Do Special Operations live up to their role in Air Power support?

[Louis Levin]

Do Special Operations live up to their role in Air Power support? Thoughts?

[Brett Patron]

Do Special Operations live up to their role in Air Power support? Thoughts?

I think you need to rephrase the question:

Are you asking:
Does the Air Force live up to their role in providing in supporting Special Operations?

Is there sufficient Air Power support to Special Operations?

Does Special Operations properly employ its organic Air Power?

[Fuchs]

I read him more like "Are LRS teams worth it in an air war?"

[Louis Levin]

Does AFSOC live up to their role in Air Power Support?

[Louis Levin]

AFSOC having two hats to wear (1) being the Air leg to SOCOM and (2) being an AF MAJCOM, with that does it affect their ability to live up to their role in Air Power support? They have to fullfill the vision and mission of both owning parties. The problem I see is that the views and requirements are different from the Air Force and from SOCOM. The Air Force stil depends on AFSOC for traditional airlift while at the same time having to use the same resources for SOCOM.

[Entropy]

AFSOC having two hats to wear (1) being the Air leg to SOCOM and (2) being an AF MAJCOM, with that does it affect their ability to live up to their role in Air Power support? They have to fullfill the vision and mission of both owning parties. The problem I see is that the views and requirements are different from the Air Force and from SOCOM. The Air Force stil depends on AFSOC for traditional airlift while at the same time having to use the same resources for SOCOM.

I guess I don't understand the question. Is there a problem with AFSOC and if so, what is it?

Also, how is it the Air Force depends on AFSOC for traditional airlift?

[Louis Levin]

I'm doing research and trying gain insight to see if anyone else sees a problem with the dual role that AFSOC has as the air leg of SOCCOM and as an AF MAJCOM. In this they are responsible for the mission and vision of both the AF and SOCOM. Does AFSOC require greater power in its role to be able to deliver more Air Power? I was wrong on the traditional airlift, my apologies.

[Entropy]

One area you might want to look at is the CSAR assets (PJ, HH-60G, HC-130). They've been bounced around quite a bit over the past couple of decades. Recently, they were briefly part of AFSOC but were place back under ACC after less than two years IIRC. The reason, so I was told, was two-fold:

First there was controversy over adding additional roles to CSAR assets. In essence, AFSOC wanted them to do more than just CSAR. ACC did not want the CSAR mission diluted. That is putting it very simplistically.

Secondly, the program to replace the HH-60's which was deemed too big for AFSOC to handle given its other responsibilities at the time. I heard that the intention was to put CSAR back under AFSOC once the helo fleet was recapitalized, but of course that program isn't going so well (to put it mildly), so who knows at this point.

Anyway, take all that with a grain of salt as it's what I heard from others a couple of years ago, but it's an angle that might we worth exploring in your research.