS is an associate unit assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Training Center at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Initially, the 5th will provide aircrew training for the U-28 utility aircraft (the Air Force variant of the Pilatus PC-12) and train students in AFSOC's aviation foreign internal defense mission. The plan is for the 5th to add AC-130U Gunship aircrew training by 2012 and participate in all of the AFSOC emerging missions requiring aircrew training in new weapon systems.