The words “quiet professionals” have been used to describe the men of Air Force Special Operations Command since their inception. AFSOC has bred some of the most effective combat assets on the battlefield and have fought alongside the world’s most elite units in every major battle in our nation’s history since the Vietnam War. The operators of AFSOC include combat controllers (CCT), pararescuemen (PJ), and combat weathermen.

AFSOC preparing to jump

Combat controllers are the foremost experts on “combat” air-traffic control and joint tactical air control in the Air Force, and are some of the military’s most highly trained assets. Their training includes the Combat-Control Operator Course, U.S. Army Airborne School, U.S. Air Force Basic Survival School, Combat-Control School, U.S. Army Military Free Fall Parachutist School, U.S. Army Special Forces Combat Diver School, U.S. Navy Underwater Egress Training, and a laundry list of advanced training courses once these operators reach the team level, to include CQB and shooting schools, advanced driving courses, and their joint tactical air-control certifications.

Combat controllers are a force multiplier on the battlefield; they seek out and destroy evil with extreme prejudice, delivering precision air strikes, airfield seizures, and resupply airdrops alongside Army Green Berets, Rangers, Navy SEALs, Marine Force Recon, and many other host nation special operations forces.