United States Air Force Special Operations School

The United States Air Force Special Operations School (USAFSOS) is a primary support unit of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the Air Force component of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The school hosts and directly supports USSOCOM’s Joint Special Operations University (JSOU).

USAFSOS provides training to turn skilled Airmen into special operators. The school provides specialized education to meet the unique requirements of AFSOC Airmen, special operations forces (SOF) aviators, and joint/interagency partners. USAFSOS builds on the functional training conducted by other agencies like the USAF Air Education and Training Command and USSOCOM Service component training schools: Naval Special Warfare Command's Special Warfare Center and U.S. Army Special Operations Command's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

History

The U.S. Air Force Special Air Warfare School was activated at Hurlburt Field in April 1967 under the Special Air Warfare Center, then located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The school was redesignated the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School in 1968. The School’s initial course was the Special Air Warfare Indoctrination Course designed to prepare Air Force personnel for duty in Southeast Asia. Since then, the curriculum has changed continuously to meet the emerging educational needs of special operations warriors as they respond to complex world situations.

Personnel and Resources

USAFSOS is a "defacto" joint school, due to heavy joint/civilian attendance and the joint nature of subjects taught. The staff and faculty are comprised of Air Force officer and enlisted personnel, AF Reserve individual mobilization augmentees, AF civilians and contractors. JSOU provides USAFSOS access to Army Special Forces/Civil Affairs soldiers, Navy SEALs, and US Marine Corps personnel to cover joint topics and areas of interest.

Curriculum

The USAFSOS curriculum is directed by the AFSOC Commander to meet USSOCOM validated educational requirements. USAFSOS follows the USAF Instructional Systems Development model for course design and delivery.

Currently, courses are focused in one of four areas: asymmetric warfare education, regional and cultural awareness, SOF professional development and joint operations.

Asymmetric warfare courses educate SOF personnel on adversarial threats and operational and technological countermeasures available for consideration. Asymmetric warfare courses include crisis response, information operations, psychological warfare, force protection, unconventional warfare, international terrorism and space operations.

Regional and cultural awareness courses are geared to SOF areas of responsibility and trace their roots to the very first course taught at USAFSOS. The purpose of these courses is to orient the SOF warrior to the cultural, historical, political, economic and security issues of a particular region.

Career development and maturation of officer and enlisted personnel is the primary focus of SOF professional development. Courses in professional development include an introduction to special operations, staff orientation, professional military education and command preparation.

The joint operations courses educate SOF personnel in the areas of SOF doctrine, command and control, mission planning, battle management and civil-military operations.

As USAFSOS expands to meet an increasing demand for "thinking warriors," the number of off-station courses (both formal courses and courses tailored to unit needs) has increased. USAFSOS, assisted by JSOU, is increasing its use of distance-learning technologies to expand course availability. Video tele-instruction and web-based courses are becoming increasingly important in reaching USAFSOS’ students.

Most courses use expert guest speakers to ensure the most timely and relevant information is provided to the students. Over 700 such guest speakers, including former ambassadors, distinguished academicians, and active duty and retired flag-rank officers, support USAFSOS.

USAFSOS Attendance

Course offerings are determined by AFSOC requirements. For most courses, open seats are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students are responsible for ensuring security clearance requirements are met before attending courses.

There are no tuition charges for U.S. personnel attending USAFSOS courses. Travel and per diem costs per student average approximately $850. The owning unit funds student attendance.

External links

* [http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=186 Official factsheet]